We all appreciate the tranquility of wildlife – until some critter threatens our gardens. It’s difficult to sustain that peaceful feeling when the adorable bunny or graceful doe chomps down on your newly planted veggies. So how do you keep these unwelcome guests out of the garden in a natural, humane, and eco-safe way?
Don’t Invite Them
Like your pesky neighbor, Bob – the one who desperately wants to come over for game night – avoid inviting these guests into your yard and garden. Cover compost piles, seal garbage can lids, and don’t leave uneaten pet food outdoors. These delicacies draw animals into the yard and closer to the goodies in the garden. Alternatively, you may choose to allow bushes and plants around the exterior of your yard to grow wild or plant tasty alternatives away from your fruits and vegetables. Rabbits, for example, would probably rather munch on clover and dandelions in the shelter of an overgrown brush than eat the veggies in the middle of an exposed garden.
Withdraw Your Welcome
Like with your grown son who refuses to move out on his own, start making things more unpleasant for the creatures that venture near the garden. Most animals have a keen sense of smell, so try natural scent repellents like coffee grounds, vinegar, ammonia, hot pepper flakes, garlic, or even human hair. Harassment techniques, such as noise-makers, motion-activated lights and sprinklers, leashed dogs, and visual scare devices like scarecrows and metallic streamers can be successful, but wild creatures often find a way around these deterrents, so plan to vary them periodically.
Fences Make Good Neighbors
The most obvious prevention for unwanted guests (both human and wild creature) on your property is a fence. Although fencing your garden can be expensive, you can save money by using inexpensive materials like chicken wire or hardware cloth. The height of the fence can range from a few feet (for rabbits) to 8 feet high for really determined deer. If you have burrowing visitors, bury the fence at least 10” deep in the ground.
Call for Help
Finally, if you have wild critters who have overstayed their welcome, like your mother-in-law who came for a visit and never left, help is available. Engage a respected authority in wildlife control, like Critter Control® of Dallas. Critter Control company has created the standards for animal control and wildlife management nationally. We use a variety of humane methods to remove live animals from your property and discourage them from returning.
For service call: 817-222-1101 or email us at [email protected].
Although common garden 