By JOE LAMP'L
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Recently I wrote about fall being the perfect time to plant bulbs and I shared information on how to go about doing that properly. Unfortunately because of word count limitations, I didn't have room to tell the whole story.
As I've since learned from several of you, protecting those bulbs from pesky critters once you planted them would have come in handy. Sorry!
I received more than one e-mail requesting help after several hard working gardeners had their bulbs extracted, literally overnight, by hungry squirrels and other foraging beasts. So I thought over the next several weeks, it just might be a good idea to address some basic pest control techniques for the most common non-insect pests in your garden.
At the risk of running out of space again, let's start with squirrels, shall we?
_ Defending above ground:
With the exception of some pretty fancy birdfeeders these days, squirrels may be the toughest critters to keep at bay. In fact, short of a total physical barrier, nearly impossible!
Squirrels are such an omnipresent nuisance in our landscapes, many gardeners have resigned themselves to this fact and changed their approach in how they deal with them. Rather than fighting to repel or exclude, they routinely provide decoy food in the form of nuts, corn and sunflower seeds, in hopes of keeping the squirrels away from more valuable plants and feeders.
Some gardeners and weekend warriors on the other hand, are more stubborn, refusing to surrender. In an effort to keep the squirrels out of the dirt and off their plants, they build cages or apply nylon netting around and over their prized plants and edibles as the only viable way to ensure whatever they are trying to protect remains undisturbed.
_ Protection below ground:
The same concept of exclusion that applies above ground can be adapted to newly planted bulbs below ground as well. It is certainly disheartening to spend a day in the garden planting a multitude of bulbs, only to discover the next morning that all your hard work has been completely undermined by freeloading and unsympathetic squirrels! Your best defense against these digging demons is a good offense, or in this case, just fence. Place a layer of fencing across the ground after you have planted your bulbs. The wire barrier should have openings that are no larger than an inch or so, such as with chicken wire.
Make sure the barrier covers the entire planting area and secure it to the ground with heavy stones or bend the wire so that the edges are anchored into the earth. Once the ground freezes or before next spring, you can safely remove the screen.
And on the subject of removal, it's a good idea to pick up any traces of your bulb planting efforts. The papery outer skins on many bulbs are often shed during planting and handling. Squirrels can detect the scent of these and follow it right to the bulbs, no matter how deeply they're buried! Trapping and Removal Finally, if you one who believes the only good squirrel is a gone squirrel, live trapping can be effective for catching them but relocation is not always the most humane thing to do. Trapping is traumatic for the squirrels and relocation rarely solves the problem.
A squirrel that has been taken to a new area faces many life threatening challenges mainly from other squirrels already there. The fact is, this newly created void in your backyard environment will likely be filled quickly by another squirrel.
So there you have it. Pick your battles elsewhere and coexist with them peacefully, settle on a compromise by offering decoy food, or take a more aggressive stand using exclusionary methods. As I'm fond of saying, "The only sure things in life are death, taxes...and squirrels".
(Joe Lamp'l, a Master Gardener, hosts "Fresh from the Garden" on the DIY Network as well as a gardening radio show. For more information, visit www.DIYnetwork.com and www.joegardener.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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