How to keep squirrels off your balcony plants

Guide 24 September 2026 · 2 min read

Why they dig

They’re usually doing one of three things:

• Hiding food. In autumn they bury nuts and seeds, and loose potting mix is the easiest place to do it. Small, tidy holes are the giveaway.
• Digging it back up. Later they come back for what they buried, and uproot whatever grew on top.
• Following their nose. Bulbs, fresh seedlings, bone meal and spilled bird seed all say “food here”.

What works

1. Cover the soil

This is the one fix that works almost every time. Cut metal mesh (hardware cloth or chicken wire) to the shape of the pot, lay it flat on the soil and snip holes for the stems. Water goes through, paws don’t. Skip plastic netting: squirrels chew through it.

No mesh? A layer of stones too big to flick away (3 cm or more) does a similar job and looks good.

2. Take away the snacks

• Move bird feeders away from your planters and sweep up spilled seed.
• Skip bone meal, blood meal and fish fertilizer in pots. To a squirrel they smell like dinner.
• Don’t leave pet food or scraps outside.

3. Plant smarter

Squirrels love tulips and crocuses, and mostly leave daffodils, alliums, hyacinths and fritillaries alone. Can’t give up tulips? Put mesh over the bulbs.

4. Make every visit unpleasant

Squirrels learn fast. If every visit ends with a fright, they soon decide your balcony isn’t worth it. Early on, shoo them away whenever you spot one. Being consistent matters more than being scary.

What to skip

• Fake owls and plastic snakes. Squirrels figure them out quickly.
• Ultrasonic repellers. There’s little evidence they bother squirrels.
• Mothballs and homemade sprays. Mothballs are a pesticide, and irritants can hurt pets and edible plants.
• Trapping and moving them. Another squirrel moves in. In Quebec, capture is only allowed when you couldn’t scare the animal off first, and moving it far away is discouraged.

Want the full rundown? See squirrel repellents compared.