A gardener has shared her go-to method for keeping squirrels away from her garden beds to stop them eating her bulbs – and you only need one thing to recreate it in your own garden
A gardener has shared her go-to method for keeping squirrels away from her garden beds – and you only need one thing to recreate it in your own garden.
Whilst having wildlife around in your garden can feel idyllic, such as having rabbits or squirrels hopping about outside, it can also come with a lengthy list of problems. You don’t want creatures digging up the bulbs you’ve just planted, after all! Even though it might be irritating to see squirrels scampering about and having a rummage around in your flowerbeds, there’s legally not much you can do to remove them yourself.
It’s illegal to move and relocate grey squirrels under The Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 and Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as they’re a non-native species.
However, there are things you can do in order to prevent squirrels from entering your garden in the first place.
One gardener has now shared her go-to method for keeping squirrels away from her planted bulbs – and you only need to add one thing to your garden to recreate it.
Gardener Sophie, who has more than 40,000 followers on TikTok, posted her top tip on the platform.
She said: “This is how you stop squirrels eating your bulbs.”
Then, Sophie was seen holding up and unrolling some chicken wire for her viewers to see, revealing that the relatively cheap product is the best way to keep squirrels away from your bulbs.
She went on to explain in the caption of her post: “You need to try… If squirrels steal your tulip bulbs to be get yourself some chicken wire!”
You can use the chicken wire to protect any plant pots, or sections of your borders where you might plant bulbs, placing it over the soil before fastening it down with tent pegs.
This will help stop squirrels from being able to dig up your beds, as they cannot get through the wire, or eat any bulbs that have been planted.
Sophie then proceeded to ask her audience: “Have you found anything else that’s effective? I have seen people try coffee grounds and cayenne pepper but I know that some squirrels aren’t bothered.”
Whilst there are numerous methods to deter squirrels from your garden, the RSPCA suggests limiting the food sources available to them. It is also advisable to use squirrel-proof bird feeders rather than scattering loose food, for instance.
The charity also advocates covering bulbs with wire mesh to enable the plants to flourish and prevent squirrels from digging them up – so it genuinely is worth attempting!