Mammals in the Garden

Have you noticed your arborvitaes lately? Has something been trimming them for you? Or how about those yews? Do they appear misshapen? And then there are the impatiens! You planted them weeks ago, but they have gone nowhere….in fact, if you didn’t know better, you’d say they have actually shrunk.

And, has there been a thief of some kind raiding your vegetable garden? Well if you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone; in fact, welcome to the club

Everyone who gardens eventually is forced to deal with one or more marauding mammals. From mice and moles to deer and dogs, there is always some little beastie trying our gardening patience.

Some folks throw up their hands and stop gardening altogether, while others continue their battle using many different kinds of techniques, gadgets, and potions. Today we will be discussing some common garden mammal pests and ways to control them. And your suggestions in handling these little buggers are always welcome too.

Mice/Voles a very common find in the garden, but easier to control compared to some of the other pests. Try planting a border of artemisia around an area to repel them. Other methods of control include the inhumane sticky traps, vitamin d baits which affect only rodents, and traps. Also, good sanitation is very important. Keep the area free from tall weeds and grass, especially around tree trunks, and clean up fallen fruit under trees.

Moles it is easy to confuse moles with voles but look for velvety fur, very short tail or none, hidden ears, on moles and small round ears and longer tail on voles. Moles are mainly carnivores and actively search for grubs, earthworms and other soil life.

Moles are pretty territorial too, and usually the damage you find on your lawn is the work of one rambunctious mole. Control methods include harpoon traps(yuck), flooding, digging him out when you see him moving under the soil, burying a coffee can below the active run for use as a live trap, applying any product containing castor oil to the soil, and using any number of vibratory devices to annoy him.

Also, moles dislike digging in rocky soil, so place a 6 inch border of stone 2 feet deep around your lawn or garden. Other repellants include placing used catlitter in the burrow and sprinkling red pepper around.

Chipmunks Cute little critters which are highly territorial. If you find plants and bulbs dislodged right after you plant them, there’s a darn good chance that a chipmunk is the culprit. To deter them try dipping bulbs in Wiltpruf or a repellant and spray plants with repellant.

Squirrels Personally, I like squirrels. They are very entertaining. But they can play havoc on the lawn as they dig holes searching for buried nuts from seasons before. These animals are a little more difficult to control because they are considered a small game. You cannot simply kill a squirrel if you feel like it. Hot pepper repels them. You can also trap squirrels and install baffles on your bird feeders.

Rabbits I think everyone loves bunnies until they start munching favorite flowers or chewing a prize tree’s bark. Try wrapping screening or hardware cloth around tree trunks. Sprinkle pepper or used cat litter around too.

Groundhogs Another game animal that can be hard to control. Groundhogs cause damage with their digging, eating, and just plain sitting on top of your plants. To repel them, try planting onions or garlic around your plants, spray with a repellant, or sprinkle pepper around.

Gophers Gophers feed on all kinds of things; Roots, tubers, bulbs, grasses, and seeds. They dig extensive burrows and are also difficult to control. Some folks try flooding the burrows or fumigating, and trapping. You can also create a barrier around a garden by burying mesh fencing 24 inches below ground. Make sure there is 24 inches above ground too.

Cats Cats cause a small amount of damage to gardens and are more an annoyance than anything else. Try scattering orange peels in areas that kittie frequents. Also, plant your cat a container of his own grass to help keep him out of the garden.

Dogs Dogs can be repelled with peppermint, spearmint, and commercial repellants. Areas damaged by urine must be flushed with water thoroughly. Bitch urine is especially bad because it is more concentrated than male urine.

Deers I hear more complaints about deer damage to landscapes than anything else. In some areas, deer seem to be more common than dogs. There are many repellants on the market which work to varying degrees and sometimes one has to try combining different ones. You can also mix up your own deer repellant by combining 5 eggs in 1 gallon of water. Throw in a little hot sauce as well. This concoction is the basis for many commercial products.

You can also attach small bars of deodorant soap at browse height to your prize plants. Another method that doesn’t seem to work as well is the tying of clumps of human hair to plants. This has to be replaced very often and unless you have access to a barbershop or hair salon, it is also impractical.

I have even heard of folks placing their funkiest old sneakers out in the garden (which should repel anything) and keeping the deer out that way. Playing a radio only works until the deer get used to it. Barriers such as 8-foot fencing are probably the best method of deer control but can incur quite an expense depending on the product used.

Certain types of fencing if not installed properly can be dangerous to the deer if they get tangled in it. I have seen this happen, by the way. Sometimes planting a crop of alfalfa for the deer will help keep them out of your garden, but don’t count on it. Being browsing animals, they usually keep moving on to other items at your “salad bar”anyway.