Question
I recently moved and my new location has a lot of squirrels around due to the neighbors feeding them. I found my flytraps and sundews who are just coming out of dormancy dug up and flipped over from these squirrels.
I found some natural pepper mixtures and deer/squirrel sprays that I may have to implement to keep these critters away. Will they hurt my plants if I have to use these sprays/mixtures? Is there a better way to stop them from destroying my plants? I've had them 3 years now and I love them and would not like my hard work destroyed.

Answer
Yes, squirrels can be a problem.  When we had the nursery in Portland, we kept finding hazelnut saplings coming up in our pots.  The problem was that we didn't have a hazelnut tree on the property!  Squirrels were using our potted plants to hide their cache.

Powdered pepper is completely safe to use on carnivorous plants.  The only problem is that it works on squirrels up to a point.  Squirrels are quite determined and will look for ways to bypass the pepper.  They're likely looking for grubs and other stuff to eat rather than your plants, so it's unlikely pepper will prevent them from turning over your pots to look inside the soil.

For this particular squirrel problem, I recommend doing an internet search for an appropriate squirrel deterrent.  Check out some of the carnivorous plant forums to see what other growers resorted to.  One grower ended up placing his plants in a chain-linked fence enclosure.  Some used bird netting.  I don't know anyone that has tried it, but there are motion sensors that will turn on sprinklers if a critter gets too close to your plants.  Personally, I prefer a BB gun, but I live in the country and have a front tooth missing.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin