To keep squirrels at bay, the experts at bulb supplier Longfield Gardens suggest taking this multipronged approach.
Plant What They Don’t Like
Squirrels and chipmunks avoid daffodils—which are poisonous—as well as alliums, scilla, hyacinth, grape hyacinth (muscari), fritillaria, camassia, chionodoxa, snowdrop (galanthus), and summer snowflake (leucojum). Tulips, unfortunately, are a delicacy for them. Still, if they become hungry enough, they’ll eat everything in sight.
Install a Barrier
Line the bottom of your planting bed with wire hardware cloth or woven shade cloth, which is easier to work with. Running the barrier up the sides of the bed may prevent burrowing in from the side. After planting, place another piece of mesh on top and secure it with stones or landscape staples until spring.
Plant Later
Foraging is usually most frantic in early fall, so hold off planting until between Halloween and Thanksgiving, when activity slows down. You can plant most bulbs until the beginning of December, as long as you allow two weeks for them to develop roots before the ground freezes.
This Old House editor Scott Omelianuk learned this lesson the hard way: “We had spent a Saturday afternoon putting dozens of tulips and I don’t know how many hundreds of crocus in the ground. Our intention was to boost the backyard color in the early days of spring. The squirrels, it seemed, had a different intention: Sunday brunch.” By the next morning, the squirrels had unearthed every single bulb — a vivid reminder of why timing your planting matters.
Pro Tip: Roger Cook, This Old House landscape contractor, recommends a diversionary tactic to complement late planting: “I put ears of dried corn in the very back portion of my yard in the spring and again in the fall. This keeps the squirrels fed so they’re less hungry for my flowering bulbs.”
Clean the Scene
After filling the hole back to the original grade, give the bulbs a good soaking of water before covering with mulch. If you don’t have mulch on hand, you can pile up gathered leaves right on top — this layer also serves as insulation to prevent the bulbs from freezing prematurely.
Tamp down the ground, remove any skins, and cover your newly planted bed with mulch or leaves. Interplanting bulbs in a bed of low groundcover such as vinca minor or pachysandra can also help camouflage their whereabouts.
Pro Tip: The experts at bulb supplier Longfield Gardens suggest interplanting with varieties that critters naturally avoid, including daffodils — which are poisonous to squirrels and chipmunks — as well as alliums, scilla, hyacinth, grape hyacinth (muscari), fritillaria, camassia, chionodoxa, snowdrops, and summer snowflake. Surrounding vulnerable tulips with these less appetizing bulbs can help deter digging.
