I work with a group of 10 senior gardeners in a community garden at the Carlsbad Senior Center. In our 20-foot raised bed, we grow mostly vegetables to eat what we can. Our only exception is sunflowers, which are the group’s favorite flower. We use the mammoth Russian variety, which grows to 7 feet.
For the first two years in our senior garden, we essentially won the prize for the tallest flowers growing in the entire community garden. Our beauties rose to 7 feet, and we carefully harvested seeds to plant the following year. The flowers were planted against a metal lattice fence in the middle of the garden plot.
But last year, a squirrel appeared. He seemed to enjoy the area directly beneath the metal lattice and made a huge hole there. He also ate almost all of the sunflower seeds. As a horticulturist, I researched all the possibilities of ridding our garden of this nasty rodent.
Because the property is owned by the city of Carlsbad, we were unable to use a conventional trap that a homeowner might use. If a trap was set, someone would have to remove the varmint and take him somewhere. But where? We decided to try to get rid of him with a non-chemical deterrent.
Non-chemical deterrent
After doing the research, we finally decided upon a product called Repels-All by Bonide, which contains “putrescent whole egg solids, garlic, fish oil and cloves,” designed to give off a scent that deters animals from the area.
We applied the product to the rodent’s hole each week, but I returned daily to find the dirt roughed up and the sunflower seeds eaten.
Finally, after five applications, we gave up! He kept coming back to our spot, and we decided to wait until the following year.
What do rodents really want?
I interviewed a veterinarian who told me that local squirrels prefer to sleep in cool, damp areas and find a spot where they can burrow each night. He (we called our squirrel a “he”) wasn’t doing too much damage to most of the crops and just wanted a place to sleep.
An unusual solution
Last month, as we planted our usual crops, I hesitated to take a chance on planting sunflower seeds. I still had seeds left over from last year, so I decided to go for it. One of the gardeners in the class, Doris Shiller, said, “What if we just ignore him?”
I decided that the squirrel and I would have to share the fence, so I began planting. After creating six mounds for the crop, I planted 10 seeds per mound. After watering, I placed red Solo plastic cups on top of each mound and secured them with small rocks. As soon as the sprouts popped through the ground, I cut a hole in the top of the cups.
In a few weeks, they were growing strong, their stems leaning against the fence. On one side of the fence were our sunflowers, and on the other side was the squirrel’s burrow deep underground.
Peaceful coexistence
We continue to throw dirt into the squirrel’s hole, but he doesn’t seem to disturb the crops. He is still there, and we see the dirt being thrown out of his hole every few days, but the sunflowers have survived, thanks to the red cups!
As with so many frustrating situations in our vegetable garden, in the end, we must simply decide what will stay and what will go.
Jano Nightingale is a Master Gardener and horticulturist who teaches gardening at the Carlsbad Senior Center. To register for the course, call 442-339-2650 or contact her at [email protected].
