How to Protect Fall Bulbs From Chipmunks and Squirrels
For gardeners, fall is planting time for tulips, daffodils, alliums and other spring-blooming bulbs. While we’re busy planting our bulbs, chipmunks and squirrels are busy gathering nuts, berries and seeds for the winter ahead. If you’re a rodent working hard to fill up your food cache, the flower bulbs we’re planting are buried treasure: tasty, nutritious and easy to transport.
It’s heartbreaking to have your flower bulbs become dinner for some pesky critter. Read on for some easy planting tips that can help you keep your fall bulbs safe from chipmunks and squirrels.
Don’t Tempt Them
Not all flower bulbs are appealing to chipmunks and squirrels. So one strategy is to plant bulbs they avoid, including daffodils, alliums, scilla (Siberian squill), hyacinths, muscari (grape hyacinths), fritillaria, camassia, chionodoxa, galanthus (snowdrops) and leucojum (summer snowflake).
Planting your bulbs with smelly a organic fertilizer such as bone meal or fish emulsion may attract skunks, dogs and cats well as chipmunks and squirrels. Bulbs already contain everything they need to flower, so skip the fertilizer and avoid attracting attention to your newly planted bulbs.
Hide the Evidence
Take time to clean up after you have finished planting, so you don’t leave clues that there might be something tasty underground. Chipmunks and squirrels are curious, and freshly dug soil indicates something was recently buried. Spreading a thin layer of bark mulch or shredded leaves over newly planted areas will help to hide the disturbance.
Another way to cover your tracks is to plant your bulbs into a groundcover or among low-growing perennials such as vinca, ajuga, heuchera or lamium. Squirrels and chipmunks are unlikely to notice the newly planted bulbs, and they may also be less inclined to dig through foliage and roots.
Use barriers to protect your bulbs
The most effective way to keep your bulbs from being eaten is to plant them inside a wire cage. It’s fussy and time consuming, but it works and is something to consider, especially if you plant your bulbs in the same place each year. Many public gardens use this technique so they can always get a crowd-pleasing display.
For wire, you could use a 2” mesh (such as chicken wire), but the large openings don’t ensure good protection. Hardware cloth is stiffer and more difficult to work with, but has much smaller openings. Dig out a planting area and line it with the wire mesh. Refill with soil and then plant your bulbs. When you have finished planting, lay an additional piece of wire over the soil surface. Use stones or boards to weigh it down for winter and then remove it in spring when your bulbs begin to emerge.
Deter Them With a Repellent
Another way to protect your bulbs from rodents is to plant them with crushed stone or crushed oyster shells (see photo above). The gritty texture deters digging and chewing. Feed stores usually carry crushed oyster shells.
To mask the appealing aroma of the bulbs, consider spraying them with a deer repellant. Granulated garlic and crushed red pepper flakes can also discourage nibbling.
Wait Them Out
Squirrels and chipmunks are in high gear during late summer and early fall. In addition to gathering food for winter, they may also be feeding a second litter. By mid-October, their activity level begins to slow.
By planting your bulbs a few weeks later than usual, you can avoid the most frantic foraging period. In most regions of the country, the ideal time for planting bulbs is after Halloween and before Thanksgiving.
I am having trouble with coral bells. Had several for 10 years and suddenly something is eating them. How do I protect coral bells. It’s just one bed they disappear from. Two other beds are fine.
Hi Janice – You didn’t say if it’s the roots or just the leaves that are being eaten. If the problem is the roots, it could be some type of root-eating insect like a weevil. Dig up a couple of plants and see what you seen. All plants have a life span, so it’s possible the plants in that bed may need rejuvenating. In either case, you’ll need to renovate the bed — dig everything out, aerate the soil, add lots of compost and shredded leaves if you have them. Then replant.
If it’s just the leaves that are being eaten, it’s probably not deer or rabbits as they usually don’t bother coral bells. Woodchucks seem to eat everything in sight — they also have a big appetite. If you have a woodchuck, you’ll know soon enough because he/she will start devouring other plants as well. They’re pretty easy to catch in a live trap. Other than that, you’ve stumped me. Please leave another comment if you figure it out. Good luck!
I grow garlic and was wondering… If I crush cloves up & plant it right with bulbs will chipmunks stay away? Or would decaying garlic draw other “unwanteds” in? I have Animals & Kids so trying to not use poison.
Hi Sarah – I have not tried that myself, but I see no reason fresh garlic wouldn’t be just as effective as powdered garlic. With scent deterrents, there are no guarantees. Results are partly a matter of how many chipmunks are around and how hungry/persistent they are. Good luck!