The horror! The horror! of squirrels attacking our pumpkins

It’s one of the most gruesome spectacles we’ve ever seen. And we come home to it every night.

At first it started with some light scratching. Could have been anything, really – a wayward falling branch, maybe. A friendly pawing from the dog. Then, the teeth marks appeared. Within days, the shell had been compromised, and the poor pumpkin’s stringy innards were strewn about the stoop. Now, it’s but a drooping vestige of its former self.

Our pumpkins are under attack. And the culprit is at least one — and possibly a gang of – squirrels. What up with that? This is the first year our pumpkins have ever gotten such shabby treatment from the li’l rodents. Does anyone have any insight into whether it’s out of the ordinary, or something that happens every year? And if there’s any way to dissuade them from destroying more?