Save my tulips

[swilshire]

Thanks to three trips to different "free tulip" days with the whole family collecting their bulbs, we planted more than 300 tulips. The first day, we planted about 25 around our gazebo and other flowers. Something dug up and ate every single bulb over night. So we made a new flower bed, planted the rest of the bulbs, and put chicken wire over it for a couple of weeks until the bulbs started to sprout. That helped, though we still lost a few bulbs. When we removed the wire we put wood and moth balls around it, which seemed to help. Now though, something is getting into the bed every night and eating my pretty tulips and digging up bulbs.

My daughter is bringing her dog to stay for the summer, but I'm afraid all the bulbs will be gone by the time she gets here in a month. Not sure whether it's skunks or raccoons causing the problem. DH has put out a humane trap a couple of nights but didn't catch anything.

Any suggestions? I've heard of planting marigolds, scattering human hair and urinating around the area to discourage pests. I can't talk the boys into urinating there and I'm not going to.

Sheila

 

[seasheller]

Did you use bone meal when planting? That will encourage the critters. Try sprinkling cleanser over the spot to discourage the diggers. If deer are eating the plants use milorganite, or try mixing: 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 Tbl. liquid dish soap, 1 Tbl. vegetable oil, to one gallon of water and sprinkling everything. The egg will clog a sprinkling can so shake well, but I have better luck with just pouring where I want the solution. Good luck!

 

[Earstou]

I know someone who has her dh urinate into a jar, which she then takes out to the garden when it's full and sprinkles around. She swears it works!

 

[magiclj]

I had squirrels digging up my tulip bulbs. They would end up replanted in the weirdest places in the neighbor's yards. They were a very unique peach so we knew they were the same ones. A friend told me to sprinkle MEDICATED baby powder on the ground after you plant them. I haven't lost any since then. For some reason they won't did thru that.

I have also heard cayenne pepper, some say regular black pepper will work also.

 

[mrs.sammich]

What's the odds you have deer in TN? They love eating tulips and will even dig them up as they just start blooming. Raccoons usually cannot be bothered with something that isn't meat based, always in my cat food bag in the barn. I had to move it to the house. So I think your problem is deer. If you still have chicken wire left, you can put it on the ground 'around' the bulbs. Deer hate having to step on the wire, but it has to be wide enough that won't let them lean over to eat. Two layers might be best. You can buy or make your own pepper/egg sprays to make the plants less palatable. Here's a link to one of many sites with recipes for a spray: http://www.gardenersnet.com/spray.htm

If it rains you have to re-apply. There are other methods if this doesn't work for ya. Good Luck!

 

[3boymthr]

My sitter used to swear by chicken wire. You dig the hole big enough for the size of the chicken wire. Lay the bulbs out with about half a foot chicken wire stretching past them. But don't bury the wire yet. Throw a layer of dirt down until the tops of the bulbs are just showing, then lay the chicken wire on top with the tops pointing thru the holes then cover the rest of the way. Says this works because they can't dig around the wire to get to the bulbs.

 

[Cdn Gal]

Hmmm thanks for the advice about the medicated baby powder! The ^%$% squirrels keep eating my bulbs too!!!! I have tried moth balls in the past but I worry about the soil, and how the chemicals will leak into the ground.

 

[gisgt]

What's the odds you have deer in TN? !

Well.....it is the great state of shooting s**t

 

[gardengalB4]

I agree with the wire suggestion....
My friend gave me some tulips (she was moving out-of-state to start a new career and wanted me to have these bulbs that she had dug before leaving her home).
We have always lost all tulips to foraging critters...
My husband made wire boxes out of some leftover chicken wire & rabbit wire -we put the boxes in the planting holes with some soil in them and then planted the tulips in the boxes-then covered w/ soil.
I would plant them in groups of 15-25.
We did this about 3 years ago & this year the tulips are just spectacular-the most beautiful I've ever had! The clumps are getting larger-I know we didn't plant that many bulbs.
I smile everytime I look at them & think of my friend.

 

[karliebug]

I know someone who has her dh urinate into a jar, which she then takes out to the garden when it's full and sprinkles around. She swears it works!

OMG- I just pictured my husband "watering" the garden!

