Clever Gardening Tips and Funny Reactions From Kalamazoo Neighborhood

During this time of year tons of people in Michigan are spending some of their free time outdoors, engaging in a variety of activities, but a popular one being gardening. Some like to plant flowers and other small plants, while others choose to grow vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other useful things in their garden. One of the common issues that gardeners have is keeping squirrels and other animals out of and away from their flower beds. Gardeners in one Kalamazoo neighborhood have found and provided multiple different tips and solutions to keep various animals away from flowers but also had very funny reactions.

Now, during this time of the summer, it's even more important to keep small rodents and other animals away from your plants. As the summer is coming to an end, that means the beginning of fall, which is the harvesting season. Some plants will grow faster than others and may harvest before fall, but none of them will make it that far if the animals continue to invade their homes. Some members of the Milwood Neighborhood in Kalamazoo have green thumbs and tips to keep your garden fresh, clean, and free of animals while also having fun.

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One User in the Milwood Neighborhood Hangout group on Facebook said she saw others asking about keeping squirrels and other animals out of their garden and wanted to join the fun. Jen Howard went on to say;

"I had suggested the little windmills. Well, apparently the squirrels think it is their personal cooling system because I’m pretty sure they are setting up little lawn chairs, sipping cocktails and snacking on my plants."

This response to finding the furry friends in her garden sparked others to make jokes and puns about having squirrels in their garden. One user commented, "LOL! I kind of want to make them margaritas" while another said " This gave me a good chuckle, good luck with the little bastards! There were some laughs exchanged but for the most part, the gardening tips stole the show.

Jen had her own tips for keeping flower pots clean and other members in the group added their two cents as well. When asked about how she keeps her garden clean now, Jen said;

'I had heard that using things such as garlic, dried red pepper flakes and even original Irish Spring soap shavings around your garden will keep the squirrels away. Something about the smell that they don’t like. I tried all of them but the squirrels kept getting in the garden. I finally put used coffee grounds around my plants and that has seemed to work well. I think Kalamazoo has some sort of super squirrels who will outlast a zombie apocalypse lol.'

There were a few other tricks that were shared on the posts from other members, ones that seem to have worked for them and others in the past. One member commented "They say plant marigolds in your garden it will keep the squirrels out so far no squirrels have bothered mine", while another said, "Liquid Fence is the only thing that has ever worked for me." and lastly a member shared, "I have put plastic forks in pots and it seems to be working." Lots of tips and a few laughs are leading to a beautiful summer of green thumbs for the Milwood Neighborhood.