I have a squirrel issue. They are getting onto and into my clay flowerpots to lick the fertilizer salts that build up on the rim of the clay pots. Any idea on how to deter them? I am considering making soup, but for that I'd only need 2 or 3.
Get a pellet rifle. The kind you pump up as to adjust the power. Three pumps will sting them while eight or ten pumps will kill them. They aren't all that expensive and are also very quiet as not to disturb any neighbors. I'm sure there are many other ways to deal with the problem but a final solution is the best solution in my humble opinion.
Rich
You owe them a reciprocity for cleaning your pots; put out a blend of corn and black oil sunflower seeds.
I put a collar of chicken wire around the pot. It seems to work.
I already have a pellet gun, but it is illegal to use it here. No law against trapping them with a Hav-a-hart.
Go with the chicken wire collar mentioned by Billy. That works for me, too. Cut the wire so there are annoying sharp points sticking up.
steep some cayenne pepper in hot water, filter it and then spritz on the pots along with some mouthwash and a few drops of dishsoap.
air rifle is more fun, but you have to remember to put it down once in a while and get some weeding done.
songbird
sprinkle a little blood meal on the pots. good for plants, deters squirrels. there is also "repel" or something can be sprayed. Ingrid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago
It is a good solution, however maybe not for my 80+ pots. Actually I am now trapping them easily--about 3 to 6 per day using peanut butter cracker bait, lucky no skunks caught yet.
What's the plan when you catch a skunk? Sell the house? :-)
I use a 15-foot pole (very carefully) to open the trap door.
Houses are not selling here--dont even try. Neither are newly constructed ones--all have been sittting empty for 12+ months.
A greyhound and a Jack Russell are quite effective here. They keep 'em up in the trees where they belong, and if they don't, a pellet or bb does em in. We back up to woods and there are a never ending supply of them to keep Pop amused. Gun sits right next to sliding door, and the dogs know the word Squirrel!! We just can't afford to feed them the amounts they steal from the bird feeders. We'd have to declare them dependants on our income tax!!! Suspect the feds wouldn't be amused!! Nan in DE
Only a total pinhead would expect that squirrels can read: "avian food" >>>
My bird feeder has a metal mesh around it that gives chickadees and wrens access to it. Robins and jays can reach in to the floors, and grab black oil sunflower seeds as could the squirrel if he could reach it.
The feeder is held up by a pulley and a braided metal string. When I want to fill the feeder, I lower it, and add seed. In position, the feeder is 3 feet from the tree. The squirrel can easily jump this distance, but once at the feeder, he is stuck. If he jumps back to the tree, the feeder swings away, and the squirrel falls 10 feet. Once has been enough for the squirrels to learn. Prior to the metal string, the squirrels would chew through the nylon or twine that I would use. The feeder would crash to the ground, and the squirrels would help themselves. Now the squirrels are entertainment, and will come when I leave a nut out for them, but they have no interest in the bird feeder any more.
A greyhound and a Jack Russell are quite effective here. They keep 'em up in the trees where they belong, and if they don't, a pellet or bb does em in. We back up to woods and there are a never ending supply of them to keep Pop amused. Gun sits right next to sliding door, and the dogs know the word Squirrel!! We just can't afford to feed them the amounts they steal from the bird feeders. We'd have to declare them dependants on our income tax!!! Suspect the feds wouldn't be amused!! Nan in DE
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The OP seemed more interested in an inanimate object or substance to help keep squirrels away, not a dog. If he wanted to swap one annoyance for another, he probably wouldn've done so by now.
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