After my coleus and petunia plants were repeatedly and viciously dug up and flung around by chipmunks for the first few weeks of their lives this spring, I decided to fight back.
My mom had suggested covering my pots with gutter screen, but I couldn’t find any at the home improvement store. However I did find “hardware net” which is actually soft, polyethylene mesh that comes in a roll (the one I purchased is 3’x15′) and cuts easily with a scissors. I cut pieces to fit around my plants that were being ravaged, and I held those pieces down with garden fabric staples.
The digging ceased immediately and my surviving plants were finally able to grow in peace. As a bonus, when the rain comes down in sheets as it has for much of the summer so far, the mesh keeps the soil in place so it doesn’t splash up against the house or our lattice fencing.
Next year I’m going to protect all my potted plants with hardware net the moment they’re tucked into the soil.