GTOTM (Garden Tip of the Month) Gardening with Rodents!!!

With the days getting progressively shorter,and most perennials going to sleep for the upcoming winter one can look forward to the next gardening season in the upper midwest. Wait!!!! There is some gardening to be done yet this fall. Now is a perfect time to augment your spring landscape by planting a variety of spring flowering bulbs readily available at a variety of sources at this time of year. In fact on a recent Sunday afternoon I did just that. About two hours later I discovered that something had dug up the newly planted bulbs!!!. Thus the topic of this posting. To prevent this from happening to you, I recommend two tried and tested methods of preventing squirrels, chipmunk, and other animals from digging up your bulbs. 1) I place wire mesh over the planted area securing it with rocks, bricks or covering the ends with soil. Personally I like to use chicken wire. In the spring simply remove it as you see the growth poking through the soil. 2) Generously sprinkle cayenne pepper over the planted area. As the animals start to dig, the pepper will stick to their paws and they will lick the pepper off. While hot to the human taste, cayenne pepper has a bitter taste for animals. This will discourage them from staying in that area. I would interesting in hear about other tried and tested methods of dealing with this problem. Happy Gardening!!!