| Every year many of my tulip bulbs disappear over winter. I live in an area that has both squirrel and ground moles. How do I get rid of the moles and deter the squirrels? |
| trap--scissors-type traps work most efficiently. Dig the soil out of a small section of the main run and place the trap across the tunnel. Carefully cover with sod or soil to exclude any light and then just wait. If you've placed your trap in an active main run, you'll catch a mole. Continue to set the trap until you don't catch any more moles. Regarding the squirrels, try laying chicken wire on top of the bulb bed and bending the ends down into the ground so the edges of the wire go into the ground a few inches. You could also construct a little box made out of chicken wire, place the bulbs in that, and bury the whole deal. This discourages the squirrels from digging and the bulbs do not have a problem growing through the mesh of the chicken wire. You can also discourage squirrels with cayenne pepper, capsaicin sprays (hot pepper oil sprays), and products such as "Ropel". trap--scissors-type traps work most efficiently. Dig the soil out of a small section of the main run and place the trap across the tunnel. Carefully cover with sod or soil to exclude any light and then just wait. If you've placed your trap in an active main run, you'll catch a mole. Continue to set the trap until you don't catch any more moles. Regarding the squirrels, try laying chicken wire on top of the bulb bed and bending the ends down into the ground so the edges of the wire go into the ground a few inches. You could also construct a little box made out of chicken wire, place the bulbs in that, and bury the whole deal. This discourages the squirrels from digging and the bulbs do not have a problem growing through the mesh of the chicken wire. You can also discourage squirrels with cayenne pepper, capsaicin sprays (hot pepper oil sprays), and products such as "Ropel". |
