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The Handy Spice That
Will Keep Squirrels From Digging Up Garden Bulbs
By TRINITY ARCHIE
Stop squirrels from eating your crocus, lily, and tulip bulbs by sprinkling the soil with an effective, inexpensive repellent that most people have in the kitchen — cayenne pepper.
Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, the same ingredient used in pepper spray, which has a strong aroma that irritates squirrels and keeps them away from your garden.
Sprinkle enough cayenne pepper on the soil near your bulbs to create an effective barrier, and reapply it after watering your soil or after rainfall because it washes away.
Dave Toothill, horticultural supervisor for the city of Ontario, Canada, confirmed using cayenne to protect tulips from rodents as it “deters them from digging down into the soil.”
He also confirmed that cayenne pepper doesn’t harm squirrels but just repels them; however, bear in mind that the spice can be dangerous to domestic animals and other wildlife.
While cayenne pepper will keep squirrels away, it won’t necessarily repel other kinds of animals that could be responsible for destroying your bulbs, like chipmunks or groundhogs.
First, watch out for signs that it’s probably squirrels digging up your bulbs, like finding golf ball-sized holes in the soil and evidence of animals getting into your bird feed.