Help! The Squirrels Are Eating My Bulbs!

When I first started to garden, I didn't know much of anything. I did alot of reading, and one of my topics of interest were bulbs.

I really like the idea of planting bulbs and looking forward to their flowers appearing in the early spring. There was one hindrance to that, though, the squirrels.

The first time that I planted bulbs, the squirrels found and ate every one. I was pretty upset, as you could imagine. So I read up on squirrels. I found out that they are attracted to freshly dug up dirt. O.K. Maybe I didn't pack down the dirt as well as I could. Then I got another idea.

I had gone to hunter's safety here in Michigan and learned alot on how to hunt deer as well as other animals. Now, you may or may not agree with hunting, that is not what we're talking about. What I did learn there was how every animal's sense of smell is keenly developed. So I applied this to squirrels. Maybe they had smelled the bulb on the dirt when I had transferred that scent from my hand to the soil as I packed the it down. I thought I'd give it a try.

The next time I planted bulbs, I put them in a pail. I designated one hand for digging and planting, and the other for transferring the bulb from the pail to the hole. Packing down the soil well with my "planting" hand, and making sure I didn't let my "bulb" hand touch the ground, I sat back to see if this method would work.

I was very much surprised to find that it did work! In some spots they scratched, but no digging. I was absolutely thrilled!

I have been using this method for years now, and have not had any bulbs dig up since. I hope you will give this method a try and that you will have the same success that I have enjoyed!

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