Post #G28: Squirrels are just rats with fluffy tails, UPDATED

Remember the popular kids’ cartoon about Rocket J. Rat and his pal Bullwinkle Opossum?  No, guess not.  Must be the naked tail, or something.  Nobody seems to like rats or possums.

But squirrels are cuuuute!

Cute obnoxious destructive pests, in the garden.  That said, this is not an anti-squirrel screed.  Much.

This is a report about two commonly-suggested methods for preventing squirrel damage to pumpkins and other winter squash.  For me, one worked, one didn’t.  Given that it’s the time of year when squirrels seem to be gnawing on everything not protected by heavy steel mesh, I thought I’d report that out.

Coating the outside of the pumpkin with the hottest, cheapest hot sauce I could find seems to have worked.  Making my own “capsaicin spray” from hot pepper flakes, following common internet guidance, did not.

Continue reading Post #G28: Squirrels are just rats with fluffy tails, UPDATED