We have lots of grey squirrels visiting our garden, something I didn’t mind too much until I discovered that they’ve been digging up some of the tulip bulbs that I recently planted. Is there any way to prevent them?
Moira H, Dublin
As charming as their acrobatic antics can seem, grey squirrels can cause a surprising amount of damage in gardens by stripping the bark from trees and shrubs, raiding bird feeders (and spreading disease), munching on fruit and vegetables, chewing on garden netting and hoses, and - as you’ve experienced - digging up tulip bulbs to eat or to cache secretively away for future use.
Preventing this is challenging, but the good news is that your garden’s squirrels will be much less interested once the young tulip plants emerge above ground, so it’s a question of getting your newly planted bulbs safely through the next few months.
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If they were planted into pots, you can try covering them with a layer or two of fine chicken wire, or strong, fine-gauged garden netting (weigh this down over the edges of the pot). It doesn’t look the prettiest, but will go a long way in terms of deterring squirrels and can be gently removed once the plants are in active growth.
If you planted the bulbs directly into the ground, it’s trickier. Some gardeners have had success by placing strongly scented items close by, such as perfumed soap bars, garlic cloves and old rags soaked in peppermint oil. Others swear by generous sprinklings of chilli powder, or by covering the surface of the soil or compost with the prickly branches of hawthorn or rose prunings. All are worth experimenting with. In terms of any future plantings in years to come, also consider placing a layer or two of chicken wire over the newly planted bulbs before backfilling with soil, which can also work well as a deterrent.
It’s worth pointing out that while newly planted tulip and crocus bulbs are desirable to squirrels, they’ll generally leave most other kinds of spring flowering bulbs alone. So if the problem persists, reserve the former for container-growing only where they’re easier to protect and instead concentrate on using species of allium, narcissus, fritillaria, muscari, iris and galanthus in beds and borders.
