I am in a similar situation - 255 tulip bulbs.

From online research and personal advice seeking, these will be my strategies:

(1) Plant as late as possible. Mid-late October is average here in Ottawa, Canada. Early November is even safer. We have to wait until the squirrels' gathering season is over. Let them go after your neighbors' bulbs first. :)

(2) Lay chicken wire on top of the entire bed. A 1" hex x 24" x 25' (50 square feet) steel chicken wire costs $9 in Rona. You can cover 100-200 bulbs with one roll. The flower will have no problem growing through the 1" hex.

(3) Bury at least 6" deep. Cover the bed with mulch so the squirrels can't smell the bulbs or see the disturbed soil.

(4) Delay the bird feeder to winter (and hang it far, far away from your tulip bed).

I have moles/voles also so that strategy would work for squirrels but not for them. I should have explained that better! :)

Thinking perhaps I could also use recycled ice cream pails. Might only get 6-8 bulbs in each but why not use what I have.

Anyone ever try this? Did it work? I am open to any other ideas?

The White Flower Farm has an item in its fall 2010 catalog called "la cage aux fleurs," which is made of wire mesh that pests can't break through and eat bulbs. I haven't tried it but am considering ordering one.

They will rot in plastic. And the rotten varmints can chew through it, anyway. Best to line a bed both under and over with chicken wire.
Renee

Plastic mesh baskets from the Dollar Store work great for bulbs as long as they have regular holes in the sides too small for voles to get through. I poked my own holes in the bottom to allow for additional drainage. I found plastic coated wire mesh baskets at the Dollar Store several years in a row and these work even better. If they are too tall cut in half and you have two mesh parts to protect bulbs. I lost all of my lilies to voles until I started putting the bulbs in protective containers.