Critter Control: Part 1

You know, as gardeners, we want to have our cake and eat it too. We love wildlife. Indeed, we have our little garden ponds with goldfish and frogs, our birdfeeders and birdhouses. We love Nature, and we do enjoy the wildlife that comes to call. We don't like it, though, when the creatures like our places so much that they start viewing our flower beds, plants, and vegetable gardens as the equivalent of a salad bar. I am no different. When we first moved out here from town, we put in a vegetable garden with corn and other goodies. The cottontail rabbits made short order of the beans and other veggies while the raccoons set their sights on the corn. Needless to say, we harvested very little produce that year.

This isn't a problem just for rural gardeners, either. When we lived in town, we still had rabbits, chipmunks, and the occasional raccoon who would raid the veggie patch and other plantings. Birds would strip the cherry crop, if we would let them. Every wild thing enjoyed the strawberries. Squirrels, crows and starlings would decimate the birdfeeders. I am sure you all have had similar experiences. What can we do?

First of all, despite all our efforts, there will still be some losses. You can keep a dog out back patrolling the place, but sooner or later Fido will be coming indoors, he won't be out there 24/7. You can spray to your heart's content, but something invariably will be poached from your plantings. A realistic goal is to minimize damage and to prevent as much decimation as possible. Without further adieu, let's explore some tactics to keep the varmint damage down to a minimum:

Deer

Now I feel sorry for deer. I really do. With all the expansion that has been going on between commercial businesses, new housing developments, and other urban sprawl, much of the natural habitat has diminished for these lovely creatures. Definitely, all of their natural predators are pretty much a thing of the past as well. Many states have instituted special deer hunts on public lands and parks that before were protected habitat for deer because of population increases and pressure on the environment. Even though these efforts have been very successful, deer are becoming an increasing problem with home owners in town as well as in the country.

It's controversial, but one way people handle deer is to place a feeding station for them. It has to be maintained, though, through good and bad weather, and it can become an expensive proposition if there are a lot of deer in the area. The controversy about this is that it might possibly be illegal in some localities, it is interfering with the natural flow and cycle of the deer, and this can override the deer's natural foraging activities and will keep them in the area longer than they might normally be.

If you aren't that dedicated or wild about intervening and having the deer at your place in any way, shape or fashion, there are other alternatives that can be used.

Deer Sprays And Other Deterrents

--You can always mix up a batch of eggs, raw of course, and add water to them. While a half-dozen or so eggs are relatively cheap, when blended with water and sprayed on desirable plants, it will act as a deterrent to deer. It will need to be reapplied after overhead watering or rain, though.

--Another way to keep deer at bay is to scatter human hair clippings in the garden.

--Deer do not like the scent of soap or aftershave. Perhaps this is why hunters avoid using any scented toiletries before they go out deer hunting. So, this is one that might be easier on the nostrils than the rotten egg approach!

--Hang small bars of soap from the branches of trees and shrubs. You can either hang them in panty hose, or you can poke holes into the bars of soap, run twine through them, and tie them about twenty feet apart on branches of trees and shrubs. You can also hang soap from stakes placed every few feet around plants in the perennial boarder. The beauty of using scented soaps is that they will retain their odor for a long time, and do not need to be reapplied after every rain.

--Another smelly deterrent which is also good for the garden is to use a kelp and fish emulsion spray on ornamentals:

Mix 1 tablespoon of kelp, 1/3 cup of fish emulsion, 1 tablespoon of liquid hand soap, and 1 tsp. of hot sauce together into one gallon of water. Spray on plants every week or after a heavy rain. This one is also good for deterring insect pests as well, and will feed your plants to boot!

Plant A Deer-Proof Garden

Perhaps this is a bit misleading, but it does seem that most deer do not like the following plants. I say this is misleading since someone out there reading this will be sure to comment that the deer ate some of these listed plants, anyway! This list is of the plants that MOST deer will avoid. If deer cannot find other forage, they will resort to eating some of these plants; however, if other food sources are available, most deer will leave the following plants alone:

Mints of all types	Artemesia	Candytuft
Marguerite	Obedient Plant	Spurge
Yarrow	Beebalm or Monarda	Columbine
Marigolds	Rhododendron	Sage
Cone Flower	Cranesbill	Liatris or Blazing Star
Rosemary	Lamb's Ears	Wisteria
Lemon Thyme	Foxgloves	Forsythia
Wormwood	Miscanthus	Butterfly Weed
Mexican Oregano	Oregano	Santolina

Raccoons

Raccons are opportunistic animals, and are omnivorous by nature. Think of all the foods we as humans consume, and they will eat it all, plus pet food and plants and some unmentionable "foods" as well. They commonly cause problems in the vegetable garden and in garbage cans. Believe me, even with a large garbage can, raccoons can get into them and wreak havoc! There is nothing so unpleasant as picking up trash that is strewn around the yard after a visit from these nocturnal marauders. Here are a few tips:

--To keep raccoons out of garbage cans, pour a cop of household ammonia over the trash.

--Wrap a two or three foot wide piece of of sheet metal around the trunks of fruit trees. Position these strips about two feet above the ground to create a raccoon baffle.

--Plant cucumbers among your other plants. Raccoons do not like cukes.

--Spread a boarder of lime around your garden perimeter. About a two feet wide. Since raccoons are meticulous animals, they do not like to tread on lime.

Moles

--Place Juicy Fruit gum in mole runs

--Place chocolate Ex-Lax in mole runs

--Blend 1 Tbsp castor oil with 2 tbsp. liquid soap, blend so this is about the consistency of shaing cream. Add 5 or 6 Tbsp of water and blend some more. Add 1 Tbsp to 1 gallon of water. Poke holes in the run at every few feet, and pour into the holes. Water this in after applying.

--Take human hair clippings and poke holes in the run and place the clippings.

--If you have a cat, take the used litter (urine, feces, and all), and poke holes in the run and add the used litter with all its goodies down into the run, every few feet.

--Take cheap perfume or aftershave and pour into the run.