They may seem cuddly to your kids, but squirrels can wreak havoc through y ards and gardens, digging, gnawing, and eating their way through just about everything. Nothing is safe from these pesky critters. They'll feed on anything from blooms to berries to bulbs (they're particularly fond of tulips and crocuses), and will also dig up your beds and yard to bury their winter stores. Squirrels strip bark from trees in fall and winter to use as nesting material or as a food source when little else is available. Younger trees and those with thin barks, such as beeches and sycamores, are most vulnerable to attack.
Why they are a problem
Squirrel stripped trees grow slowly, and exposed trunks are susceptible to disease. Plus they can be a general nuisance.
Organic damage control
A multipronged problem requires a multipronged solution. To protect trees, wrap a 1- to 2-foot-high layer of sheet metal around trunks. Attach the sheet metal with wires held together with springs to allow for tree growth. Remove the metal each spring. Safeguard your bulbs by creating a barrier when planting. Dig a trench a bit deeper than the desired depth of planting and fit a section of 1-inch mesh poultry wire in the hole. Add soil and plant the bulbs, then place another piece of poultry wire over the bulbs, completely encasing them, and cover the top layer with soil.
Rhonda Massingham Hart, author of Squirrel Proofing Your Home & Garden (Storey Books, 1999), recommends planting alliums or Fritillaria imperialis, both said to deter squirrels. Or scratch a sprinkling of blood meal into the soil, then lightly water to heighten the aroma. Reapply after heavy rainfall. Also, providing squirrels with an alternate food source—a feeder chock-full of their favorite treats (a few are sunflower seeds, nuts, and acorns) in a remote part of your yard may keep them out of your garden.