Talkback: Bulbs under attack - Talkback

13/02/2009 at 10:57

a friend swears by soaking the bulbs in paraffin, while someone at the allotment says chili or tabasco sauce deters unwanted wildlife... never tried any of them myself.

Gardeners' World Web User

13/02/2009 at 12:37

The old trick of using a small domed cage from chicken mesh or smaller would help to deter the hungry pests and allow the bulbs to grow through them. If the rodents are then still eating the leaves and flower stalks then you will need to make wire cylinders instead but the foliage won't hide them. Usually it's the bulbs themselves that are eaten and a sheet of wire netting covered over with soil can be effective. It's probably field mice doing the mischief in the pots and cute little fellows they are too, much sweeter than house mice. Regarding the useless cats, they need keeping indoors to avoid upsetting neighbours with their unsavoury toiletry habits so train them to use the kid's computer game outfit you may have.........a virtual mouse hunt perhaps. ;-) KE

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13/02/2009 at 13:12

My problem is not with squirrels and mice, but our cat! She just loves the soft, pliable texture of the compost in the pots, and decides this is the perfect place to dig. I have been using the wire racks from an old fridge, propped up between two taller pots, to prevent this. The emerging shoots grow quite happily until the bulbs have grown large enough to deter her from digging.

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13/02/2009 at 16:34

I've been waging a losing battle with rabbits. They've even been wrecking plants that they're not supposed to find palatable. After 4 years of trying all sorts of barriers and 'dissuaders' (chilli flakes, pepper, mothballs, dog etc) I've gone for the ultimate deterrent and have been picking them off with an airgun. The buzzards and foxes have been appreciative of the addition to their diets and some plants are actually now managing to grow above ground level.

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13/02/2009 at 17:50

Last year squirrels ate most of my bulbs leaving the green tops... last November I got a small dog who became friendly with next ddor's cat who comes in to the garden to "play". I have now noticed ,that my bulbs appear to be intact obviously as a previous reader has pointed out about the prescence of the cat.... so far so good.....

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13/02/2009 at 17:57

Where can I purchase small quantities of chicken wire or similar to prevent pidgeons from pecking at my tub plants? Ruth

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13/02/2009 at 18:09

Well Pippa I never have trouble with rabbits but squirrels cats and rats and mice are the bain of my life the cats kill the birds and not the other pests and they also secrete all over my plants then dig them out when they are burying the droppings.

Gardeners' World Web User

13/02/2009 at 21:39

Moles, mice, rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, pigeons and our cat ALL think that I tend the garden and grow food for THEM!! I'm in despair. Is there anything that I can grow to eat that is pest-proof??? Do I have to grow only flowers with thorns? Any tried and tested ideas to beat the pests would be MOST WELCOME.

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14/02/2009 at 16:41

The only things that eat my runner beans are deer. If you don't have deer perhaps you could try these and if you do have deer some wire netting protection until the shoots are above "deer height" does the trick

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14/02/2009 at 16:49

My husband loves crocuses so I planted 400 crocus bulbs, but very few of them are showing any evidence of coming up. However there is evidence of new shoots having been eaten. I suspect mice (we live next door to a field) and I suspect they are after the saffron in the crocuses. Any suggestions??

Gardeners' World Web User

14/02/2009 at 18:15

We now live in France and not only do we have the attacks by rabbits above the ground, but also have animals called "rat moles", which are under the ground and eat anything growing there as well. We have caught one of these such animals and can confirm that they are not just "moles" with a different name! Also on the subject of rabbits, I made myself a nice rockery on a bank outside our garden last year. Yes you guessed it, the rabbits were very pleased with their new larder!

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16/02/2009 at 11:23

It's so frustrating. I thought I'd cracked the mice eating my potted bulbs when my Jack Russell, Poppy, spent ages outside barking at the pots after the first signs of damage. Whilst I was having a wry smile to myself I didn't notice that the deer were eating, for the 4th year in a row, my yew sapling hedge! AND my wonderful crop of curly kale that I thought would keep us in greens throughout the credit crunch had been decimated by 2 pheasants. Now the snow is melting I wait to see what other havoc is awaiting me.

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17/02/2009 at 08:02

I tried chilli when I planted this year's bulbs, but our squirrels evidently like it! We also mixed cayenne pepper to deter the squirrels from our bird feeders, but to no avail!

Gardeners' World Web User

17/02/2009 at 08:20

aaah well, there is some comfort to hear that so many of you, although obviously love to have wildlife, also suffer from the eating and excavating damage it can do....be it furry or featjered, large or small. But they say gardeners thrive on challenge !!

Gardeners' World Web User

06/04/2010 at 19:25

i also have had problems with mice eating my crocus bulbs and i found the only way to deal with it was setting mouse traps last thing at night and getting them in early moring so not to catch any little birds and i caught over 100 mice in about 3 months and now have a lovely show of colour

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06/07/2010 at 14:12

It was very interesting for me to read that article. Thank author for it. I like such themes and everything connected to them. I would like to read more on that site soon. By the way, pretty good design that blog has, but don’t you think it should be changed from time to time? Brandy Swingfield

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09/01/2011 at 14:10

What can I do to discourage mice from eating all my outside crocus bulbs? After reading the comments posted by Gwen April 2010 I may have to take action and declare war. This would require bring out the big guns :- (Mice Traps)

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31/03/2011 at 20:57

Having seen the graveyard in the centre of Knutsford a riot of colour with swathes of purple and white crocus last year I invested in a quantity for a family grave but was devastated to find all the growth shoots had been eaten , what is the most likely problem ?

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05/07/2011 at 13:26

My stored spring bulbs have been eaten! We have had mice I'm afraid but what I'd like to know is will they still flower, once planted for next Spring, with all the bitten bits!

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28/11/2011 at 18:37

I've used stone chips on my bulb pots for 2 years now and it does seem to protect the bulbs. I've had no squirrel or rodent damage. Of course, that still leaves the shoots vulnerable once they're up and wire isn't pretty....