Before venturing into flowering, little did I know that the cuteness of squirrels can be countered!
Now you may think it can’t, but seeing your precious flower pots all dug up with torn flowers and food bits will certainly make you think otherwise. Especially if you make the mistake of keeping a bird feeder or water feeder in the vicinity like I did, it’s highly likely that squirrels will make your yard their favorite hangout place.
Even after removing it, I found that these mammals had made my flower pots their new retreat, burrowing the soil for food storage. Thankfully, I caught the problem only a few weeks after setting up my first few flower pots. That gave me enough time to test some popular methods of repelling my “furry friends” for good.
If you, too, are in the midst of this problem, then welcome home. Hi! I’m Stacy, and today, I have curated this guide on how to keep squirrels out of flower pots.
Let’s start now!
4 Ways To Keep Squirrels Out Of Flower Pots
1. Natural Repellents
Sure, you can purchase a chemical or organic squirrel spray deterrent from the market. But if you’re like me, you’d want to explore the natural and DIY ways, most of which are available in your kitchen cabinet. So, let me start by listing some natural squirrel deterrents and how to use them.
A. Hot Pepper And Cayenne Pepper
Unlike humans, no squirrel likes the spicy taste of peppers in its meal. In fact, this is a primary reason why it’s one of the main ingredients in many organic squirrel repellents.
The simplest method will be to sprinkle some crushed red pepper flakes on the soil of the plant that squirrels prefer the most. Since I had an expired bottle of cayenne pepper, I applied a light coat around the stems and lower leaves of my rose pots.
If you want a spray-based solution, add about a gallon of water to a small bottle of any hot sauce, and spray it all over the plants. Remember to apply these repellents regularly after every watering or rainstorm.
B. Garlic
Much like me, squirrels have an aversion towards the smell and taste of garlic. Apart from using some for making my husband his favorite garlic chicken fry, I chop up a few bulbs and mix them with equal parts of water and vinegar.
You should allow the mixture to sit for a few days so that the flavors combine well. Then, spray it over the hard adjoining surfaces (like stakes and fences) to keep squirrels at bay.
C. Peppermint Essential Oils
The flavor and smell of peppermint oil is another natural deterrent for squirrels. You can soak a few cotton balls in peppermint oil and place them on the soil near the roots of the flower plants. However, don’t forget to re-soak the cotton immediately when the smell fades.
Alternatively, mix some peppermint essential oil with vinegar (in the ratio of one drop to one ounce) and spray it on the nearby hard surfaces.
D. Bulbs And Plant Repellents
As ironic as it may sound, you can protect your flower plants from squirrel invasion by, well, planting more plants! It may be helpful to know that the smell and flavor of certain flowers repel squirrels like nothing else.
Plants like daffodils, lilies, hyacinths, allium, lily of the valley, and geranium effectively keep squirrels away. And since these flowers are naturally gorgeous, you don’t have to worry about spoiling the look of your garden.
E. Squirrel Food Supply
Sometimes, feeding the squirrels can be the perfect solution to deter them. For this, you can try setting up a “distraction center” like a food station with water, sunflower seeds, nuts, and other such squirrel treats. Make sure that it’s located at a considerable distance from the plants. However, I wouldn’t recommend this method if you don’t have a lot of space in your yard.
2. Bone Meal Fertilizer
The odor of bone meal garners enough hatred from squirrels for gardeners to use it as a repellent. Therefore, switching your current fertilizer with one that has the bone meal component is the ideal way to drive away squirrels.
Even if you aren’t particularly convinced with this idea, just sprinkle some bone meal fertilizer on the surface without mixing it thoroughly with the soil. You should apply more as and when the current batch gets watered down; it won’t harm the plants in any way.
3. Ultrasonic Deterrent
Although I am not the biggest technology-friendly gardener, I do know that ultrasonic deterrents work extremely well to keep many animals at bay, including squirrels. These devices essentially emit a continuous high-pitched sound within the hearing range of squirrels and chipmunks but outside that of humans. As a result, it forces them away from the installed location.
You can choose to get an electric or solar-powered unit. For the former, ensure that you have a power source near the area where you want to install it. Likewise, bigger lawns and gardens will require multiple units for complete coverage. But you’d want to reduce the number or avoid this option altogether if you have pets who play in that area.
- Do you have problem with unwanted animals in your area, garden, farm? Are they destroying your garden or eating the fruits? Do they bring many viruses to you? Let's start to use Broox deer Repellent to solve your problems! This effective device helps you to get rid of unwelcome animal visitors. It contains a motion detector system which detects movements and emits powerful ultrasonic sound and flashing LED light.
- Repel animals in a humane way: Broox squirrel repellent outdoor, repels animals by emitting ultrasonic sound, alarm and LED flashing light. When the motion detector, detects a motion, it will trigger the ultrasonic speaker to emit a high frequency noise which makes animals uncomfortable, therefore, keeps them away from the protected area.
- Solar Powered and Waterproof: With a solar panel on the top of the device, it can be charged by solar energy, that benefits in energy saving and environmental protection. It also can be charged with included USB cord. This outdoor repellent uses high-grade material with the weatherproof and UV-protected construction, which can protect itself against water splashed from all directions and withstand normal rain, snow, or the harsh sun. it is perfect for garden, yard, farm.
- Solar & Waterproof Ultrasonic Animal Repellent: Animal repellent ultrasonic outdoor with solar panel on the top can convert sunlight into power to ensure the durable operations of the ultrasonic bird repeller outdoor,rabbit repeller also can be charged with included USB cable ,raccoon repellent ultrasonic features solid construction and IP44 waterproof design,which can protect itself against normal rain, snow, or the harsh sun,you can use rabbit repeller in any weather conditions
- Human & Environment Friendly Animal Solar Repeller: Are you tired of animals invading destroying your home and garden? This garden repellent for animals is humane ,human cannot heard ultrasonic waves ,only animals will be influenced, solar powered animal repeller safe, no electrical ,traps,physically repelling,solar animal repeller with motion sensor protect your family and nature
- Five Operation Modes Animal Repeller: The animal repellent outdoor has 5-level function adjustment,1: Ultrasonic horn alarm sound drive, 2: The ultrasonic horn emits bird calls of repelling,3: Ultrasonic +blue and white light strobe light,4: The ultrasonic horn emits owl calls mode of repelling,5: Infrared blue and white LED light night mode, cycle mode with all functions from 1-5 gears, until the animal is driven out of the inductior range.Different frequencies repel different animals
4. Adequate Cleaning
Squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons and rodents are particularly attracted to the smell of food. In that sense, you’d want to keep your yard, and especially the area near the flower pots free from any such components.
Since my neighbor has a strawberry garden right next to my lawn fence, I conduct regular checks to keep my lawn free from the nibbles brought in by birds. Other than that, I keep the biodegradable disposal bin tightly shut to prevent it from emitting food smell. If you have larger trees, pruning can be a good way to stop squirrels from getting attracted to your lawn.
Summing It Up
With that, it’s time for me to say goodbye.
There are several ways to keep squirrels out of flower pots, and I’ve talked about the ones that I found to be the most effective. Feel free to combine two or more methods to help tackle the problem.
I should also mention that I keep physical deterrents (like wire mesh baskets and live squirrel traps) as a last resort. But if the squirrels are making you impatient, you may use them from the get-go.
Ciao for now!