Hi Gary, thanks for the question.

Squirrels are very difficult to control.  There are many different methods including growing unappealing crops, repellants, motion activated deterrents, fake predators, dogs, etc.  Most, if not all, may work but only temporarily.  The only exception is fencing out these wily intruders.   Enclosing the plant(s) with bird netting, chicken wire, hardware cloth etc.   Mixing up deterrents, making the area less appealing (i.e. removing bird feeders, discarded fruit, and other items of interest) can work but requires a lot of effort.  A pepper spray on the fruit (that can be washed off later) may be more effective than the dry red pepper.  Eliminating the squirrels does not normally fix the problem.  Check out the following links:

How to Keep Squirrels Out of Your Garden (thespruce.com)

 Home Lawn & Garden: Wildlife: Excluding and Repelling Problem Wildlife from the Garden | Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment at UMass Amherst

Keeping animals out of your garden | UMN Extension

I hope this helps.