Lavender sounds like a win-win—pretty AND squirrel-resistant? Makes me wonder if other strong-smelling herbs like rosemary or thyme would work too... might be worth experimenting a bit. Beats the heck outta chicken wire jungles, that's for sure.
"Beats the heck outta chicken wire jungles, that's for sure."
Haha, totally feel you on the chicken wire mess—I tried that once and my patio looked like a DIY disaster zone. Funny you mention rosemary though... I planted some last summer just because I love cooking with it, and noticed fewer squirrels digging around my pots. Could've been coincidence, but now you've got me thinking maybe it wasn't just luck. Might toss in some thyme this year too and see what happens... worst case scenario, at least dinner will smell amazing.
Interesting about the rosemary—I hadn't considered herbs as a deterrent before. Usually, I recommend clients try gravel or river rocks around pots to discourage digging critters. It looks clean, drains well, and most animals don't like pawing through it. But now I'm curious if certain herbs might actually be more effective. Have you noticed if other herbs besides rosemary seem to help, or is it mostly just rosemary doing the trick?
I've actually experimented a bit with herbs around my patio, mostly because gravel wasn't really in my budget at the time. Rosemary definitely helped, but I also noticed mint seemed to keep some critters away—probably because of the strong scent. The downside is mint spreads like crazy, so you have to keep an eye on it or plant it in pots. Lavender was another one I tried, and while it didn't seem as effective as rosemary or mint, it did help somewhat and smelled great.
One thing I'm still wondering about though is thyme. I've heard it's supposed to deter pests too, but haven't tried it myself yet. Has anyone here had luck with thyme or other herbs? I'm curious if certain combinations might work better than single herbs alone...
"The downside is mint spreads like crazy, so you have to keep an eye on it or plant it in pots."
Mint definitely has a mind of its own—I learned that the hard way too. But honestly, I've found thyme to be pretty underwhelming as a pest deterrent. I planted some creeping thyme around my patio stones last summer, hoping it'd help with ants and other small bugs, but didn't notice much difference at all. It looked nice and smelled good when stepped on, but that's about it.
If you're looking for something effective and low-maintenance, I'd suggest lemongrass instead. It's hardy, grows quickly, and mosquitoes absolutely hate it. Just plant it in larger pots or raised beds since it can get pretty tall. Plus, you can use it in cooking or tea—win-win situation.
Herb combos sound appealing in theory, but from my experience, one or two strong-smelling herbs strategically placed usually do the trick better than mixing too many together. Too many scents can sometimes just blend into background noise for pests...
