The Genius Gardening Hack That Lets Pollinators In But Keeps Squirrels Out

While having a garden bustling with wildlife is generally a good thing, squirrels are often an exception to this rule. As cute as the little rodents may be, they are notorious for their tendency to dig up bulbs and uproot plants. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to exclude squirrels from your garden while still allowing bees and other small pollinators in to pollinate your plants. However, there is a brilliant hack that solves this dilemma — use a butterfly net as plant protection.

Allowing pollinators into your garden is essential for many vegetables. Unless you want to use Q-tips to hand pollinate squash in the garden, you need insects to transfer the pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers. Pollinators are not the only beneficial insects that need to get into your garden. Using a butterfly net should also allow ladybugs and parasitoid wasps in to help deal with insect pests that could damage your crops.

Completely covering your plants with a net that is secured into the soil can be a great option to prevent squirrels and birds from accessing your delicate plants, but it is not the only way to use netting. People have found that just hanging a butterfly net on a stake over the plant is enough. Even if there is a gap between the soil and the bottom of the net, squirrels and other larger animals seem to leave it alone. These small butterfly nets are also less likely to have many of the downsides of using netting to protect your garden, as their small size makes it less likely for animals to become tangled in them. While it is not entirely clear why squirrels avoid these small butterfly nets, it is likely that the movement caused by the wind scares them. Unfortunately, it is possible that, as with other frightening devices, the squirrels will become accustomed to it and no longer avoid the area.

Of course, this is not the only option for protecting your plants. If you find that squirrels are still getting into your garden under the butterfly nets, you can try instead to protect your plants with a garden cloche. By opting to use a wire mesh garbage can as a cloche, pollinators should still be able to access your plants through the gaps in the mesh. There are many methods available to get rid of squirrels. Repellent sprays are also an option.