How To keep Squirrels, Birds and Other Animals Out Of Bonsai Pots

While we try and control every aspect of our bonsai trees, nature still tries to get involved, usually in the form of annoying little animals. Sometimes they can even be more destructive than pests and insects. They can totally destroy bonsai trees and very easily kill them.

If you keep your bonsai trees outside (which you should be) they are always going to be at risk of a vicious animal attack. Well maybe it’s not vicious, but it can seem like it when you see the mess they cause.

Animals That Can Cause Problems To Your Bonsai

Birds – These are probably the number one problem for bonsai. It doesn’t matter where you live, there will be some nearby! Most of the time they ignore the trees, but they always have the potential to cause trouble.

Squirrels – You may think they look cute, but your attitude will very quickly change when they start messing with your trees. They are an absolute nightmare and I am very lucky to have moved to an area where there doesn’t seem to be any about.  

Chipmunks – These are not a problem for me, but I am sure my North American friends can attest for how annoying they are. They are equally as destructive as squirrels. 

Foxes – They don’t really mess with the bonsai trees, but they do walk around them and since they are basically small dogs, they will knock stuff over.

Mice – Mice are small and if they want to close to your bonsai tree you are going to have a hard time stopping them. They will bypass everything you try. Luckily they are not the biggest trouble makers, but they can wreak havoc on bonsai trees that are in cold storage over winter.

Rabbits – For anything in a pot, these are not really a problem, just keep the pots out of reach, but they can mess with your trees that you are growing in the ground.

Deer – Again, not really a problem I have ever faced, but they are pretty big animals and can quickly eat a lot, so they can be pretty destructive if they do show up in your garden and start eating your bonsai.

Dogs – Some people say their dogs cause trouble. I guess they think the bonsai tree is a stick and they want to play with it. Simply keeping the trees out of reach should deal with any excited dogs.

Cats – people have me told me cats cause trouble too. Personally I’ve seen plenty of cats walk among my bonsai trees and I’ve never had an issue, but I guess it is a possibility …potentially more so with indoor trees. 

Does This Actually Happen?

If you are new to bonsai you may ask how big the risk of animals actually is, so I asked my youtube subscribers their experience and here are the results:

As you can see, it is pretty much 50/50. However, I would imagine that if you asked these same people in 10 years time, it would be 100%.

I honestly think you can’t escape the issue. At some point, at least one animal is going to mess with one of your trees to some degree, its just a matter of time. Although it is good to see that half of my audience hasn’t suffered from this yet.

The results may also be down to the owners not realising it has happened. The damage could be minimal, or mistaken for something else. However, it can be pretty obvious they have been around, so lets look at what problems they can cause.

What Problems Can Animals Cause Bonsai?

The problems caused will depend on a few different things, not just the type of animal.

The time of year, certain soils and different species of bonsai tree seem to attract more issues, as well as if you have moss or not on your trees.

Sometimes it can just seem random. A bonsai tree may be left alone for years then all of a sudden becomes interesting to an animal. We all know its sods law that the tree we think is safe will be attacked. 

Animals Digging In A Bonsai Pot

This is mainly the squirrels and the chipmunks. They try to dig holes and bury food. Although, birds will do this too. They will peck into the soil trying to find grubs. 

This is where the soil type and species comes into play. I’ve had squirrels ignore everything and only dig in the pots with apple trees. I also believe they only like to dig in certain soil types. If the particles are too sharp, it hurts their claws and they don’t dig.

As for birds, they just seem to pick and choose at random which pots they want to dig in.

Animals Knock Bonsai Trees Out Of Their Pots

When an animal has been digging in a bonsai pot it quite often results in the tree being knocked over. Either the animal has knocked in to it and caused it to topple, or the removal of soil causes too many roots to be exposed and they are no long stable enough to stand up and fall over.

I have also had trees that have ended up quite far from the pot they had been growing in. I believe this was birds literally picking the tree up and throwing it away, so they can get better access to the soil. I guess I should really wire my trees in. However, if your trees are wired in, they may look like they are fine, but they will have a lot of soil missing from around the roots, so it can be equally as bad.  

Animals Leave Seeds In Pots

Very rarely will an animal successfully dig a hole and plant a seed without you knowing. Most times there will be soil everywhere. Occasionally though you may find a random tree starts growing in your bonsai pot in spring, which can often be a surprise treat from a squirrel.

Animals Can Eat The Bark Of Bonsai

This is going to be caused by the mice and rabbits. If they do it a little bit, it’s just going to ruin the bark and make it look ugly and scared until it heals over.

If they really go for it then it is going to cause a lot of damage and ruin the shape of your trunk, if not kill it.

My understanding is that if you have deer they will mainly eat the foliage, especially in early spring, which is not ideal when you are usually trying to promote growth at that time.

Animals Remove Moss From Bonsai

This will be mainly caused by the birds. They want the moss for their nests, so you will find at certain times of the year this is a bigger problem.

They clearly see your moss as both excellent and an easy target. Sometimes they just take bits of moss and it’s not too much of a big deal, other times they can end up knocking the tree out of the pot or kicking a lot of the soil away in the process.

I don’t really care if they take the moss, but I am annoyed when the soil ends up everywhere. It’s never good to have your bonsai roots exposed in this way.

Animals Knock Bonsai Pots Over

Any animal can cause this, but it’s usually the bigger animals. I’ve had birds and squirrels knock bonsai pots off benches. If you have your trees wired in to the pots the trunk can almost act as a lever, causing them to easily topple.

I have found foxes to be really bad for this. They will walk between your pots and just brush past everything and knock everything over.

