Replacing Eaten Bulbs

[BaronessBomburst]

Back in the autumn I scattered and planted crocus and narcissus bulbs all across our back lawn. Within three days every single one had been dug up and eaten. We think it was a stone marten as it happened at night and whatever did it also managed to knock over a plant pot, which rules out mice.
If I buy a load of already sprouted/ flowering bulbs and plant those, will they get eaten too? Or will the flowers put off whatever it was?

Do you have squirrels around? The squirrels stole all my planted tulip bulbs within days. Felt so upset about it that I haven't tried to plant anymore. The squirrels here are relentless!

We don't actually have many squirrels where I live. I've seen one in 17 years. Plenty of other wildlife though, and lots of birds.
I was so looking forward to a carpet of flowers. It's one of my favourite things in the spring.

Take it you're somewhere in mainland Europe if you have stone martens! Red squirrels are a lot more shy than grey squirrels, and greys don't really eat daffodil bulbs because they're very bitter. I hear the martens in Germany are quite mischievous.

You could put some chicken wire over the bulbs. Sprinkle some chilli powder for good measure.

I made bulb cages with wire mesh to protect my crocuses. It does work though it takes a while for the squirrels or whatever to stop hopefully digging.

Correct! @Agapornis I'm in the Netherlands, and quite close to the German border. And the few and far between squirrels are red.
We actually have a marten alarm on the front drive to scare them away as otherwise they get under the bonnet and pull the spark plugs off. Most of the neighbours have one. Sometimes we see the bugger on the security camera too.
I might buy a couple of trays of crocuses and plant them anyway, add chilli, and see what happens.

Pas maar op voor ze aan je tulpen beginnen te knabbelen ;)

As they're far more slinky than squirrels, you might need a finer gauge. Perhaps this one:
https://www.gamma.nl/assortiment/handson-vogelgaas-50-cm-x-2-5-m-verzinkt/p/B536814 It'll work for crocuses but probably a bit too fine for daffodils and tulips.

I'd start with the chilli though, definitely the most aesthetic quick fix.

Had to look it up (I'm from non-marter territory) - pretty funny!

They work well on teenagers too! It's such a high-pictched frequency that most adults don't hear them. DS complains regularly about the noise on our evening walks.
That said, we once found a mouse nest in the housing. 😂

Chicken wire/mesh is the way to go in autumn! Peg it into the ground/weigh down with bricks.
I have to do this even for daffodils; they still get dug up, and rejected. I take it off once they are growing properly in early spring. You can then have a bit of damage, but nothing like as bad as in autumn.

I suppose the issue with putting pots in now is that freshly disturbed soil seems to be an open invitation, but I suspect still better than in autumn. I cover the dug soil with leaves to hide it. And the chilli can't hurt.