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June 2, 2010

Too hot for squirrels to handle?

There are probably as many products for keeping squirrels out of bird feeders as there are for keeping deer out of gardens.

I'm not a big fan of product placement, but here's one I thought I would mention: really spicey bird seed.

Made by Coles and called "Blazing Hot Blend, it combines habanero chili oil with the most preferred seeds of backyard songbirds.

It was tested by the folks at Cornell and found to be effective against squirrels, but not a problem for birds, who apparently don't have as fine a pallet.

Coles also has a bird seed called "Hot Meats," that combines shelled bird seed with the hot oil.

AP Photo/Mesabi Daily News, Mark Sauer

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Squirrels

Comments

My dog would be so thrilled if we could capture a squirrel this way! As it is, he's trompled my garden under the phone/electrical wires and, most of the rest of the yard. The Tiger Lilies are not going to have their best year. (We just adopted each other this winter so we're still surprising each other.) I've put tomato cages or chicken wire around everything I can and it creates a sort of obstacle course for him.

Posted by: Eve | June 3, 2010 10:13 AM

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About Susan Reimer

Susan Reimer has spent 16 years writing about raising kids - among other topics - in her column for The Baltimore Sun. And every time son Joseph or daughter Jessie passed another milestone - driver's license, college, wedding or a move to a new military duty station - she has planted another garden. Now she will be writing about those gardens - and yours - here on Garden Variety.

Susan isn't an expert gardener, but she wasn't an expert mother, either. Both - the kids and the gardens - seem to be doing well in spite of her.

She lives in Annapolis with her husband, Gary Mihoces, who loves to cut his grass but has noticed that there seems to be less of it every time the kids pass another milestone.

Follow @susanreimer on Twitter