keeping squirrels out of the yard

[Bonaventure W Magrys]

Last night, in the middle of this particularly busy acorn-burying season, I
greased the top of the fence rail around my yard with petroleum jelly as
well as a 2 foot wide width around the trunks of trees around my yard, over
aluminum guards and further as high as I could reach. So far I haven't had
the satisfaction of watching the little demons lose their grip and slide
off, but it would only partially make up for the heartless way they dig up
and toss tubers and rhizomes about. Without an easy escape route, as in
this spring when I had the aluminum guards by themselves around the tree
trunks, the squirrels are reluctant to enter the yard. The guards worked
for a month before they learned to navigate them.

Bonaventure Magrys
Cliffwood Beach, NJ USA