Squirrels are persistent garden pests and opportunistic omnivores driven by the need for food, water, and places to bury their caches. Understanding their foraging habits is the first step in protecting your harvest, helping gardeners identify at-risk plants and implement effective strategies to minimize damage.
The Squirrel’s Favorite Garden Targets
Squirrels are highly attracted to garden produce offering high sugar content or significant moisture. Soft, ripe fruits are a primary target, including strawberries, raspberries, and especially tomatoes, which they sample just as the fruit begins to turn color. Damage is often characterized by a single bite taken out of a nearly ripe piece of produce, which is then abandoned.
High-energy foods like corn are also a major draw for squirrels, who will strip the kernels from ears well before they are fully mature. Squash, zucchini, and cucumbers present another tempting option because their high water content provides a source of hydration, particularly during dry summer months. They will often gnaw on the rinds of these larger items to access the moisture inside.
Beyond mature produce, squirrels are notorious for digging up and eating newly planted seeds, especially large ones like peas and sunflowers, before they even sprout. They also target certain flowers and bulbs, which they mistake for storable nuts or seeds. This destructive behavior results from their natural instinct to bury and retrieve food, leading to indiscriminate digging in freshly tilled soil.
Plants Squirrels Generally Leave Alone
Gardeners can reduce squirrel damage by planting varieties that these rodents naturally find unappealing. Alliums, a family that includes garlic, onions, and chives, are rarely bothered because they contain sulfur compounds that emit a pungent odor squirrels dislike. Planting these items around the perimeter of a vegetable patch can create a sensory barrier.
Another category of deterrent plants includes those with a bitter taste or an intense fragrance, such as mint, rosemary, and marigolds. The strong essential oils in these herbs and flowers are generally offensive to a squirrel’s sensitive nose, causing them to forage elsewhere. These plants can be interspersed among more vulnerable crops to provide camouflage and a defensive odor shield.
Squirrels also tend to bypass plants that contain natural irritants or toxins, unless they are extremely hungry. Hot peppers, which contain capsaicin, are universally avoided because the compound causes an unpleasant burning sensation that squirrels cannot tolerate. Similarly, leafy greens with tough textures or bitter flavors, such as kale and collard greens, are less likely to be damaged than sweeter, softer options.
Practical Ways to Protect Your Harvest
The most reliable strategy for protecting a vegetable garden involves using physical barriers to prevent access to the plants entirely. Exclusion methods, such as securing a cage made of chicken wire or hardware cloth over vulnerable plants, are highly effective. These barriers should be anchored or buried a few inches into the soil to stop squirrels from digging underneath them to gain entry.
Covering rows of developing crops with flexible bird netting or floating row covers provides an overhead deterrent. When using netting, ensure the mesh size is small enough to prevent squirrels from squeezing through and that the material is pulled taut to avoid entanglement. For individual fruits like tomatoes, wrapping them in small pieces of fine netting can protect them as they ripen.
Environmental modifications can also reduce the appeal of your garden as a foraging site. Since squirrels often damage produce in search of water, placing a shallow dish of water away from the garden can sometimes redirect their attention. Additionally, clearing fallen nuts, fruits, and seeds promptly removes easy food sources that initially attract the animals to the area.
Scent or taste deterrents provide another layer of defense, though they require consistent reapplication, especially after rain. Sprays containing capsaicin can be applied directly to the leaves and fruit, making the plants unpalatable without causing harm. Motion-activated sprinklers offer an effective startle technique, utilizing a sudden burst of water to discourage squirrels from lingering.