What's the best way to protect growing pumpkins from squirrels?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I want to grow my pumpkins to maturity safely and successfully. Do the pumpkins need to breathe? Can they be touched while they are babies? Will covering them in plastic work? How about aluminum foil? What do you use.? Thank you for your suggestions and advice.

Edit: I live in a city with a backyard garden. Attached house. So I need quiet solutions i.e. a radio and scarecrow won't work. Thanks!

Current update (07-22-2020): In case this helps anyone else, I have used a combination of all the tips I have received from everyone (THANKS!). Physical barriers and scent: I have now built a cardboard wall around my pumpkin patch (it's the building material I have the most of given all the boxes that are coming to my house at this time). The pre-pollinated babies seem to be sensitive to touch - meaning they don't seem to like being enclosed in plastic strawberry containers - so I protect their surrounding area with aluminum foil (sort of a ring) as they start to get big. (I intend to have the aluminum to be a sight barrier; I also read somewhere that the squirrels avoid shiny things.) Although I do see bees around, I also hand pollinate each female bloom to be on the safe side. After pollination, I wrap each baby immediately in pantyhose dipped in spicy solution (apple cider vinegar + hot spices + water). I use the butt part of the pantyhose (saving the legs for another handy use). It took me a few iterations to get to this point. It's working so far. Fingers crossed I'll get a nice delicious bountiful harvest. So happy that the plants are so healthy and I am seeing an abundance of females babies. :)

Featured Answer

User

5 years ago

For both squirrels and rabbits, I find a good (and really cheap) repellent is:

1 tsp Tabasco sauce (you can raise this as necessary, it's not toxic and won't hurt anything)

a couple drops of Elmer's glue (optional but helps the stuff stick and also tastes bad due to the synthetic polymers)

1/2 tsp any soap, I tend to use dishwashing detergent (optional, but helpful for coverage and also tastes bad)

2 quarts water

...in a half gallon sprayer. Spray on plants you want herbivores to avoid. They won't go anywhere near the stuff. Reapply after rainfall. Wash off before eating fruit, optional with gourds and flowers. :-)

I've used this for years and it works on deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and almost anything else...except birds, who can't taste hot and don't seem to care much about soap. Fortunately, this solution is also non-toxic to all of the above.

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Comments (9)

vgkg Z-7 Va
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I have loads of squirrels around here and they are pests, esp for fruits, not so much on my veggies. When I used to grow pumpkins they were never bothered by the squirrels....maybe they were preoccupied with my fruit trees? I could move my baby pumpkins slightly around so that they could sit upright and form better when mature. Netting over my blueberry bushes does help deter squirrels but that my be awkward to use on pumpkins?
happiness4ever thanked vgkg Z-7 Va
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
What are the squirrels doing to your pumpkins? I'd be skeptical about the squirrels trying to eat them. They bother fruits, tomatoes, and melons. Never seen a squirrel get into a squash.
happiness4ever thanked daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
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happiness4ever
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
The squirrels are biting off the baby melons, especially when they are beginning to flower. I wrapped them in some styrofoam padding (the kind you get from a mailing) with the yet to open flower sticking out. One of the flowers got bitten off. One of the flowers of the hand pollinated pumpkin got bitten off. Another fruit got totally bitten off at the stem. Have tried to protect the other babies with plastic containers (the kind that 2 lbs of strawberries come in), but somehow the pumpkin plant didn't seem to like this (maybe I jostled things around too much), and so these are turning yellow and aren't going to make it. It's still early in the season, so my fingers are totally crossed that a good easily implementable solution will show up.

Not sure how to use netting over the whole patch - it's a large area and I need to walk through it to get to my compost area in the back. It would be great to find a solution that protects individual pumpkins. Have four very healthy plants this year.
nancyjane_gardener
5 years ago
The squirrels were getting all of my unripe peaches. We went to the local hardware store and got some spray called squirrel stopper. It seems to be helping. Mostly herbs and spices. You might want to sprinkle peppermint oil on or around your plants as well. Doesn't take much.
happiness4ever thanked nancyjane_gardener
gracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago
5 years ago
I've tried growing pumpkins and watermelons; without fail "something" would take a bite or multiple bites out of them. I blamed raccoons because it always happened during the night.
happiness4ever thanked gracie01 zone5 SW of Chicago
Sunflowers
5 years ago
Last year I had major problems with squirrels eating through pumpkins and taking a few bites out of butternut and spaghetti squash. I tried sprayable repellents and granular Repels All, but found that creating a physical barrier like hardware cloth was the only reliable solution.
happiness4ever thanked Sunflowers
HU-987263329
4 months ago
What is hardware cloth?
HU-987263329
4 months ago
Picture if the cardboard wall?