Two Words, Cayenne Pepper

I actually like squirrels apart from their digging and waste of fruit and bulbs. Their behavior is the problem.They took bites out of my peaches when I had a tree and just left them, never finishing one. They knew when they were ripe and would wait till just the right time and pick the prettiest biggest ones and take a bite and leave them. I've come to expect them digging up planted bulbs in the fall taking a bite,  and discarding them. I guess some are more delectable than others. I finally solved that problem last fall with the chicken wire. They dug any found not covered by wire. We have a storm on Friday with heavy rain. My only thought was that the broccoli and lettuce I planted must have loved the rain. I went out today to check on them and was upset by holes, discarded soil and all the vegetables dug up. There was also evidence of them digging a hole in the ground. It seems too early to be searching for bulbs and since they're no acorn trees, they sure weren't burying nuts. The obvious guilty culprit watched me from the fence and scurried when I turned around in response to his noise. He sat and watched me from the fence, how brazen. This is new behavior for them as they've never bothered the vegetables before.

My aunt and uncle live in Georgia and have a yard full of fruit trees. This taunts the squirrels because if they attempt to come in the yard they're done. Two dogs keep squirrels away. After having killed many they now know not to attempt coming lower  than the upper branches in the trees. Mimi the lab was trained as a hunting dog and nothing survives in the yard. Not snakes, squirrels, possums, or anything. Squirrels have learned their lesson. This week Lady a corgi had to be hospitalized from in my opinion, trying to keep squirrels from eating nuts and pine cones thus eating them herself. She ate her share and suffered the repercussions. Her colon was filled with acorns and pine cones. She survived but was very sick. I don't plan on getting a dog but it would be nice to have something deter them. Back to the cayenne pepper I used earlier in the season with success.

 Planting the first time.

After