Keys To Keeping Animals Out Of Gardens

The first step is to identify the animals that are causing the damage and learn a little about that particular animal's habits. This way you can put together an effective solution. Making your garden less attractive to wildlife is a major key as well. Eliminate hiding or nesting areas, such as brush piles and tall grass and seal off any access to crawl spaces beneath your porch or deck.

Keeping Deer out of Garden Minimizing other food sources nearby will also help to keep animals away. Be sure to cover your compost pile, this will help discourage raccoons. Cleaning up birdseed that has fallen on the ground will help to discourage squirrels and other animals.

Other natural ways to keep animals out of gardens include scent repellents. Scent repellents, like garlic clips, castor oil and animal urine can be very effective in keeping animals out of gardens. Products that use hot peppers can help deter rabbits and other small animals. Fences are the most effective solution. Fences offer the best way to provide complete protection for your plants while not harming the wildlife. Another option would be live traps, there are many sizes available and they offer a good solution for removing the animals without harming them.

Keeping Rabbits Out Of Gardens

There are many pests in a vegetable gardens with one of the worst being rabbits. Though it can be frustrating, harming the animals shouldn't be your solution. There are many natural, humane solutions to repel rabbits from your garden. Many of the following solutions will also work for squirrels, raccoons and other small pest as well.

Build Raised Beds: Raise your vegetable garden beds anywhere between 1 1/2 to 2 feet off the ground. Doing this makes it much more difficult for rabbits to get into the garden. Garden netting is also a good investment, just drape over the vegetables to help protect your vegetables.

Create Narrow Pathways: Creating narrow pathways makes it harder for rabbits and other small animals to hide from predators and leaves them out in the open and vonerable.

Interplant: Interplanting vegetable that rabbits like with vegetables like onions, which rabbits do not like can help deter them from your garden.

Plant a Perimeter: Planting things like garlic, onions, chives, lavender and marigolds around the perimeter of your garden will also help deter rabbits and other small animals. Planting a double row of onions is a great deterrent as well as planting marigolds around the edge which adds color to your garden while also helping to deter animals. Planting clover as a border around the garden will help slow down rabbits from eating your garden. Rabbits enjoy clover, and will eat all the clover rather than the vegetables.

Build a Fence: Building a fence at least 2 feet high is a the best long term solution. It can be made out of a number of materials, so you can even make it quite attractive with the use of bamboo. If you do not use raised beds, be sure to dig a trench at least 6-8 inches below ground, and start the fence there.

Surround Plants: Put a layer of mesh or other material over the hardest hit plants. You can use wire mesh, burlap, or hardwire cloth for this.

Scents: Sprinkle scents around the vegetable garden bed that rabbits do not like. Try mixing hot pepper sauce with equal parts water and sprinkling it on and around your plants. Be sure to reapply after rain. Sprinkling coyote or fox urine around the garden is also a great deterrent, once rabbits smell this they will think predators are nearby and will stay out of your garden.

Keeping Deer Out Of Garden

Keeping deer out of your garden can be a tough problem facing any gardener. There are many deer deterrent and repellent products available, but many gardeners but there are also cheap homemade solutions that work just as well.

Smells: Deer tend to run away when they smell humans, so to take advantage of this, use human hair to keep as a border around your vegetable garden to keep them out. Simply sprinkle human hair clippings around the perimeter of your garden, and the deer will stay away.

Smelly soap is also a useful deterrent, but the process is a little more complicated than using the human hair. If you already have a fence in place around your garden, all you need to do is drill a hole through several bars of soap and tie them with a string to your fence. The odor will help keep deer away from your garden.

Plant a Perimeter: Growing plants on the perimeter of your garden that deer are not fond of can help deter them from getting into your garden. Plants that are very aromatic can help repel deer, plants like thymes, catnips, rosemary and pachysandra work well.

Motion Lights: Motion lights can be used to help scare deer and other animals away as well.