Protect Your Potted Plants From Squirrels With A Cheap And Easy DIY Solution

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You're sitting on your patio, admiring your freshly planted flower pots when you spot it: The tell-tale fluffy tail of an invading squirrel, ready to dive in and dig up your pretty container. While you see a flower pot, the average squirrel sees a pantry space, with that fresh, smooth dirt being the perfect place to stash a nut or two. Want to protect your potted plants and get rid of squirrels? An affordable and easy solution is to spread a layer of gravel over the top of the soil to block their access to the dirt.

To the average squirrel, an area with smooth, undisturbed dirt can mean one of two things. Either that spot is just right for burying a nut, or another squirrel has been by recently and stashed some food there. But, squirrels don't like to dig through rough materials and will generally leave potted plants alone if they are covered in gritty mulch such as gravel.

As a bonus, gravel is relatively cheap, costing around $2 to $3 per pound. A 10-pound bag of GreatBuddy 3/8 inch Pea Gravel sells on Amazon for $24.99. That's enough gravel to cover about 4 square feet.

To keep squirrels and other critters out of your garden, top dress the soil with several inches of gravel, like pea gravel or river rock. Once you've planted your flowers, herbs, or other plants, pour the gravel over the soil. Don't leave any gaps in the gravel, as the squirrels will dig anywhere there is bare soil. 

Pea gravel isn't your only option for concealing the soil in containers. You might try using poultry grit, crushed up shells, or lava rock. Any material that is slightly gritty and that will be difficult for them to dig through is fair game. Try to choose something that coordinates with your containers so it looks aesthetically appealing. For instance, choose red lava rocks in a container filled with vibrant green herbs or white pea gravel in a colorful flower pot. 

To double up your squirrel protection, spread chicken wire over the top of the soil, then sprinkle the gravel over the top to cover it up. The gravel will help hold the chicken wire in place, so you won't have to use staples or stakes. Along with physically blocking squirrels' access to your containers, consider planting squirrel-resistant plants and flowers, like mint and alliums. Try either adding those plants to a container that you want squirrels to leave alone or place a pot with a squirrel-repellent plant near other containers. Then, sit back and relax while squirrels take their caching behavior elsewhere.