Squirrels Uprooting New Potted Annuals: Exclusion Over Repellents

Question: 19 large pots with annuals. Next day: one fully excavated, one partial. Squirrels likely (too tall for rabbits, no deer). Mothballs work? Harm plants?

Answer: Mothballs Don't Work Outdoors

• No scientific evidence for free-roaming wildlife
• Placebo effect: "I'm doing something"
• Why they fail

Real Solutions

1. Exclusion: Hardware cloth (¼″ or ½″) over pots, staked down. Squirrels climb!
2. Population reduction: Trapping (cage traps 5×5×24″ min). Spring risk: orphaning young.

Trapping Reality

• Use enough traps (educated squirrels avoid singles)
• Check laws (some states ban relocation)
• Relocation often inhumane (why)
• Guide: tree squirrel handbook

Follow-Up: Dried Blood? Total Elimination Myth

• Dried blood = repellent = same failure
• Don't need total elimination—population reduction = damage reduction
• Like mowing: repeat as needed
• Bird feeders = squirrel magnets—remove them!

Rabbits (New Mention)

18″ chicken wire fence = easy, perfect fix.