LG - my seedlings are in a gated, chain link-fenced area for the first 2 or 3 years so no critter issues. However in other areas of the garden - and the small lawn areas still left - they do seed around and no-one bothers them there either. They are too big to be bothered with when they get moved out though I think there were some early springs where a ground hog did some tasting
SoCal - see my answer to LG above. There's really nothing to it. I did try them inside for a couple of years but the gain on growth was absolutely not worth the hassle! If you can plant them just as the pod is opening - or even just before - they may even emerge the following spring.
