How do I preserve squirrels out of my Vegetable garden? I live in the city, and the squirrels here are so...
I live in the city, and the squirrels here are so insanely aggressive give or take a few eating my tomatos that later year I got TWO tomatos from a total of three plants. Its more or less as frustrating as it sounds. I'm not sure what to do. I can't shoot them, I won't poison them, my dog lives inside, and I'm so mad I'm thinking roughly selling this house and moving back out into the country where on earth vegetables grow in peace, as long as you put up a obstruction for the deer. Any advice from you city dwellers out nearby? Thanks!
Answers: In my city garden I have the most aggressive urban terrorist squirrels so I get the impression your pain. Over the first few years of gardening I tried adjectives the standard remedies but gave up on those when I watch a squirrel merrily chewing on one of my perfect cayenne pepper. So much for them not liking capsaicin. It's a multi-ethnic neighborhood, probably they've developed a taste for the spicy.
Finally one year we built a small chicken rope cage as someone else suggested. The concept worked OK but the function be low. I then purchased a used 6'x12' cuff link dog kennel near a gate. I feint it with chicken cable (1") and also made a ceiling with a double blanket. Make sure it is all wired together and any gap are covered and secure, you would not believe how small a space a squirrel can catch through. I did raised bed down the sides and at the back near a narrow access pavement down the middle. This made an entirely functional garden and you would not believe how satisfying it be to harvest vegetables adjectives summer long with no rodent interference. I know it sounds small but I be able to incline peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, beans and salad greens surrounded by that space. I suspended wire blockade for trellises about 8" from the outside walls contained by order to hold on to all the fruit inside.
Feed and sea well and other improve your soil because your space is predetermined. If you try it you won't regret it and it doesn't look bad and isn't really adjectives that much work especially after the initial set-up. Another cool thing is that you can prolong your growing season by wrapping it against the frost surrounded by the fall. One mild year I brought contained by my last tomatoes surrounded by Dec. and this is MN.
Build a small framwork for a cabinet, but nail metal screening onto it as the sides, top and door infill. This box is the solely thing that will hold them out - you can build a chickenwire box, but you are likely to cut into yourself up harvesting the bushes and the squirrels will still scrape up any tomatoes they can reach, the little cretins. Squirrels are dreadfully clever and terribly fond of tomatoes - you will call for to keep the cabinet latched closed or they will depart the door to get into it and they will still chew on the wood frame to try and win into it - so paint the frame with hot sauce to tutor them a lesson and most of them will leave it alone after one or two taste.