Tired of squirrels or raccoons raiding the bird feeder or digging through the recycling bin for food scraps? Try this simple trick: Sprinkle in red pepper flakes. Rodents hate the taste of spicy red pepper flakes and will quickly learn to avoid stealing the seed from the bird feeder, but birds can’t detect it and will eat it right up. Sprinkle red pepper flakes throughout your trash and recycling bins to deter raiding nocturnal animals from rummaging through them. While the pepper is a deterrent, it does not hurt the animals that ingest it.
ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION