How to keep critters out of vegetable garden
micrazy
15 years ago
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micrazy
15 years agoRelated Discussions
How doy ou keep critters out?
Comments (13)This is what I use and it really works. Copy Kat Deer and Rabbit Repellent There is a version of "Liquid Fence" on the market. I found this works just as well, just you have to use it more quickly due to it not having the preservatives in it. It smells bad when you apply it--this is your warning!! You will need 5 one gallon containers to mix this up. Fast and easy. 4 to 6 eggs 1 lg head of garlic, chopped 5 gallons of water Any hot pepper you may have in the house Put eggs, garlic and pepper in a blender with some water and blend until well mixed. Empty mixture in one of the gallon containers. Fill the container with water and mix well. Distribute the mixture into the other 4 containers until all 5 containers are equal. Fill all 5 containers with water and set in the sun for 3 days to "ripen". Sprinkle around the perimeter of the area you want to protect. You can also strain some mixture and put it into a spray bottle to spray on plants that might need extra treatment. Retreat every month or after a hard rain. I have also mixed in onions. I donÂt know if it helped or not. I think the eggs and garlic is enough. From what I have read, it helps to change the recipe every once in a while, so the deer donÂt get used to it. You can add milk, dish soap or salad oil in to help it work better....See MoreCritter-resistant vegetable garden design question
Comments (6)Here's the vole technique, but it's very difficult to do during the growing season when there's a lot of foliage. First you have to find exit holes. To determine if the hole is active, place a piece of apple in front of it. To keep rabbits etc. from eating the apple, place two short pieces of two x four on either side of it and the hole. Put a five gallon bucket on the two x fours and weight it down with a rock. If the apple is gnawed or gone the next day, it's an active hole. Now, place some mouse/rat poison in a yogurt or cottage cheese container, lay it on its side and place it where you had the apple. with the opening facing the hole. Replace the bucket set up. (This keeps other animals safe from the poison.) Check it daily and replace poison as needed until it's no longer taken. Look for other holes and do the same. This holds the population down, but doesn't really protect my sweet potatoes in summer, because the holes are impossible to find under all the vegetation in my ornamental gardens. But it does work, and is the only thing I know of that does....See MoreKeeping critters out of the garden
Comments (8)I live 50 yards from the long swampy draw that is known locally as 'raccoon ally', and I can spot light a dozen any given night with a flashlight. The only things I have them bother in the garden are ripe corn, ripe fruit, ripe grapes, and ripe melons. They will dig up the compost if there is some sort of protein in there, fish heads, meat or chicken scraps, or something like that. So I don't put that stuff in the compost. Recently, I tried an unsuccessful way of making yogurt, and poured the result onto newspaper and buried it in the compost. the raccoons dug it up and ate it. If you really have problems, aside from the chicken wire fence mentioned above, the best solution is an electric fence around the garden with one strand about 3 inches off the ground, and another at about a foot. Anyone who raises corn around here does that....See MoreA novel fence to keep out the critters
Comments (7)Two things I have not had to worry about are squirrels and rabbits- I have 10 cats! While the birds take some risks, their food has never been disturbed by any squirrels. As for deer, SO FAR, they have not been a problem. On the very rare occasions that my son has seen them in the yard, he has fired his BB gun at them (w/ my thanks). It would be a big problem though if the deer began eating up my yard. An opossum, on the other hand, took up living under the house there for awhile and I was feeding it as well as the cats (I suspect it was making itself free of the house by coming in through the kitty door). I'm sure there are raccoons too but I haven't seen any yet. Wildlife, I love it but only in its proper place- the woods. Brandy...See Moresylvana_grows
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