Squirrels destroy fruit harvests despite traps and deterrents
11 posts across 3 communities in the last 90 days; 82% from r/gardening.
“We are having an issue with squirrels digging up our vegetable garden and our plants. They have uprooted our flowers and dug into our plants, leaving soil all over our back steps and making a mess in addition to ruining what we have planted. We have also noticed chipmunks making…”
“I've been having an issue w those false last bugs absolutely decimating my gourds. I've tried picking them by hand and spraying the leaves w soapy water. I can get there numbers down, never fully gone but only for about a week or so and then they're back in full force. I'm now…”
“Why are my bell peppers rotting before changing color? When left longer they start to rot before the color changes.”
Multiple posts detail challenges with squirrel infestations, orchid care difficulties, bell pepper rot, and sugar snap pea survival in hot weather. Gardeners are seeking advice on pest control methods, plant maintenance techniques, and solutions for dealing with environmental stressors.
SOURCES (22)
“Pesky doorstep squirrel has gone from digging in the flower pots to nibbling on my ASA! submitted by /u/AwkwardSwine_cs [link] [comments]”
“They arent even that good. I saw a documentary about them: apparently 80% of what they hide, they never see again. Its the stashes of all the other squirrels that help keep them going through the winter. Its a group activity, they all just like the same kind of hiding places.”
“I put put ghost pepper powder out one summer and the squirrels were literally rolling around in it.”
“Rubber snake 3 pack from Amazon worked to protect my strawberries when the local squirrels discovered I was growing them. Just draped them around my strawberries and no more half eaten almost perfectly ripe berries.”
“I tried that, didn’t really work for me. You could try plastic forks around your plants.”
“We are having an issue with squirrels digging up our vegetable garden and our plants. They have uprooted our flowers and dug into our plants, leaving soil all over our back steps and making a mess in addition to ruining what we have planted. We have also noticed chipmunks making burrows in our mulch beds and throwing wood chips everywhere. Our neighbors feed them (we have seen them feeding them Milkbones before???) and we frequently have to clean up scattered peanut shells off of our patio furni”
“Last year the squirrels got to the seeds before the gold finches. The next day the finches were pissed off and making a ruckus by the picked clean sunflowers!”
“dont know what me from 12 years ago had in mind, but the idea is human urine can help detract certain pests, so it doesnt matter either way for the original claim. but me today can say it aint working. i've gone to directly collapsing burrows, using smoke bombs and traps to reduce the damage, but it's a battle i'm still fighting. EDIT: forgot to mention i've also am using exclusion methods by building hardware cloth cages around the garden beds i can, and covering fruit with nett”
“Just watch out for squirrels or rodents who will eat the seeds out of them. They will specifically wait until the fruits are ripe.”
“I planted about 4 small nasturtium bundles around April/may and it grew into a lovely bush! Now though they're starting to decline a bit and I've noticed this pest under some of the leaves and flowers. What is it? How can I get rid of it? Thank you for any help submitted by /u/Danazard [link] [comments]”
“So, I might be moving to the countryside in the foreseeable future. Which is a whole story I'll skip. LOL. Anyways, currently, my biggest worry is a rat or squirrel getting in my planters and googling if the pictured insect is garden friendly. (It is harmless) But I might be having to completely change my mode of gardening, and the biggest concern is the wildlife. It'll be in New Brunswick, which has the occasional hungry deer decimating some or all of your garden. I've always been t”
“I am in a losing battle with grey squirrels (southern New England). They eat all my hazelnuts and are ripping through my apples. I tried the motion sensing noise and light alarms, but that only lasted a couple days. I only have 7 trees to protect, but am at loss for ideas. My yard is strewn with partially nibbled apples. Any ideas for a long term solution? Thanks! submitted by /u/unicron47 [link] [comments]”
“I have a couple questions for everyone. Have any of you delt with pest on a large collection of plants? (70+) and how did you deal with them on all your plants? Currently dealing with thrips and now spider mites too! Any advice is very appreciated!!! submitted by /u/Schoe_25 [link] [comments]”
“I've been having an issue w those false last bugs absolutely decimating my gourds. I've tried picking them by hand and spraying the leaves w soapy water. I can get there numbers down, never fully gone but only for about a week or so and then they're back in full force. I'm now having the same issue w those Japanese beetles as well. Anyone have any organic ideas that might help? submitted by /u/Defiant-Ad1709 [link] [comments]”
“Supplies needed: ---(1) empty 5 gallon bucket ---Bag of dried sunflower seeds still in shell. The kind used for bird seed. You can pick them up at a hardware store or garden center fairly cheap. Find an area they are active in that is somewhat secluded. Fill the bucket slightly less than half full of water and place in that area. Pour the sunflower seeds in until water is completely covered and the seeds are about 1/2" thick on top of the water. The seeds float, so it wont take too much. Se”
“Hello, I live in a suburban neighborhood where squirrels seem more abundant than cars. I have a few hazelnut shrubs in my yard and basically, year after year, I can never enjoy any of my abundant production because THEY come and steal everything. - No way of saving any nut before they come: the nuts are ripe come end of August and the bandits have already started the heist as of this week - I have been trapping and relocating them on a yearly basis, more than 5km away, sometimes more than 3 per”
“Hi everyone! I recently bought these orchids but I'm a bit new to taking care of them. They were sold to me as Epidendrum Orchids, but they seem to be a variation with much larger flowers than the typical small reed-stem types I usually see online. Right now, I don't have a substrate ready for them yet, so I temporarily have them soaking in water to keep them hydrated. Any tips and advice would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance. Davao City, Philippines submitted by /u”
“i live in zone 4A. my sugar snap peas are just starting to flower but the temps are going to be in the low 100s this weekend. after that, the weather is consistently supposed to be in the upper 80s and lower 90s for the next week. will my peas survive and be able to produce? submitted by /u/Special-Ninja-5088 [link] [comments]”