The secret to stopping squirrels from destroying your yard is hiding in your kitchen pantry – and I know exactly how to use it

Unpeeled garlic bulbs on wooden kitchen surface.

I am in perpetual pursuit of natural and wildlife-safe ways to keep my soft fruits and cut flower beds pest free. I actively encourage a rich ecosystem in my yard, with wild areas, a pond and mature trees that are home to copious birds, bats, frogs, bees, butterflies and insects a plenty – natural pest control and predators in abundance. And yes, it is home to several gray squirrels, too.

I love watching them running up the trees and flying from branch to branch, but when I see them digging up bulbs or helping themselves to my raspberries, despite my best efforts to net them, it is exasperating.