 

[karliebug]

Here in the poconos we have something called liquid fence. You just spray it on your plants. It smells terrible when you first put it on put then the smell fades(well it fades to us, but not the animals). It works for me.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Our "critters" don't seem to be eating a lot of bulbs, but the darned things keep REARRANGING them!
I put 60 crocus bulbs along the front edge of a flower bed and not one came up this spring IN THE BED....They all got moved out into the lawn! I also have tulips and daffodils newly re-located into the lawn. I just don't understand WHY!

 

[sksjasams]

We live in Wisconsin, so we bury our tulip bulbs very deep - 10-12" below ground. We have what I believe are chipmunks that burrow into the the flower bed. I can see the holes they leave. They dig up the bulbs, take a few bites and then leave them laying on the sidewalk! Very frustrating. I may try the baby powder - thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[swilshire]

What's the odds you have deer in TN?

We're overrun with deer. I can't drive into my driveway without dodging a few. One hit the side of my car a couple of years ago as I was driving to work. Another nearly totaled my neighbors' car running into the side.

The first bulbs that went missing had all the dirt in the nicely shaped hole pulled out. Very odd and I would think a deer would not be so neat.

We don't really have any squirrels around for some reason. My neighbor says it is rats, but I've never seen a rat either. Lots of little field mice. Never seen a chipmunk here.

The raccoons have always been a sore spot in my gardening efforts. We try to grow corn and they'll pull down every stalk, take a couple of bites, and move on to destroy the next one. I wouldn't mind sharing if they would eat what they kill and leave the rest alone.

I'll try some of the suggestions above. Thanks.

Sheila

 

[swilshire]

Went to Lowes and two greenhouses today to buy plants. Definitely Spring fever.

I bought twenty Marigold plants along with a flat of veggies and few other flowers. Hope what I've heard about Marigolds keeping critters away because of their smell is true.

Sheila

 

[deva]

We're overrun with deer. I can't drive into my driveway without dodging a few. One hit the side of my car a couple of years ago as I was driving to work. Another nearly totaled my neighbors' car running into the side.

The first bulbs that went missing had all the dirt in the nicely shaped hole pulled out. Very odd and I would think a deer would not be so neat.

We don't really have any squirrels around for some reason. My neighbor says it is rats, but I've never seen a rat either. Lots of little field mice. Never seen a chipmunk here.

The raccoons have always been a sore spot in my gardening efforts. We try to grow corn and they'll pull down every stalk, take a couple of bites, and move on to destroy the next one. I wouldn't mind sharing if they would eat what they kill and leave the rest alone.

I'll try some of the suggestions above. Thanks.

Sheila

Deer LOVE tulips. I gave up. My neighbor is losing hers nightly now. For my summer annuals I use a repellant spray from the garden center. Honestly it does smell like very foul urine while you spray it, but once dry it is not noticable. This is the ONLY thing that has ever spared my flowers from deer.

 

[LoriKutchey]

The deers ate every one of my tulip bulbs at our cottage in northern michigan the neighbor up there told me they won't touch daffodils. Sure enough I replanted with daffodils around 5 years ago. Not a one was touched. She said because they were bitter tasting they left them alone.

 

[swilshire]

The deers ate every one of my tulip bulbs at our cottage in northern michigan the neighbor up there told me they won't touch daffodils. Sure enough I replanted with daffodils around 5 years ago. Not a one was touched. She said because they were bitter tasting they left them alone.

Wonder if it would help to mix daffodils in with the tulips. Would the deer bother finding the right bulbs to eat?

I never thought about it, but I've never had a problem with the daffodils.

Sheila

 

[LoriKutchey]

I don't know if mixing them would work, I would give it a try though. I wonder if they sniff them out or what?

 

[mrs.sammich]

Narcissus (daffodils) are poisonous. Deer just seem to know better and leave them alone. Not to say that they won't try them if they are SUPER hungry, but they usually never touch them. Deer are smart though, they could eat the tulip and leave the daffodil even if they are planted next to each other. I agree with a pp who gave up on tulips. I love them, but Narcissus come back each year stronger and stronger. I still plant tulips in my garden, but I treat them as annuals. If they come back another year, it's a bonus.