How to Keep Animals from Pillaging Your Garden

Not all the threats to our gardens come in the form of ugly little insects and grubs. A lot more wholesale destruction can oftentimes occur at the hands of cute, furry mammals. Dealing with animal pests requires different tactics that those we would use for bug infestations. For one thing, we don't want to kill but only deter them - i.e., make it difficult or even impossible for them to get to our plants.

Deer are given to feeding at dawn and dusk, nibbling on various kinds of foliage as they saunter along. Though they have a preference for corn, flowers (especially roses), fruit trees, and a variety of vegetables, they will devour practically any edible plants when they are hungry. Rabbits will nibble on plants year round. They love carrots, beets, lettuce, beans and strawberries. Mice and voles both like to eat green vegetation in nearly any form. Groundhogs are usually most active in early spring, but they can really devastate a garden as they continue to dig up vegetation and sample it before moving on to munch something else. Raccoons not only love to feast on corn and melons, but they also relish turning over garbage cans and rummaging through our compost heaps.

The most effective way to keep deer and raccoons out is to install an electric fence (for deer, about 2½ feet high; for raccoons, two strands of wire - one at 6 inches and the other at 12 inches). These may not be feasible for many of us, especially if we have children; and we may opt to have a professional install it in the event. Ordinary fences can do the trick, though for deer the optimum height would be about 8 feet. Obstacles that they can't see through or passed, such as solid fences of stone or wood, especially deter deer. Chicken wire fences (with mesh that's 1 inch or smaller, so they can't squeeze through) can keep rabbits out of the garden, but they should be embedded at least 6 inches into the ground. Having a good guard dog out on patrol can, of course, be a serious deterrent to any of these animals.

There are a number of items that can serve as repellents for animal pests. Squash plants have prickly foliage, so growing them around your corn can discourage raccoons. The scent of soap repels deer; hanging a few bars in the trees might convince them to graze elsewhere. Plants can also be sprayed with foul substances that aren't actually harmful, such as a mixture of rotten eggs and water (three to a gallon). A thorough spray of this concoction can repel deer, mice, and voles. Groundhogs and rabbits dislike spice, and there are various kinds that can be spread around the garden to drive them away: ground black pepper, chili powder, and ground hot peppers.

Birds are sometimes welcome in the garden, because they eat insect pests, but they can also devour corn, fruit, and other produce. Birds take flight with the slightest sign of enemies about, so the most time-honored ways of warding them involve phony threats. The scarecrow is, of course, the most popular example. A humming line - for example, tightly strung fishing line - makes a humming sound as it vibrates in the breeze and drives birds away. Aluminum pie plates strung from stakes also work, as do balloons and small kites. Objects in the likeness of typical bird predators, like snakes, owls, and hawks, can make birds think twice before dropping down into our gardens for a snack.