How to Protect Plants From Squirrels

Squirrels can cause serious damage to plantings.

When squirrels and other rodents chew up your outdoor plants and flowers, they aren't so cute anymore. With a few items from your pantry, you can create a repellent to protect your prized plants without hurting your fuzzy neighborhood troublemakers. The solution is effective with rabbits and other small mammals as well as with squirrels.

Things You'll Need

• Cayenne pepper
• Small squirt bottle
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Create a mixture of several tablespoons of cayenne pepper and vegetable oil 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. The vegetable oil helps the pepper stick better than if mixed with water.

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.

4. Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper on the ground around bulb plantings to discourage squirrels from digging in the area.

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.

References

• University of Nebraska at Lincoln: Backyard Farmer Questions
• North Dakota State University Extension: Questions on Squirrels