I’m a gardening pro – stop squirrels digging up your backyard using an item you’ll definitely have at home
A GARDENING expert has shared their tips and tricks for getting squirrels to stop digging up your plants.
While squirrels are often regarded and cut and harmless, these bushy-tailed rodents can cause significant damage to your garden.
The experts at the Daily Express shared their DIY hack for deterring squirrels from your property.
“I didn’t think squirrels would be an issue as I hadn’t seen them in my garden before until I came down one morning to find lots of soil on the grass and nuts buried deep into my plants,” the garden pro said.
She continued: “Squirrels are very fond of some bulbs as they are simply tasty to them, but in my garden, they were using the soil to hide nuts.”
And whether your uninvited furry guests are munching on your plants or using your flowerbed as a pantry, there is a simple solution.
“After researching a few different methods and looking through my kitchen cupboards to see if I already had anything I could use, I pulled out coffee grounds from the back of my cupboard,” the expert said.
While most of us love a cup of joe in the morning, squirrels detest the smell of coffee.
The gardening enthusiast explained that most plants also thrive when exposed to coffee grounds.
“I sprinkled a light dusting of coffee grounds onto every plant in the garden, making sure there was an even layer,” she said.
And if you’re hesitant to waste your high-end French roast, don’t worry because any coffee will suffice.
The green-thumbed pro added: “This is significantly cheaper than buying object deterrents or installing motion-detector water sprays which could harm the animal.
“It is important not to fertilize plants too often with coffee grounds as it can lower the pH of the soil into the acidic range in the long run,” she warned.
The expert advised amateur gardeners that the DIY solution will be less effective in the rain.
She concluded: “After observing the plants for a couple of days, the soil had been left untouched and although I still saw the odd squirrel in my garden, they were going nowhere near my plants.”
The experts at the Daily Express also revealed that foods such as hot peppers also work as a natural squirrel repellant.