Protect flower pots from squirrel damage with wire mesh.
Flower pots are attractive additions to the front walk or patio areas and allow you to control planting conditions easier than in the ground. Unfortunately, all of your hard work is undone when a squirrel decides to dig up the flowers in the pot. Squirrels typically dig in flower pots to hide acorns and other nuts that they collect around the yard. Keeping these pests from destroying your flowers takes persistence but is possible with a few basic hardware supplies. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Place a tape measure on top of the flower pot and measure the dimensions. Add 1 inch to the dimensions of the pot and transfer the dimensions onto a piece of wire mesh using a marker. Choose wire mesh that has large openings between the wires.
2. Cut out the wire mesh along the marker line using tin snips. Fold down the outer 1 inch of mesh all the way around the edge.
3. Insert the cut out piece of wire mesh into the center of the flower pot over the soil. Push it down as far as you can so that the folded edges are pushed into the soil to hold it down. Gently thread the plant stalks through the holes in the mesh as you push it down. This is easiest to do when you have just planted seeds or when plants are still small.
4. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tsp. of blood meal on top of the wire mesh in each flower pot for added protection. Squirrels do not like the smell of blood meal and will eventually learn to avoid all areas where it is present.
Tags: wire mesh, blood meal, flower pots, piece wire, piece wire mesh