D@mn Squirrels!

Spring is in the air here in central PA; we have had nice 50-60 degree weather here the last two weeks, some rain, some sun, and things are starting to bloom/sprout including my second year hops.

I have seen squirrels out by my mounds last year, and hear this year too, but this morning I go to check on my hops before I walk into work, and the squirrels have dug around the shoots (which just exploded between yesterday and today) and were nibbling on the shoots! The buggers!

They apparently don't care for them though, because one or two shoots were nibbled, and everything else was intact.

Ah well, just thought I'd share! Squirrels!

Rabbits will chew the sprouts also. Chicken wire cages will stop both from chewing and digging.

Yeah, I may have to go that route; I have seen the squirrels in the mounds, but not the rabbits. But that isn't to say that it couldn't be the rabbits.

cyberbackpacker said:

They apparently don't care for them though, because one or two shoots were nibbled, and everything else was intact.

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break out the pellet gun! Last year the squirrels ruined 3 plastic lawn chairs and my hammock. They come near my new ones, or my hop garden this year they may become fertilizer! got some nice field point pellets. I'm ready for the bushy tailed rats this year!

Sounds like they know that second year plants put up too many shoots and you need to prune them. Just helping you out!

Chicken wire fencing!

I get critters rooting around for grubs or worms. Mostly skunks or possums but, who knows really. Occasionally they'll pull a bit of the crown above the surface. there is no way I am staking out my yard for a chance to offload a pellet. chicken wire fencing and rebar is cheap.

just lay out something like corn to divert their attention. After 2 weeks, they won't be able to do much damage nor will they have any interest in the shoots.

Our problem last year was a turkey that insisted on scratching up some rhizomes we had just planted. He won't be a problem this year.

I had a problem with squirrels last year too. They were running along my fence and ate two growth tips on one of my plants. However they decided to leave when I turned my fence into a death trap. I screwed two big rat traps on the fence with some peanut butter and corn as bait. I got one little squirrel and left him there as a warning.

dont feel too bad the deer/squirrels combined last yr to do in 3 of my plants totally. dug em up in midwinter

Get a 6 pack of home brew, sit on your roof with a shot gun, and kill the little bastards...

I agree with the general ideas rodents cant be trusted...

I have a rat and a bunny both bastards. Also My neighbhor on the other hand i swear has spent more on materials for setting up squirrel olympics than i have on brewing this year. He first gets a posse of squirrels that just show up when ever the porch door opens and a bag of shell on peanuts are shook. he starts out simple like a rope to the cloths line with peanuts at the end. when they figure it out he adds a obstacle It has since progressed so that once a squirrel starts it takes a good half an hour to get the peanut. His addition this week was a 6 inch diameter pvc pipe at a steep angle with a arm that spins holding the peanuts afterward. quite entertaining most of the time.

bastards dug up about 10 rhizomes yesterday while I was at work. I found only a couple of them. I was going to plant them in surrounded wooded areas in the neighborhood.

Very few squirrels around here. My problems are gophers and wood rats.

Getting my beds ready for my first hop growing experience. Definitely going the chicken wire route. We have rabbits, squirrels, and meadow voles all over our neighborhood. Anything that goes in the ground has to be well protected.

Never had them nibble on rhizomes, but they are pests with my wild bird feeders. I have seen one gnaw on my dogs rawhide bone, weird.