How do I keep squirrels from eating all the seeds in my sunflowers?
It seems obvious to use netting but it did not work. Neither did a 10 foot fence.

That's so right about the fence. Squirrels can climb just about anything. About the only effective thing I've found to deter them is to patrol the area in person about once per hour during daylight to scare them off. Shouting, clapping and cursing (yes, my neighbors think I'm a nut) also help. A dog or a cat can help too, but not with very tall sunflowers. I'd think the squirrel would feel pretty safe on top of a 12ft. stalk.

If your sunflowers are in an open area, a motion detector sprinkler might be helpful. They're available on Amazon. They'll also help keep the birds away.

My squirrel problem is with keeping them away from my mangoes. The motion of the foliage in the wind sets off the sprinkler, so it's going nearly all the time, which means it doesn't work to scare them off.

I wonder if a couple of layers of panty hose on the seed heads might slow them down?

They are not fond of being shot in the ass with a bb gun or air soft gun... just sayin'.

This is a random idea, untested.
I have read that squirrels don't dig in an area where the gardener has placed orange/citrus peels, coffe grounds and/or human hair. Also, squirrels avoid areas frequented by dogs or cats.
So, here is my idea. Go ahead and place a layer of netting over the seed head. Then add another layer of netting with some citrus peels inside, or human hair, or cat/dog hair. Spread coffee grounds around the base of the plant.
Hope someone can test my idea to see if it will work.

You're my kind of a guy Rob.

@Greene, Well I can tell you that dog/cat hair is useless. I have bird feeders inside my dogs fenced in area and they are not bothered by that fact in the least, unless, of course, the dog happens to be outside at that moment...

What about motion-activated sprinklers?

Kari, when you say 'netting', are you referring to what they sell that has openings that are at least 1"x1" square? If so, there is no way that will keep out a squirrel.

Instead, try using nylon netting that you get at the craft/fabric store. It's a fine mesh. The squirrel will have to actually tear through the netting to get at the seeds. But, the netting also allows air and water to pass through with ease.

I now cover all newly planted areas with this netting. It keeps out both squirrel and deer.

Below is a picture of what I'm talking about. It also comes in a wide variety of colors.



And with spring coming, you may be able to get it on sale/clearance. When we had a fabric store closing in our area a couple of years ago, I bought up all of the black, brown and dark green.

I know 😁!!! I know 😁!!!
You need something they can't climb !!!
About ?😕? 2 foot long piece of sheet metal or plastic. That you can wrap around stalk. It will need to be completely slick. There widdow claws cant get a grip on , also , tall enough so they cant jump to top. Im guessing 2 feet high ???

I'll bet a dollar to a penny !!! 😁
😎😎😎

Oh, they sure can jump more than 2ft. high, Phil. Even sheet metal might not be slick enough to deter them, unless you also grease it. I have a bird feeder on top of a metal pole, and unless I grease the pole fairly often, they can still climb it.

We use the metal Slinkies on bird feeder poles. I have 3 different type of squirrels here and none of them can climb a Slinky.

Shadegardener said:We use the metal Slinkies on bird feeder poles. I have 3 different type of squirrels here and none of them can climb a Slinky.

That idea deserved an acorn tip!!!


I looked for youTube videos to see this in action and yes, it is a winner!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

I never thought about a slinky! Now, where can you get a metal slinky these days that doesn't cost a lot?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000IZKW/

Maybe you could fashion a cover for the sunflower using "hardware cloth" -- the squirrels wouldn't be able to chew through that (and the birds wouldn't be able to get the seeds, either -- if you're trying to save them for yourself).

We don't grow sunflowers but we do have lots of squirrels. We also broadcast a lot of birdseed, including sunflower seed and never have a problem with them in the garden. The only thing they're really hard on are the suet plug feeders. And, yes, they can go right up a greased pole, like greased lightning . Everything I read about slinkies is that the new ones aren't worth a darn.

squirrels always find sunflower seed in my bird feeders, I think they would chew through nylon to get at sunflower seed.
Hot pepper spray?

Unrelated, but related....

We have a really stupid squirrel this year. While working the yard yesterday, I notices a bunch of twigs in one of my rhododendron. The closer I looked, the more there were. All of them chewed off at one end. I'm convinced there's a really stupid squirrel trying to build a nest in the oak tree above. I ended up with a piles of twigs 4 feet high and 3 feet around and nothing in the tree. Stupid squirrel.

Greene - thanks!
RickM/Mac - we get metal Slinkies at a toy store. Don't get plastic ones. We've had ours for several years with no problems. They're used year round.