How to Protect Sunflowers from Birds and Squirrels | 10 Mastermind Tips

Are you want to protect sunflowers from birds and squirrels? This is among the paradoxes that gardeners face. It’s possible to plant sunflowers simply because they’re gorgeous. However, many of us choose this particular flower due to its ability to pollinators and attract wildlife. A few of us would like to plant seeds to provide food for the feathery ones during the winter seasons. Then why is it to be so bad when native animals benefit themselves? Didn’t we plan for them to get this reward eventually? Don’t be frightened to protect sunflowers from birds and squirrels and other animals to be only interested in eating sunflower blossoms when you’ve had time to take in the blooms.

All of it is part of the delicate balance we maintain between the pursuit of aesthetics and sustainability while combatting the pests who like our flowers, too. You don’t have in any way to “let nature run its course” or follow “live and let live” guidelines. I would not want to see you attempt to eradicate any of these creatures, particularly since even small squirrels are protected species in many places. Additionally, new animals are bound to appear when you kill the established population.

How to protect sunflowers from birds and squirrels? 

Every year you enjoy admiring those sunflowers that decorate your yard. Then, one day, you wake up to find a few sunflower heads in the dirt under trees. “Who’s messing with my sunflower plants?” You are tempted to ask. The answer is Squirrels. So, you must take some necessary steps to protect sunflowers from birds and squirrels.

Check out this guide: How to install deer fence to keep wildlife out of the garden

Don’t make the outdoor spaces more attractive

A more holistic strategy that can help keep pests out of your other plants and even your feeders, try to make your deck, backyard, or driveway attractive.If one of your gardening goals is to attract songbirds are probably not going to reverse the work to make sure that blackbirds, cardinals, or finches are away from specific plants. If you’re a squirrel-loving gardener, it’s best to keep your sunflowers safe and their other favorite flowers like daisies by making your outside living space less appealing. What’s the first thing to do? Clean up all kinds of debris that has fallen from the vegetation.

The nuts and fruits falling from bushes and trees are an effective deterrent for squirrels, for instance, so get them cleaned up before leaving them to be a source of compost in your backyard or garden. It’s also wise to ensure the security of your compost bins and garbage bins. They might smell unpleasant to you, but the bushy-tailed creatures will be there to take advantage of the smelly bread, decaying carrots, and other foods. Next, keep your feeders clean and free of seeds and kernels that have been rotting for a long time. The area below may attract animals looking for grubs, loose grains, or rotting fruit. As soon as they start appearing, the flowers you have carefully maintained are more vulnerable.

Create a separate haven

To prevent wildlife from gnawing or pecking to keep them from biting or nibbling, you can also help nature take care of their water and food needs elsewhere—set bird feeders in the distance from the flowers. Install birdbaths, or place some water near the food and not close to your flowers. I’ve never attempted this. However, confident gardeners recommend growing extra tomatoes around the feeding stations to keep squirrels happy. Here’s another nifty thing to share with you: If you’re growing sunflowers for seeds, it’s essential to deter nibblers by offering higher quality (and more accessible) bird seeds and feeding the corn to a different part of your garden. Sunflower seeds are a possibility!

Chicken wire

This technique is most effective when sunflower seeds are newly planted. It also works on a large number of sunflowers. However, you’ll need additional materials to cover your area fully. Use chicken-themed galvanized writing to prevent your baby sprouts safe from destruction. Make a trench or a hole at least 1 foot deep to ensure that the fence is sufficiently deep to stop squirrels from digging under. It is possible to secure the chicken wire using stakes anchored to the ground to prevent falling. Make an arch that plants cover to keep squirrels from climbing on. Some suggest using rocks to hold them in place during a storm to prevent the fence from falling.

Test containers

If the flowers are a movable feast, why not test whether you can manage the speed of the blooms? Many varieties of sunflowers will thrive in containers, including those that are dwarf. If you can plant a few, they will be able to keep them away from harm’s way when they’re in their most delicious when they begin to bloom or as they start to sprout seeds. The dwarf plants in pots are easy to cover or even cage when you have to do the option for any or the entire growing season.

