How to Prevent Squirrels From Digging Up Your Bulbs

Squirrels (and chipmunks) are notorious for stealing tulip and crocus bulbs. If you have an issue with critters scooping up and eating your spring-blooming bulbs, we have some easy tips to help you protect your garden all season long. Find out how to keep squirrels from digging up bulbs using inexpensive materials, such as chicken wire and sharp rocks to natural repellents, like red pepper flakes.

Squirrels and Bulbs

A large population of tree squirrels or chipmunks can make it virtually impossible to grow tulips or other bulbs without extensive control measures. Because these rodents cannot digest cellulose material, they depend on protein-rich plant structures, like those found in nuts and bulbs, to survive.

Squirrels are constantly digging to find (and hide) nuts and bulbs, and they often sit and watch gardeners planting bulbs. Fall planting season can be especially tricky because other food sources are dwindling and squirrels and chipmunks are on the hunt to gather food to last through winter.

How to Protect Your Bulbs

Luckily, there are several things you can do to keep your bulbs in the ground where they belong. From physical barriers meant to keep critters at bay to handy ingredient swaps that will deter attention from your garden, the following methods can help keep squirrels and chipmunks from scavenging your prized bulbs.

Cover Your Bulbs

Protect your beautiful new bulbs from squirrels and chipmunks by covering the planting area with either chicken wire or hardware cloth (hardware cloth is a metal mesh much like chicken wire except that it has a smaller grid pattern.)

Use chicken wire or hardware cloth to protect your bulbs. Cut a section of the material large enough to cover the overall size of the planting area. Lay it over the soil where you’ve planted bulbs and secure it with stakes or weighed down with rocks or bricks. Cover the material with a mulch of shredded leaves or bark to hide the wire. The bulbs are protected while allowing the stems to grow through the material’s holes.

Alternatively, use chicken wire or hardware cloth to make simple cages for the bulbs. Placing the cage in the planting hole is an effective method against tunneling animals, such as voles, that also feed on bulbs.

Avoid Smelly Fertilizers

Bone meal, fish emulsion, blood meal, and some other natural fertilizers have a pungent aroma that might attract squirrels and chipmunks—not to mention digging dogs, cats, and other animals. Avoid these natural fertilizers in favor of synthetic fertilizers that have no odor.

Plant Your Bulbs Among Other Plants

When you plant spring bulbs among established groundcovers or other perennials, like creeping vinca or pachysandra, squirrels have a harder time finding the bulbs and digging them up. Another advantage to this strategy is that your spring bulbs will supply early color to colorless areas before the summer perennials begin to fill in.

Use Natural Repellents

Several organic repellents are on the market that might work wonders when it comes to keeping critters out of your garden. There is no need to limit your purchases to just squirrel and rodent repellents—organic deer repellents can also be effective. Another natural repellent method that's effective against squirrels is red pepper flakes—a liberal sprinkle over planted bulbs can do an excellent job of discouraging hungry squirrels from digging.

Add Sharp Gravel

Consider adding sharp gravel to the surrounding soil of your garden. When squirrels encounter jagged material, they'll often leave to find a new place to scavenge. You can find sharp gravel in home improvement centers or landscape supply yards (it's typically used to provide drainage under paved surfaces). Crushed oyster shells, which have an unpleasant gritty texture, might also stop squirrels from digging.

Provide Alternate Food Sources

In theory, setting up a squirrel feeding station with grains and nuts near your garden will distract squirrels from digging up your bulbs. However, this method is controversial as some experts believe that the food merely attracts more squirrels to your yard, and they will dig up your bulbs anyway. Keep in mind that some towns have local ordinances against feeding squirrels.

Clean Up Your Planting Areas

When you're finished planting your bulbs, remove any outer papery layers that might have dislodged from the bulbs, damaged bulbs you didn't plant, or other plant debris that can attract squirrels.

Plant Bulbs That Squirrels Don't Prefer

Squirrels are fond of some bulbs, such as tulips and crocus, but may not like other spring-blooming bulbs, such as daffodils, alliums (also onions and garlic), scilla, hyacinth, muscari (grape hyacinth), fritillaria, and snowdrops.

Delay Planting Time

The squirrel and chipmunk feeding frenzy typically peaks in early fall and quiets down by late October when the rodents have already stored away most of their winter food supply. If possible, plant your spring-blooming bulbs somewhat later in the season, when squirrels are no longer desperately foraging.