Ground Squirrel Damage Control

I have a couple ground squirrel burrows in the corral where I grow my vegetables.   They are voracious pests who will destroy everything if left unchecked.    They are considered a pest by the state and are therefore no protected.  They are also known to carry fleas that vector the plague.  

I planted an entire row of cucumbers, squash, and cantaloupe.   100 plants per row, and they wiped them out by chewing off all the leaves.  

I have replanted the rows and plan on covering the rows with  some netting to give them a good start. Once the plants are larger and vining, eating a leaf here or there will not do that much damage, compared to when it's a seedling and there are only 2-3 leaves.

I am using some metal rods that bed into a half moon over the row then attaching the netting.

Here is a picture of the netting.

Here is are the rows with pictures showing the process.  I will let you know if it works.    You can see the holes where there used to be plants and also some plants left, minus the leaves.