How can I stop squirrels from eating my sunflowers?
You mean apart from enclosing them in an airtight acrylic shield and posting a guard dog around them day and night? It is very difficult to keep squirrels away from plants, because they are extremely agile climbers and are very good at working their way around defensive devices. They are ubiquitous in suburbia. When squirrels are focused on food, they can be very persistent. You need to eliminate any pathways they can take to the plant, because once the squirrels get to the plant, they can climb it quite easily and cut the seed head off with its teeth. Placing a shield around the stalk might discourage some (e.g., large flat disk or inverted can around the stalk, supported by a stake to the ground), but may be ineffective, because the squirrels may just cut off the stalk closer to the ground. These are used to keep squirrels out of bird feeders, with mixed success, but something similar might be worth a try. You may get some relief by building a frame around the plant(s) and attaching
