Darwin's Squirrel

[cthomato]

My neighbors have been trapping ground squirrels in a have-a-heart trap for the last few years. Through this process of "natural" selection, we now have a smart squirrel that stays away from the trap at all cost. This critter loves all kinds of plants and flowers and is inflicting noticeable damage to my garden. I have been amazed at how he manages to get to hanging baskets that other squirrels never bothered with in the past. What's worse is that I expect hungry (and smart) offspring will be rummaging through my plants sometime next month.

I can't kill it because my resident card carrying PETA member is back from college. It's too quick for my guard bunnies. I tried Critter Ridder in a window box full of petunias and it ate them down to the roots. So far chicken wire is the only thing that deters this pest. Now that I mention it, I haven't seen my wirecutters lately.

Anybody got a suggestion?

Chris