Killer squirrels are attacking my compost!!!

So the neighborhood squirrels have found my compost and are eating away. They've gnawed a hug hole in the garbage can and the yard is littered with bits of orange peel, onion and the shredded sunday times. Unfortunately my cat is too wimpy to dispose of them. Gah!

I have my compost unprotected in a big pile and no one ever tries to steal anything from it. Maybe the whole garbage can thing is enticing to them.

throw some jalepeno pepper juice and some cut up jalepenos in there prolly will burn them but not hurt or kill them just give em enough to stay out

Are you sure they are squirrels, and not the furless tailed cousins of squirrels? Rats love a tasty compost pile, and I was just talking to a guy yesterday who told me his backyard compost bin had been invaded by rats.

wait, arches -- you aren't going to sell jml on your rat gym, i mean your peanut butter treadmill bucket of death?

sweet tea wrote 4 hours ago »

wait, arches -- you aren't going to sell jml on your rat gym, i mean your peanut butter treadmill bucket of death?

Hmm, I did just find that treadmill of death again while cleaning up the garden...I thought it was long gone!

Arches, I've read that rats don't eat vegetables. Given a choice they'll go for the animal proteins, fats, and salt.

bkchickie wrote 40 minutes ago »

Arches, I've read that rats don't eat vegetables. Given a choice they'll go for the animal proteins, fats, and salt.

They'd likely choose fats and protein over veggies under laboratory conditions. Under real world conditions they will definitely eat vegetables...I've seen them in action. Within vegetables they have preferences, of course, but an ear of corn, a starchy potato, beans, grains, etc are all fair game for rats.

That's why rats are so successful a species, and so difficult to eradicate: they eat everything we eat, plus a lot of things we don't eat.

No, definately squirrels, and fat ones too, no doubt from eating all my compost. We only put in veggies - no fat or bread or oil. Of course, it could have been rats in squirrel suits.

Interesring idea about the jalapeno peppers - I'll give it a try.