ARTICLES
Introduction
Planting
Colour
Springtime
Tulips
Catalogues
Seeds
Books
Weeds
Articles - Tulips
Squirrels
Here's a harbinger of spring: The squirrel police are after me. A few months ago, in this column, I ran what I thought was a great idea from a reader who suggested setting up mouse traps around the garden (not so's the little muckers would get caught, but just to scare them). Then I made a worse mistake in Gardening Life . I printed a tip that recommends a heavy-duty mix of tabasco and cayenne to spray around and keep these animals away from precious plants. Well, mea culpa.
Both items brought a deluge of complaints. There were those, of course, who believe that squirrels are tree rats, vermin dispensing lice and fleas wherever they go. Get a rifle they suggested. These folks, however, were far outweighed by those who were seriously offended.
There is a film being presented to hortgroups showing squirrels scratching out their own eyes, scraping at noses until they are to the point of coming off to rid themselves of this toxic combination. Reports are coming in from around the country that this is a practise that must be halted. But, as one gardener groaned, I spread this stuff all over the place to try and save the plants. What am I going to do?
I guess the answer is to find alternatives. I tend to try and ignore squirrels even though I'm plagued by them. On the occasions when I've used cayenne, I've done so without thinking of the consequences. I've even recommended a bird seed laced with cayenne that's designed to keep squirrels away. But it will also upset the delicate balance of the avian intestinal tract and birders are asking manufacturers to omit it from their mixes. So read the labels and make sure cayenne is not part of the diet you're dishing out to hungry birds.
Squirrels are useful creatures. They move and bury nuts and seeds to ensure the biodiversity of the forest and the health of many nuts trees. We resent them because they are unbelievably clever. Just watch one figure out how to get into the most expensive and devious bird feeder.
There is a droll book called Outwitting Squirrels by Bill Adler Jr. (Fitzhenry & Whiteside $16.95). It's the saga of one man's attempt to feed birds without feeding the squirrels and it goes on for 185 pp much of it an analysis of the dozens of bird feeders on the market. He calls them land sharks, living eating machines. But he also has a few ideas about fending them off that have worked for other people.
He suggests, for instance, foraging for nuts when out on autumnal walks and leaving them out for the squirrels. Or spreading blood meal with a powdered sugar container around bulbs or other vulnerable plants. It's good idea and one that also feeds the soil.
Juliet Mannock is a squirrel supporter from way back who loves to observe "their sweet busy little hands." She swears that living in harmony with squirrels means that her garden remains unscathed by marauding paws. She feeds them.
She gets two tuna-type tins, one slightly larger than the other and nails the larger tin to an outdoor window sill with finishing tacks. Then she puts a 4-inch screw through the bottom of the smaller can and impales a corn cob on it. She adds some gravel to the bottom of the can to weigh it down before putting it in the larger can. She sets out this contraption from the time she puts in the first bulbs in the autumn and keeps it replenished all winter.
She also places a few peanuts in the shell along the sill. This adds some interesting action between blue jays and the squirrels -- nature in the raw, she says. And since the window sill is close to a place where her cats can watch the squirrel action up close, she's got happy well-entertained cats who are less likely to go stir crazy during the winter.
Squirrels are territorial, she points out, and in a small garden you'd never get more than three pairs if you feed them. They have families in April and she stops putting out food (except for the occasional peanut for old time's sake) by the end of May. She is quite adamant that you can get very fond of squirrels.
I'm trying really hard to have pleasant thoughts about squirrels, to enjoy their charming antics as I see them popping about the fences, chasing each other around. Adorable. But in my heart of hearts I know they are just waiting for tulips to bloom so they can nip off their pretty little heads. I do believe everything has its place in nature (except the weeping willow next door), and squirrels have provided us with healthy forests. I am trying very hard to keep that in mind as we go into spring.
Copyright Marjorie Harris, 2005
CONTACT MARJORIE HARRIS
link to native plant nurseries & info Evergreen