that is the agony & ecstacy of gardening I am afraid. I have squirrels too. [rats with fluffy tails]

Definitely rats with good PR.

The jonquils have a wonderful scent. Better luck with them next year.

I've just been told that a liberal application of chilli powder will deter squirrels so I thought i'd try it on the trough the rabbits use for burrowing practice--- shame its just started to rain.......

Totally agree with seaburn and Owdboggy. I used to like squirrels and rabbits until i started gardening. Thanks Bulbaholic. I'm going to take good care of them next year. Thanks for the tip Pam. :)

I've been experimenting with curry powder and chilli powder and found that they worked for a while - til it rained hard. Oh well. You could try making wire mesh "hats" for the pots Naturelover. If they were well crimped onto tapered pots the squirrels might not be able to get them off.

If you go to an Asian shop you can get chilli powder in large bags, which makes liberal scattering much cheaper. Best keep it off the leaves though - I think it did for some of my tulips I was trying to protect from badgers. Can't say I like the look of all those red circles on the flower beds though!"

It was the price that was putting me off Steragram. Asian shops are something that rural Cornwall is short of.

Thanks Beattie and Steragram :)

just out of curiosity Beattie I put Rahja chilli powder into google and you can buy it on ebay-- 99p + postage........
I'm still deliberating if its working on the rabbits!!