I did not think squirrels ate peas. That was my mistake. I thought squirrels were a nut and seed problem — bird feeders, tomatoes, occasionally the corn. I did not think they would climb a five-foot wire trellis to get to sugar snap peas. I was wrong about this in 2024. I was wrong about it in 2025. And here we are in 2026, round three, and they are doing it again.
The evidence: stripped vines on the lower two feet of the trellis, small bite marks on the remaining pods, and a fat gray squirrel sitting about four feet up the wire mesh when I came out at 7 AM looking like it owned the place. It jumped off when it saw me and sat on the fence staring at me like I was the intruder.
Three years in a row. I have a grudging respect for their commitment at this point. They have found a food source and they are going to use it.
Last year I wrapped the base of the trellis posts with aluminum flashing to make them hard to grip. The squirrels just climbed the wire mesh directly instead, going around the posts completely. So this year my dad helped me put hardware cloth — the stiff quarter-inch metal mesh — around the entire base of the trellis structure, about 18 inches up from the ground. The idea is that the hardware cloth does not give them good footholds the way the open wire mesh does.
We also made a spray bottle of hot pepper water — a few tablespoons of cayenne powder dissolved in water — and sprayed it on the lower vines and the hardware cloth. The internet says squirrels hate capsaicin and will avoid treated areas. I have read this before. I am skeptical but willing to try.
Three days in: the hardware cloth seems to be slowing them down. I have not seen a squirrel on the trellis in two days. The hot pepper spray may or may not be doing anything — it is hard to isolate variables when you change two things at once. But the peas are unmolested so far this week, which is better than last week.
The peas themselves are doing really well despite the squirrel issue. I planted Sugar Snap and Oregon Sugar Pod II on January 28th and they are now about two feet tall with flowers starting to form. First harvest should be in early to mid-April if the weather stays reasonable. I am optimistic. I am always optimistic about peas in March.
I genuinely do not hate the squirrels. They are just doing what squirrels do, which is find food and eat it. But I would like to also eat my peas. We will see who wins round three.