I think it is squirrels that have eaten every single one of my hens and chicks this week, from the garden and from all the ornamental rocks they were growing in, they ate all the leaves and the roots.

How do I keep them away from my hens and chicks when I plant new ones

thanks, Col

Most animals like raccoons, opossums, squirrels, etc. hate hot pepper. You'd have to reapply it after a good rain though. Is chicken wire an option? Gene

I have the same problem with almost everything I plant outdoors. Recently I've been using garlic, cayenne pepper, and I recently heard about breaking up Irish Spring soap into chunks and placing them in cheesecloth bags to put around my plants. It works well for my local friend, so I'm going to try that next. The garlic and cayenne protected them for a few weeks, but then I got more damage.

Hello and !

I always have a serious problem around here with squirrels and rabbits going after my hens & chicks as well. I have developed a couple different ways of dealing with them, depending on what they are doing to the plants.

Are the plants and roots totally gone (like they were pulled from the ground)? Or are there parts of the crown or roots left behind (like they were eaten)?

If they are totally gone, I use wire bent into a "U" shape across the edges of the plants, pushed into the ground to prevent the removal of the plants. Coated wire hangars work well for this as they don't rust as quickly and are usually plentiful.

If they appear to have been eaten, I use All Purpose Animal B Gone spray which helps to repel squirrels and rabbits.

In the worst cases I will use a combination of both methods.
Good Luck!

Thanks for that info, JC. I'll give that a try. I have both, plants eaten and plants entirely pulled out of the ground.