Garden Warfare: Squirrels

As I moved my artichoke and pepper seedlings outside this morning, I was greeted by a horrible sight. My beautiful beet babies were tossed about and buried. My mizuna roots were lying bare.

Squirrels.
Bane of my existance! Oh why do you torment me so?

So, I reached for my handy dandy secret weapon. Cayenne Pepper. Yup, just plain old cayenne pepper. You can sprinkle it right on your young plants, the soil, and even mature leaves, without harming anything. My only problem is remembering to reapply after rain and waterings.

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden suggests a more peaceful method: Feed the squirrels. They claim that squirrels are territorial, so it won’t increase your squirrel problem, and if they’re well fed, they won’t bother digging in the dirt. It’s a lovely thought, but I don’t negotiate with terrorists.