Kitchen Garden Forum

The squirrels have beaten me again and stripped the cob nut and hazel nut trees. They sneak in from the back of the garden so I don't see them and always start stealing them while they are still green.

I'm on red alert for them starting on the walnuts in the front garden where they are easier to see. My son has his air rifle ready.

It's a large garden so he can legally use the gun there.

Sorry to hear that pp. we managed to get a big bowlful of hazels last year, but this year, they have stripped the tree before they are even remotely ready. It is in our allotment, so we cannot monitor them like you can

They seem to have called in the squirrel reserve army already to rob the couplemof walnut trees near us. I,m not sure, given the lack of rain this summer, that the nuts will be worth the teoublemof crack8ng them open though. We did buy some hazel nuts from our local market this week. The kernels were lovely and fresh and milky but smaller than ai remembered them being last year.

Is it worth hanging up a couple of wire feeders full of cheap peanuts as a deterrent to keep them away from other prize pickings?. Squirrels usually go for the easiest option. ,

Dear Plumpudding, have had exactly the same problem here over the last few years...one of my allotments backs onto woods and the Squirrels have had all the Hazel nuts, and any fruit that they choose to steal...very frustrating.

They prefer hazel nuts to bird food. They haven't been to the feeders while they've been scoffing the nuts but are back on the feeders today now they've eaten them all.

This wee chap wouldn't harm a fly...……….

They are much prettier than the greys aren't they. I've only ever seen them in Scotland and Holland in recent years, but there were some in the local pine woods when I was about 8.

Have you made the feeder Tiger? It's a lovely picture. I must say that it's quite entertaining watching the greys trying to get from the pear tree on to the sunflower feeder. I can't move it any further away from the tree trunk so the largest squirrels can make the leap. The smaller ones fall on the floor.

That shot was taken at a local RSPB reserve, we don't have squirrels in our village, which is a sort of double edged sword I guess