Kitchen Garden Forum

I am starting a veg plot next to a wood and there are hordes of grey squirrels running around

Is this likely to be a problem

~thanks in advance

stan

If there are Oak's in the wood you will get seedling oaks in your nicely dug plot from the tree-rats burying them. Likewise Hazel's and any other nut tree. I have lots of grey's around my house and allotment, the only other issue I have heard of is them digging up and eating flower bulbs.

They also like Strawberries and are surprisingly resistant to lead from an air rifle.

They are a real pain with my apricots. They are only interested in the kernel of the stone, but shred the fruit all over the patio to get at it. I had a really promising crop developing last summer, and ended up eating two and pressure washing the rest off the patio

They certainly like Strawberries....and seem to prefer a level of ripeness one day ahead of our preference...hence the effect that you think there will be some ready to pick tomorrow..but there never is
...and happily trash the netting in the process..

They also like peanuts. ...but learn quickly not to walk into a cage trap to get them and reach in from outside. ..

Clive.

They also wreak sweetcorn, cherries. They will take plums, damsons.

Our Grey Squirrels missed out on the Sweetcorn last year....they need to have a word with the Badgers.

Clive.

Gosh, I must be terribly lucky because we have lots of squirrels visiting our garden and my vegetable patch has never been affected by them. They target the peanut cages and do occasionally bury the odd one in the lawn or in the soil, but I've never actually seen them eating the vegetables, or targetting my strawberries. However, I do find snowdrop bulbs on the surface sometimes but I think they've been unearthed when the nuts have been buried rather than the bulbs actually being targetted.

I never have wood pigeons targetting my vegetable patch either although this morning we had about 12 of them in the garden at one point. I think all these creatures go for the easiest option where food is concerned. We put a lot of wild bird seed & other food out for the wild creatures who visit us and they always target this and leave my crops alone.