I haven't tried this myself, so perhaps others can chime in. Maybe you could make a tea by steeping crushed hot red pepper flakes in boiling water, letting that cool down, adding a few drops of dish detergent, and spraying it on your roses. It probably won't do anything against bugs, but mammals in general will find the taste offensive. Perhaps you could try it on a few leaves of your most vigorous rose and watching it for a few days after to make sure it doesn't damage the rose (I don't think it would, but better safe than sorry).

:-)

~Christopher

I have magpies that always nest in our tree. I've seen them chase away squirrels. So if you ever see magpies building a nest near you - don't listen to all the negativity about magpies that encourages you to get rid of the nest. Welcome them instead.
Sorry, that's not much help right now.
:(

Try moth balls?

Hot pepper sauce may help but it's no guarantee. I've used it on my bulbs with some success but...nothing is foolproof.

Trap it? Use live traps?

The squirrels in my area are total thugs! Chili powder works somewhat but is very temporary. My DH got me a deer repellent powder for my birthday on the basis that it should work for most herbivores - haven't tried it yet. I've had squirrels completely uproot and make off with things!

My daughter drew this for me:
{{gwi:299863}}

redwolfdoc, that drawing is absolutely wonderful! Outstanding creativity, and I love the purple face.

I'm just wondering, does your name refer to the very few red wolves still left in North Carolina (hope that's the right state)?

Ingrid

Love the pic redwolfdoc! :-)

Years ago I bought an old car that was sitting in someones backyard for a long time. When I started driving it home I only got about 1 block from the sellers house when a squirrel jumped on to my right shoulder then I seen another one sitting on the passenger side headrest... Man I floored it and drove into a Uni Mart parking lot and jumped out...lol

Anyhow I hope you get your squirrel situation ironed out njmomma!
Only thing I can think of is setting live traps like Summerseve suggested???...

This post was edited by jim1961 on Mon, Jun 30, 14 at 13:19

live traps? I use a big one for the occasional groundhog, but for squirrels? I would have to catch a 1,000. We have squirrels everywhere. They don't seem to bother the ones in the ground so I'll just refrain from planting roses in the raised bed. Those weird squirrels.

Ingrid,

The name was first given to me by a friend as my eBay ID - it's because I did my doctoral research on the red wolf. You're right about them only existing as small population in North Carolina. Incidentally, it's a reintroduced population - they were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. Of course, that's if you ignore the possible large population in Ontario Canada currently listed as a grey wolf subspecies - but canine taxonomy is a big mushy mess so we probably shouldn't get into that! :)

All the ones in NC are in a protected wildlife refuge and originate from a captive breeding and reintroduction program that is ongoing. My research was mostly on the physiological side of breeding, though it was very broad in scope.

Cheers,
Karen

And thanks for the compliments on the picture! I'll pass them on. My daughter is 7 and definitely an artiste! She doesn't always limit herself to pen and paper, but utilizes anything and everything around the house! I think I'll be keeping the squirrel picture for posterity. :)

Maybe just a barrier around the rose like some cheap fencing wrapped around?