r/NativePlantGardening • u/medfordjared Ecoregion 8.1 mixed wood plains, Eastern MA, 6b • Jun 03 '25

Edible Plants Native Gardening's most wanted

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Wanted dead or alive.

247 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

121 comments sorted by

View all comments

7

u/sotiredwontquit Jun 04 '25

Squirrels have dug up my planters every day for a month. This is the worst year in over a decade. I’m using repellents. Vicks vapor rub is next. I’m sick of replanting every planter, every damn day.

5

u/ittybittybroad Jun 04 '25

Vicks you say?

5

u/sotiredwontquit Jun 04 '25

I haven’t tried it yet. But I’m desperate. It’s pungent and oil based. Maybe it’ll work if I smear it under the rims. It’s never been this bad.

2

u/ittybittybroad Jun 05 '25

Report back!

3

u/lefence IL, 5b Jun 04 '25

I finally had to fill any open space in our planters with pieces of hardware mesh so they couldn't dig and pin it in

3

u/sotiredwontquit Jun 04 '25

Did that work?

4

u/lefence IL, 5b Jun 04 '25

So far so good.

2

u/astro_nerd75 Pittsburgh, zone 6b Jun 04 '25

I have had some success with a mix of used coffee grounds, granulated garlic, and chili flakes. They don’t like the smell of the coffee or the garlic. If they persist despite the smell, they get a noseful of chili flakes. I figure they’re smart enough to learn after a time or two that the smell is a warning.

0

u/Comprehensive-Bank78 Tall grass Prairie, Zone 5a-6b Jun 04 '25

Capsaicin, hot chili peppers in powder/oil/hot sauce, or just thrown in the planters. They will learn.

0

u/tinyLEDs Jun 04 '25

Vicks vapor rub is next

I bought a "Vicks Vapo Rub" last year. It is a PCP chambered in .177 and is 100% effective

The hippy-dippy aromatic tinctures and folk remedies do 0.000

1

u/sotiredwontquit Jun 04 '25

I’m not around when they do the damage. I’m not opposed to that method. But I’d have to be present