Foxes also had a weird habit of pooing in my pots. I guess it’s free fertiliser, but it’s still pretty gross.

How To Deter Animals From Your Bonsai

The animals are always going try and get to your trees, but you can do a few things to try and deter them and stop them from coming back.

Cayenne Pepper

This is a classic technique to stop squirrels and chipmunks. It doesn’t always work and they can get used it after a while, but it is worth trying.

You just have to sprinkle the soil surface with cayenne pepper. Basically it gets on their hands and they don’t like the spicy taste.

The main issue is that you have to keep reapplying it. Every time you water it will be washed away, so it’s not always an ideal long term solution.

Luckily it doesn’t affect the bonsai tree in anyway, but I am sure if you used enough of it, it could start to clog up the soil after a while.

I have done this in the past and it seemed to help. It certainly made me feel like I was getting some revenge on the squirrels for all their previous trouble they caused.

Putting Mesh Over The Bonsai Pot

This is a quick and easy way to keep pretty much everything out of the pot and it is a decent long term solution. You can use chicken wire, or the mesh used to protect gutters but basically any sort of mesh will work fine.

You just need to cut the mesh to cover the pot and make a hole so the trunk can fit through. It does look ugly, but it works. It can also be annoying to do if you have a large number of trees and sometimes moving pots can be difficult with this covering on. However, it can be easily removed if needed.

This will only stop animals digging in the soil. They are still going to be able to touch the pots and trees. This means they can still knock things over, so it is still not perfect.

Caged Area For Bonsai Trees

This is the step you take when you realise you can’t win. It is also very effective if you have a large number of trees. This technique is also going to keep your trees pretty much 99.99% safe from animals.

How you do this will depend on how your garden is set up. The basic principle is that you cage your trees in. This may require you to build a green house like structure, or use your current set up and just add mesh around the top of fences or similar to keep the animals out.

Any sort of mesh is going to work; it can be chicken wire, or that material type netting/mesh. Really you just want something blocking the animals from your bonsai trees.

You can make this set up huge so you can fit inside, or you can make it so that it just above the trees and just boxes them in. 

It can take a bit of work, but the results can look good, but it can also look ugly. It just depends how you do it, but the main thing is that it is going to keep everything out, expect maybe mice.

Cats/Dogs

Although I have listed these as a pest, I think they actually do more good than harm. Cats and dogs will keep most of the animals away from your bonsai.

While they can’t be on patrol 24/7 I think they can do a great job at holding off the major trouble makers.

Feed The Animals

If you are having trouble with birds, you can try and feed them to distract them away from your trees.

Often they dig in the pots looking for worms and grubs. If you go to the opposite end of the garden and leave food for them, they should move their focus more towards this area and away from your bonsai trees. Basically they don’t need to dig in your pots if the food is more easily available else where. Try leaving out meal worms for them to eat and see if it helps the situation.

You could always argue that this is going to make your garden more attractive for birds and it isn’t really going to distract squirrels and other animals, but it is worth trying.

Some Other Ways To Deter Animals From Bonsai

These are some of the less popular or less effective methods of deterring animals away from your bonsai, but they may still be worth a try and are certainly worth knowing about.

Animal Repellents

Depending where you live, you may be able to source some repellents. In my local shop there is only some crystals you can spread around to stop cats doing a poo in your garden.

I know some other countries have more potent concoctions where they get the urine of predators, such as coyotes and turn it into you can spray you can use around the area to scare off smaller animals like squirrels. 

You could also make your own. If you are feeling like an alpha predator you can just pee in a bottle and leave it for a few days to ripen.

All you have to do is spray it around your garden and let the animals know you are the dominate beast in the area. You can also add hot sauce to the mix to really let them know you are an extra spicy alpha. 

There is a chance your garden is going to start getting smelly, so it’s maybe not the best idea, but the option is there!

BB Guns

This technique is really going to depend on where you live as it can be illegal in a lot of places. It will also depend how comfortable you are with this idea, although I feel once a few of your bonsai trees have been messed with, this will seem like the best option.

The only real problem you have is that there is a never ending supply of birds and squirrels. As soon as you get rid of one, another will just move in, so it’s not always as easy or as effective as you might think.

Plastic Snakes

I’ve heard this can work. Apparently the squirrels and birds see the snake and think its real, so they stay away.

It does make sense, but I live in a country that has no snakes (Thank you St. Patrick) so the animals here might not know what it is and not recognise it as a threat.

Motion Sensor Water Sprinklers

This seems like a good idea but is ultimately going to be difficult and expensive to set up. The idea is that if anything comes near your bonsai pots. The motion sensor will activate a water sprinkler, scaring the animal way.

It is also very likely that they will get used to it after a while and realise it is harmless and the whole system will be pointless.

Noise Producing Motion Sensors

These are kind of similar to the above, but a little more commonly found in gardens.

They are basically a box with a motion sensor and a speaker, when anything walks in front of it, it sends out a noise to scare them away. A lot of these are high pitched noises that humans cant hear, but the animals can.

I think these have mixed results. They do scare some animals, but a lot of them soon learn its not dangerous and stop being scared by it. I’ve noticed a lot of my neighbours have these to stop cats going to the toilet on their lawns …but I don’t think the cats really care.

Conclusion

Animals are annoying and will affect your bonsai trees at some point during your lifetime of growing. Hopefully they leave everything alone for the majority of the time, but there is always the risk.

Now you will be more equipped to deal with them and keep them at bay. Good luck and don’t let them win!

(You can read more about an animal that is good for your bonsai – Ladybirds On Bonsai)