When Squirrels Attack: Let Them Eat Pumpkin?

Halloween is one week away and that means homes and doorsteps across Northern Virginia are decorated with beautiful orange pumpkins. Although they're meant to serve as a way to celebrate the ghoulish holiday, some squirrels think pumpkins are a meal ticket.

On eHow.com, several (icky) deterrants are suggested, such as scattering used cat litter around the pumpkins or collecting dog urine and sprinkling it around the pumpkins. Really?? Those suggestions sound worse than having a squirrel problem and sort of take the fun out of Halloween.

And another suggestion, spraying a mixture of water and red peppers to burn squirrels' mouths seems a little cruel.

So what to do: Let the squirrels have at the pumpkins?

There was one suggestion we liked: Creating a sort of "scare cat" and leaving it near the pumpkins to scare away the squirrels. And it serves double duty as Halloween decor.

Another idea we liked: Put a "decoy" pumpkin out far away from your doorstep where the squirrels can get to it. 

How about you?