Geraniums can be both annual and perennial plants. You should check the plant’s type before planting it in your garden. Despite the types, geraniums have a pungent smell and thick leaves, which help to repel different insects and rodents.
Since most rodents, including squirrels and rabbits, love to eat vegetables, leaves, and flowers, protecting your geraniums from them becomes a concern. Your search is over; we found the solutions to your queries.
Do squirrels eat geraniums?
Squirrels don’t eat geranium. Geranium is a resilient plant that deters most rodents through its fragrance. Most animals don’t like to eat the thick leaves; therefore, they naturally keep away from geraniums. You can plant geraniums around your garden to protect it from rodents.
Squirrels love to eat nuts, vegetables, and different leaves that taste good. But the geraniums are not their type of plants and, therefore, don’t attract them. If they are hungry, they look for an alternative food source.
When they don’t find any suitable food or leaves to eat, they might eat the leaves and flowers of the geraniums to a small extent. It’s a rare case. You will find your squirrels eat geraniums.
Geranium flowers:
Squirrels don’t eat the geranium flowers due to their pungent smells. Here the flowers bloom with a fragrance. It spreads the odors after a few days, and rodents find it highly avoidable. They don’t even like the fragrant plant.
It’s the first thing squirrels don’t like about the geraniums since the flower contains strong smells.
Geranium plants:
Squirrels also don’t eat the entire geranium plant. The plant contains toxic chemicals and a fragrance that is not good for the squirrel’s stomach. If they eat geranium plants, they will go through different diseases.
This plant is considered resilient to squirrels because of its smells. Squirrels and other rodents don’t love to eat the smelly plant.
It becomes a big challenge for them to eat the plant, although the squirrels love to eat different small plants and grass.
Geranium leaves:
The second part of the geranium trees is also toxic to rodents and most other mammals.
Therefore, the squirrels don’t eat geranium leaves due to their thickness and pungent smells. They even can’t digest the geranium leaves properly.
Due to the pungent smells and thickness, they avoid geranium leaves. But if they don’t find anything else to eat, they might eat the leaves in harsh situations.
Do ground squirrels eat geraniums?
You will find two different squirrels around you; either one is a tree squirrel who lives on trees. And the other one is ground squirrels. Although their living place is different, their eating habits are mostly the same.
They both love to eat different vegetables, leaves, and fruits. But they don’t like to eat geranium plants or leaves.
This plant has a strong and pungent smell so that the ground squirrels also don’t eat the geraniums. Ground squirrels can’t digest the plant’s part easily.
On the other hand, the ground squirrels live on different leaves and grass. But the fact is they avoid eating the geraniums and their flowers.
You can observe different scenarios as well. When the ground squirrels don’t find suitable food, they can eat the geraniums.
It becomes more accessible for the tree squirrels to find fruits and leaves to survive. But ground squirrels may starve for a long time. At that time, they need something to eat to survive. So, if they find any geraniums, they will eat that to meet stomach needs.
Do geraniums repel squirrels?
Since geraniums have pungent smells and toxic ingredients, geraniums can repel squirrels to a short extent. You cannot expect to 100% repel the squirrels only by planting more geraniums. You have to use some other ways to repel squirrels perfectly.
If you plan to make a garden and protect it from squirrels, you can plant some geraniums around the garden.
It will help to repel the squirrels; although it’s not the best way, it will help you to some extent. When you go to plant some anti-squirrel plants, geraniums should be there.
It can deter the squirrels from the surrounding areas. But, you should not rely on the plant only.
You can use anti-rodent spray and other proven methods to repel the squirrels. Keep with us; we will show you all the ways to repel squirrels from your garden.
“4” reason why squirrels don’t eat geraniums
There are many reasons why squirrels do not eat geraniums. Let’s get to know them.
Pungent Smells:
One of the main reasons squirrels don’t eat geraniums is the smells or fragrance of the geranium plants.
It spreads an unfavorable smell that repels the squirrels. Most mammals can’t tolerate any fragrance despite its sweetness or toxicity.
Moreover, the squirrels and most other garden insects don’t eat the geraniums because of this smell. They find it unpleasant.
Toxic Ingredients:
Toxicity is another big concern for squirrels. They can’t eat unpleasant leaves and flowers. Some vegetables are also unhealthy for them. Therefore, they keep away from these food sources.
Here the geranium plants are also a toxic food source for the squirrels. If they eat, they will face health issues and may face food poisoning. It is why they don’t eat geraniums.
Digestion Problem:
Most mammals or rodents avoid eating unpleasant food that they can’t digest properly and quickly.
They love to eat digestive food. If you look at their eating habits, you may notice that nuts, fruits, vegetables, and grass are edible foods.
Although squirrels can digest leaves and grass, they can’t digest the geranium plants. This food creates gas and complexity in their stomach. Consequently, they get sick.
Inedible Flowers:
Squirrels can eat tulip, hostas, hibiscus, Knock Out Roses, and other flowers without having any health issues.
They find flowers a good source of protein and vitamins. When geranium flowers come in the row, they refuse to eat.
The main reason is the smell or fragrance. Geranium flowers have a distinct smell that is intense to the squirrels. Thus, it remains an inedible food source for them.
How do you keep squirrels from eating geraniums?
Although geranium is a resilient plant, you should follow other tips to keep squirrels from eating geranium plants. The three best ways are there to repel squirrels from eating the geraniums. You can follow all of them or any suitable one.
White Vinegar:
You can easily repel squirrels and keep them from eating your geraniums by using white vinegar. It has some chemicals and a pungent smell that will assist you to do your job perfectly without damaging the plant’s health.
You can take some vinegar into a bottle and add some water. Shake the bottle well, then spray on the geraniums. You should also spray around the garden to repel squirrels and make the garden insects accessible.
Irish Spring Soap:
One of the easiest ways to keep squirrels from eating your geraniums is to use the Irish Spring Soap. It has a strong chemical odor that can repel insects and rodents.
You can buy the Irish Spring Soap and cut it into several slices. After that, you have to put the pieces in different corners of the garden.
You can also put some around the geranium plants. It will help to protect the entire garden from other rodents and insects.
Garlic Mixture:
You can make a home remedy to repel squirrels and keep them from eating your geraniums.
First, you have to take some cloves of garlic and then add some water. You need to boil it properly. Additionally, you may add some cayenne pepper to make it more effective.
Once the mixture is boiling, you can put it into a bottle and use the sprayer. Then you need to spray it around your garden and around the geraniums too. It will keep the squirrels away from eating geraniums.
More methods and ways are there to do the job. You can go for the anti-rodent spray as well. But these three are the most effective and safest way to keep squirrels away.
You can follow them all one after another. You will get rid of squirrels within a few days. Some of them will work out instantly and repel squirrels.
What is eating my Geraniums?
Though some animals don’t like the leaves and smell of the geranium, some culprits are eating your geraniums.
The worst culprit is the Geranium budworms. It can destroy entire geranium plants within some days. Let’s look at other animals who are eating your geraniums.
- Aphids
- Green Leaves
- Bugs
- Japanese Beetles
- Grasshoppers
- Javelinas
- Rabbit
- Rat
Final Thoughts
Squirrels don’t eat geraniums due to the pungent smells and toxic leaves. Mainly, the leaves and flowers are harmful to the squirrel’s health. They create food poisoning and damage the stomach condition of the squirrels. Therefore, squirrels always keep away from geraniums.