Juli Lawrence – Rakish Gardening

June 2nd, 2008

Well, knock on wood!

I”ve been very carefully applying the Shake Away (Small Critter), and so far, so good. The squirrels had been digging in my curcurbit hills out back (cucurbits are cucumbers, melons, squash). They killed my best County Fair cucumber plant and I was furious about that. (but more are coming up, as well as another kind of cuke, from bonus seeds…gotta love the bonus seeds!) And they dug like crazy in all the hills, plus in the areas I’d planted new dahlia and canna tubers. Grrr.

I had been sporadically applying Shake Away; went through an entire can. But I wasn’t doing it like the can said, and probably way over powdering. So I wanted to buy another can, but called Shake Away’s 800 number and asked whether I should use Small Critter or Rodent. She said Small Critter. I also wanted to know if I should use their sealed packets for squirrels instead, but she said those were more for bird feeders and I should stick to the powder.

Very helpful young lady! She also said squirrels were very tough to get rid of. I had mentioned the stuff had worked so well on the rabbits, but she said rabbits are pretty easy. So she gave me some tips, and said try one more can, but if it doesn’t work, to call them back for a refund. I’ve heard before that Shake Away has good customer service, and yes they do.

I’ve been lightly sprinkling it on the hills and around areas that have been troublesome. You’re only supposed to do it twice a week, so I’ve been working at restraining myself (a little dab’ll do ya). And so far, not a single dig!!! I’m almost afraid to post, because it’s only been a few days.

But I did see near the big tree where they’d dug a few big holes. I guess looking for nuts they buried. Why is it they bury nuts and forget where they are??? That’s not very efficient.

There’s still the tomato problem later in season. Last year, they started stealing tomatoes and it was infuriating. They would choose the most beautiful, ripest and biggest tomato, take a bite or two, then toss it on the ground. You’d find it covered in gnats in the lawn.

So THIS year, I have a new idea. Not mine, my friend thought of it.

I grew a bunch of tomatoes from seed, and most are going to go to waste because I usually grow more seedlings than I need, in case some die. Well, there’s an area on one side of the house, where nothing will grow. I’ve been working on it every year, adding compost, and planting samples of various plants (mostly groundcovers) to see what lives. So far, only the ajuga has survived. It came back and had pretty purple flowers. Some workmen stepped all over it, and it’s still alive. But it hasn’t spread at all. I’ve got a clump of Scotch moss I bought (Stepables) that I intend to plant as well. I would love a nice patch of moss.

Regardless, there’s that spot where nothing grows, and there’s one tiny area that gets direct sunlight. (It’s mostly shade, which is part of the problem) I’m going to plant those extra tomato plants there. For the squirrels. It’s near the tree they love, and if I just let that go, they can have all the tomatoes they want. I’ll use the Shake Away in the main veg. garden, and hopefully will divert them to the “trap tomatoes.”

So that’s phase two of my “Squirrel Containment Plan.” I hope they’ll play along.

Other than that, things are looking good. I’ve got Blue Mountain (a type of Penstemon) about to bloom, a surprise coreopsis blooming out back, my favorite deep red Asiatic lilies are ready to bloom despite being nearly murdered by hedge trimmer man, and my butterfly garden is going to be THE most spectacular ever. It’s already so full of bees and other beneficials. The bees just make me happy, because they’re doing hard work.

• They popped
• Squirrels again
• Squirrels eating the tomatoes!
• Squirrels from hell

Tags: Shake Away, squirrels
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