How to Protect Plants From Squirrels

Are squirrels and other rodents chewing up your outdoor plants and flowers? This trick can help you protect them without hurting your fuzzy neighborhood troublemakers. This procedure is as effective with rabbits and other small mammals as it is with squirrels.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cayenne pepper
• Water
• Small squirt bottle

1. Create a mixture of cayenne pepper and water inside the squirt bottle. You don’t need to measure; just make sure that the concentration is fairly strong. If your bottle is clear, look through the sides to ensure that the mixture is too murky to see through.

2. Screw the nozzle top onto the bottle. Liberally spray down the leaves and stems of the plants and flowers that are being victimized by rodents.

3. Keep the remaining mixture in the squirt bottle and store in a cool, dry place. After each watering of your plants and after every rainfall, you should re-apply the peppery coating. Shake the bottle well before squirting.

Tips & Warnings

• You’re using all natural ingredients, so this won’t harm your plants or the animals. Squirrels and bunnies should find the spicy taste unpleasant, and most won’t even try to nibble on your plants because they can smell the pepper before tasting it.
• Your squirt bottle tube and nozzle may eventually become clogged with pepper particles. If this happens, remove the nozzle part and rinse it well, then soak it in warm soapy water. Rinse well again, and test it with a cup of water to make sure it’s clean.
• This mixture can be painful, unpleasant and harmful to humans, particularly to small children. Keep the bottle away from children at all times, and don’t let your kids romp around in your peppery plants. If you get the mixture on your hands at any point, wash them well and whatever you do, do not rub your eyes. Be sure to avoid getting the mixture in any cuts or scrapes on your hands.

[lanijo]

on 4/19/2009 Thanks for the info