Use protective covers

When you’re trying to appreciate all the splendor of your garden’s sunflowers, think about the tried and true method of dissuading wildlife by installing the cage or net around the flowers. Although this is great for small beans or petunias, many of these flowers grow to be so large that cages won’t be practical. They’re not appealing, which isn’t the point of cultivating these beautiful favorites. However, suppose you’re more worried about picking the right flowers to decorate your flower arrangements.

In that case, it’s relatively easy to deter both birds and squirrels by encircling the plants with cages covered with a summer-weight row cover secured with clothespins. Find a way to balance appearance and coverage by covering the heads of a couple of flowers with pieces of bird nets. It’s probably not attractive, but it will help to keep your Harvest from being chewed.

Hot seed spray

Another safe method to use is to spray your sunflower seeds using hot spray seeds. They are available in the garden section of your local home improvement store. It recommends lightly spraying the heads, as this is the part squirrels love to consume. However, after a nice rain, it is necessary to reapply the spray. When you’re ready to take out the seeds, it is best to wash them in water to eliminate the flavoring of hot spicing out of the spray.

Don’t bother with the scarecrows

Crows are particularly destructive of sunflower flowers, but alongside other species of birds, they’re helpful as consumers of grubs, snails, and other insects, and they can be worth the risk. To limit the damage caused to your garden, you can attempt Mylar tape, used in streamers to scare the birds away from the delicious flowers. However, don’t invest much dollars or time on devices that claim to scare birds using ultrasonic sounds. Based on the humane society of the united states, They aren’t effective. The HSUS is also aware that plastic owls and others may initially scare birds; however, “birds are not fooled by plastic owls and inflatable snakes for long.”

Beat them to the harvest

If you’re worried about the seeds being lost to your feathered or furry companions, You can attach brown paper bags on top of each flower. Do this once the petals begin to fall, and put the bags back in place until the seeds are dry. When you’re ready to cut the head off and harvest it, you have to lift the stalk and place it in the bag, and all leftover seeds will be collected. For the best results, it is essential to observe the flower and observe when roots develop. Keep a note in your garden journal to mark your calendar for the next year! From my personal experience of others that just a handful of goldfinches with even a Mongolian giant flower head could eat away all the seeds within hours. The squirrels are faster and more destructive.

Plant more

It’s my absolute favorite kind of advice to give. The most effective way to guard the sunflowers against birds and squirrels is to plant lots of seeds. I do not mean that you should over-seed the plants, however. This isn’t a good idea. Instead, be aware of the amount of time each type needs to bloom before enjoying it. Then, if you are careful, you will create a variety of flowers for borders, arrangements, and seed saving. This can start around 50 days into the summer and finish with long-season types that require at least 90 days to flower. Then, you can design your bouquet or leave it to the pros.

You might also think about the varieties such as ‘Autumn Beauty which blooms for a lengthy period – some weeks and even months. If you’d instead stick to one particular kind, be sure to plant more seeds each week within the planting window, so animals don’t have the chance to consume all the flowers!

They’re sunflowers not snacks!

The last piece of advice deals with determination. Don’t quit before the animals will! You deserve beautiful sunflowers, and you don’t need to give them away. Please do not hesitate to submit some unique solutions to this garden frustration. Since animals and squirrels are adept at obtaining the things they want from the flowers you’ve carefully planted, We’re always looking for new ideas and methods to stop their efforts. Comment below if there are ways to prevent birds and squirrels from destroying your flowers. (Please respect humane behavior No bloodshed, please!)

How to keep squirrels from eating sunflower plants

The best method to keep squirrels from destroying and eating the sunflowers in your garden is by things that flutter or move like baffles, baffles, aluminum oil on your stalk, and putting in the correct type of plant to create borders. There’s nothing worse than investing time and money to make beautiful landscaping for your property only to have squirrels and birds consuming and ruining your yard. Before we go on to take a deep look at the best way to keep your sunflowers safe, we’ll look at the reasons why squirrels like the sunflowers. They also consume the hibiscus plant, so make sure you know how to keep them safe. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the types of plants squirrels can and cannot consume.

Read more: How to attract purple martins to your garden

Conclusion 

Birds, squirrels, and chipmunks are fond of eating sunflower seeds. But you don’t need to worry because These tips we share to protect sunflowers from birds and squirrels will save your beautiful flowers and stop them from eating and ruining the flowers.