Fighting the critters

The squirrel is back.  Almost all of the Grape Hyacinth are gone.  I have gone out there three different times in two days and found freshly dug soil and the flowers, stocks and leaves haven't begun to wilt.  I will catch him!

In the same bed a quail has dug a little bowl to sit it.  They do this all over the yard near plants that have been watered and the soil is cool, but not wet.

Transplanted a bunch of violas from the iris bed here and planted petunias that I had just bought for something else.  With enough plants in here the quail won't have a place to dig.

Sat the squirrel trap on top of the Grape Hyacinths.  With my luck he will just dig under the trap.  Going to fix that.

Put a rag over the flowers and then the trap on top of it.  Used a big rock to hold the cloth down too.  Now if the weather ever warms up enough for him to come back I hope I catch him.  Strawberries and half eaten Grape Hyacinth bulbs are in a tuna can in the trap.  Have since bought raw unshelled sunflower seeds to put in there.

This is hard to see.  In the background are raspberry bushes.  A cat is using that area just in front of the bushes as a bathroom.  I bought 2 boxes of moth balls and broke them into pieces.  Larry and I spread them over a much of the sandy yard as possible.  After the few drops of rain 2 days later the moth balls are gone.  That's OK, because it stunk outside.  Three days later and the cat has a new place in our yard to go.  Went to the store and bought red pepper flakes in bulk.  Sprinkled them everywhere the ground is sandy.  So far it is working.  It doesn't stink outside either.  Sat up the cat trap along its trail.  Put a fish stick in the trap yesterday.  Today the fish stick is gone and the trap is still open.  Darn!

Following a dove around the yard.  He was eating something.  It better be weed seeds.

This bird isn't worried about getting away.

This garden bed is empty right now.  I have had birds (dove?) dig up garden seeds.  I have screens to protect the seeds and will post pictures later.  Finally he flew away.  The dove and quail live under the pine trees in my yard.