There's something wonderful about planting bulbs.  No matter how cold it is outside, you get a taste of spring when you kneel in the dirt to settle your future flowers into their new homes.  You can already visualize your hard work paying off in a neighbor-stopping show of flowers after months of winter brown.

Too bad our spring dreams are so often spoiled by hungry critters.  Animals can detect fresh bulbs in the ground, and they'll head over to your newly dug beds for a tasty snack as soon as you go inside for a cup of coffee.

Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to protect your bulbs.  Here are a few tips that are both effective and nontoxic - they won't harm humans, pets, or wildlife.

The bad news is, of course, that you'd have to go without tulips and crocuses to be truly safe from critters.  And for a lot of gardeners, spring just isn't spring without these two beauties.  If you're in this catagory, don't worry - you can still plant your favorites.   You'll need to rig up a barriers to keep pestes from digging up your bulbs.

Once you've placed the bulbs, spread a length of chicken wire over the top of them, tucking the edges into the soil.  Then cover everything with soil just like you normally would.  The wire won't be visible, and the bulbs will easily send up shoots throught the spaces in the wire.  Be sure to get rid of all your planting debris, especially any leftover bulb tunics, which smell good and will atract squirrels like crazy.

A less tidy but equally effective strategy is to lay old window screens on top of your newly planted bulb beds.  The screens are too heavy for squirrels to move and too difficult to dig through.  But they allow for good air circulation and rainfall.  Remove the screens after three or four weeks, when the new-bulb smell has dissipated and the ground has settled.

Don't have screens?  For smaller areas, use boards or pot bases weighted down with rocks to cover beds until curious squirrels have moved on to other things.