Babka, Sorry to hear that you are experiencing the same problem that I've been having. I've never used a repellant, but moccasinlinding, whom I believe is a Southern grower also, says she uses ground cayenne pepper or crushed red peppers in her pots and renews it after a rain. I've now got three squirrels this year in my live catch trap with the fourth one coming soon!

Babka, send your SnakeEyes over here so I can protect it for you. I don't want anything to happen to that beauty.

I'm buying big jugs of crushed red peppers by McCormick and sprinkling it over the exposed potting mix. You might buy one large container of it from Amazon and try it. I notice they leave the pots alone which are fully covered by leaves, but newly planted and those with bare mix showing get predation. In my case, they are more destructive of hosta which are out of my sight behind the Teahouse, the south end of the garden beneath the pecan trees.

This has worked pretty well for keeping squirrels from chewing off buds from my wife's potted roses.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Messina-Wildlife-Squirrel-Stopper-Repellent-Spray-SQU016SQX/100663824