I have had garden pond in Edmond, Okla for 15 years. Only occasionally have I had a squirrel eat my water hyacinths. They do make a mess, but it's not that difficult to clean it up (good exercise) and the squirrels need to eat, too. I don't use any chemicals in my pond because too many critters depend on good water quality. The only problem I have had is when squirrels eat all my new hyacinths early in the season before they become well-established and grow faster than squirrels can eat them. I found a simple solution for that, if anyone has that problem. My greatest enjoyment of my pond is watching wildlife enjoy it, too.
