Keeping squirrels out of pots

I have a barrel in the front garden I did have 1 cat turn into a litter tray but I used pine cones sitting on the soil and it stopped it straight away , using forks is not nice.

 

It's OK if the forks are clearly visible, not buried below the surface. The cat's not going to deliberately walk/dig on them.

 

There's no bulbs in the pot - just the pansies, nothing else.

The squirrels are terrible and only appeared in the last few years. The vegetable bed has a full mesh cage built over the top because growing anything was impossible. Chilli powder and pepper tried in that before building the mesh cage, the squirrels didn't care. I put up a wildlife camera and watched as they dug all the red chilli and pepper soil up completely unfazed. The rest of the garden beds are covered in flints, the rockery covered in gravel and they dig anyway - and the nuts they forget, they grow and need pulling out! Lawn, holes all over the place...
Not impressed

Someone feeds them as well. Because the stuff they bury is whole peanuts, hazelnuts and walnuts in the shell and some of those have stamps on. And that's the part that grates really, because my garden is a bit of a mess from having half a ton of supermarket nuts buried in it! Not natural wild behaviour. And I get that people feed the birds and that's not 'natural' as well, I'm not suggesting we shouldn't feed wildlife, but the amount of stuff these squirrels get seems pretty excessive! So since the squirrels appeared when the adjacent fields got bulldozed, someone feeds them then I get my garden turned over as a result! And they're really tame, they absolutely don't care if you're out there too.

Holly I know someone who has a holly tree, I could ask for some, that seems like a good idea thanks. What about cocktail sticks? Or BBQ skewers pushed in the soil and sticking out? Or pea sticks cut and pushed in? My aim would never be to hurt a wild animal but to create some kind of barrier that can't be dug through so easily and deterrent so I can actually grow stuff in my garden! Next year I'll just mesh the pot and plant seeds that will grow through.

The pot is only small, so a hanging basket cover would be too big for this one. New plants put into the main garden get dug up too even though there's slates! There's a nest in the trees right next to the garden! They seem to disagree with the magpies that come around. They got into the little greenhouse once through an open window and I had nothing left. After that, mesh was put up at the window as well. So the activity is pretty excessive.

 

My work place uses those wooden coffee stirrers - like a lolly stick but longer and thinner - and the used ones are put in a tub for anyone to take for kindling etc. I take a handful every now and then and use them to protect areas of planting from the cats, just by pushing them upright in the soil. I find this the most effective approach with all my pests (cats, foxes, magpies. The magpies make things worse by burying food which the foxes smell and dig up!).

 

That's a really good suggestion @Escarpment

 

So it's now got lollipop sticks and cut down pea sticks in! See how long it lasts. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll wait to get some Holly as well. Fort Knox.

 

Holly doesn't need to be dead. It's just better if it is. I think the foxes, cats and tree rats recognise it and stay clear.

 

Looks like the squirrel had a go and gave up thanks to a dozen lolly sticks!!!

Really simple solution, thanks so much for the suggestions!! Have to say, it's worked!

 

Hi everyone

I saw a clip of using clippings of rose branches and push in one side of the pot bend over and push in and make a basket shape , it helps hold up the plants and best of all the squirrels hate the thorns

 

Even better if the rose stem ends 'take' and you end up with new roses!

 

they think there are grubs or buried nuts in there because the soil is disturbed. birds also dig stuff up. they should get bored eventually

however: i find pointy sticks like bamboo as youve done works well