Last fall I planted tulips and the neighborhood squirrels dug most of them up. What can I do to stop them?
I planted tulips one year and the squirrels dug up every single one of them, so I planted narcissus instead. Seriously. They were big and white and were just as striking as the tulips would have been had they not been confiscated by a certain bushy tailed rodent.
Squirrels aren’t nearly the problem here that they are in other parts of the country, but they can still be a significant nuisance when their need to stockpile food conflicts with your need to have some early spring color in your garden.
Squirrels love tulips. It’s one of those annoying facts of nature that you can either learn to live with or run yourself ragged trying to defeat. Planting something that squirrels don’t like to eat is far less hassle than planting something they are known to love. It doesn’t have to be narcissus, there is a whole world of bulbs out there for you to explore. Who knows, you may just discover something you like even more.
Assuming that you’re stubborn and going to plant the tulips anyway, the most effective tactic I’ve come across to prevent squirrels from making off with tulip bulbs is to cover the area where they are planted with chicken wire. The chicken wire needs to be staked down or the squirrels will find a way of digging underneath it. You also need to pull the chicken wire up in spring just as the tulips begin to sprout or it will become a not very attractive part of your spring landscaping. Otherwise, this is a fairly effective solution.
Another thing you can do is plant the bulbs deeper than is normally recommended. There are limits to how far down a squirrel will dig for food. Generally speaking, it's recommended that you plant tulip bulbs two to three times the depth of the bulb. Going a few extra inches down will limit the number you lose without impacting the young plant’s ability to push up through the soil.
Many tulip fanatics also swear by blood meal, which they either put in the planting holes or sprinkle on the soil surface. The theory is that squirrels are vegetarians and the scent of blood will repel them. I haven’t tested this theory. It seems to me that if a squirrel has an abundance of food sources, it might be inclined to bypass your blood-scented bulbs. If, however, those bulbs represent a significant food source, survival may dictate they ignore the scent in favor of survival. Also remember that blood meal will need to be replaced after each significant rainfall, which can be both time and money consuming.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
