Keeping squirrels out of pots

Hello any suggestions on how to deter squirrels from digging up the plants in the pots? It's almost daily having to replant!

When I've used plugs I've put mesh on, but with bigger plants I can't do that. Anything that will deter them digging?

 

Perhaps give them a pot of their own to play with.
I'm sure they would prefer one with no pesky green stuff in it.

 

Try sprinkling ground black pepper on the top of the compost.

 

You could try pebbles.

 

Very hot chilli powder. Has to be renewed regularly, especially after rain.

 

I add heavy stones and large shells between plants, so that no bare soil left. Even with this they occasionally managed to dig

 

You could try pinning upside down hanging baskets on the top. The plants can then grow between the struts of the basket and if you use steel pegs (like tent pegs) I find the squirrels find them difficult to dislodge. Alternately get slightly larger baskets than the pots and wire the basket around the pots a couple of inches down.

Also it helps if you don't plant small bulbs like crocus underneath which the squirrels adore or of course tulips.

I use separate pots for bulbs, put gravel over the top then keep them covered with a sheet of glass weighed down with a stone, until the bulbs start coming through, by which time the squirrels usually, but not always, seem to lose interest.

 

Hi

have you bulbs especially tulips in the pot

chillie flakes as the others have suggested works if it don’t rain

 

I do the same @lizzie27 re the hanging basket cages - I don't/wouldn't use them for hanging baskets as I don't like them, but they're very good for smaller plants as supports, and for emerging bulb foliage, as well as that barrier to squirrels. They work well especially if there are smaller bulbs which are nearer the surface. Bigger bulbs are too deep for them to get out if they're properly planted at a good depth. I have other round pieces of mesh which I peg down to give the same deterrent.
Like @Spruce , I was wondering if you had bulbs in the pot too @OrangeHeart ? I find they don't tend to dig unless there's something tasty lower down for them.
I also don't feed peanuts in any bird feeders which helps to deter them from coming in to start with, although not completely.

 

Dead holly leaves.

 

If you don't have bulbs in the pots then I too would go with stones, pebbles and see if that deters them.
Plenty of squirrels here too but ( touch wood ), I've never had them attempting to dig in pots whether they have bulbs in or just plants. They have managed to remove all the Hazel nuts this year tho

 

I have trouble with foxes and magpies digging up the pots, plus cats in the raised bed - I put sticks in when that happens, poked in close enough together to make it hard for the animal to dig. Some people use disposable forks inserted prongs up!

 

And when you’ve tried all these suggestions and they are still digging, a shotgun is probably the answer.

 

Holly genuinely works but you need to be careful. The spikes don't half hurt

 

The parish priest used 0.22cal.