Gardening Without Pests
By Paul Babs
Deer and raccoons, rabbits and gophers, moles and
chipmunks! They capture your heart when in a book
or zoo, but when they invade your garden. Oh! That’s
a different story. Yet how can a rabbit resist munching
on your crisp lettuce? Or a possum or raccoon stay
away from your sweet corn patch? And your berries
will always be attractive to a squirrel.
Fending
off the various animals that want to enjoy both your
flower and vegetable gardens can be both time consuming
and frustrating. Learning how to chase them off without
poisoning both them and your vegetables remains a
crucial part of being a good gardener. As scientists
begin to realize the damaging
effects of pesticides and other poisons on the human
body, the use of toxic methods needs to be carefully
considered, and then rejected.
Birds are a bird-watchers delight and somewhere between
a mild and major nuisance to the gardeners. They actually
do less harm than the four-legged animals. Birds have
a number of natural enemies, so you can scare the
birds by fooling them into thinking their enemies
are around.
A
humming line made of very thin nylon will vibrate
and hum in even the slightest breeze. It’s inaudible
to us, but heard by the birds. This works well with
strawberries. Unusual noises can be created with aluminum
pie plates loosely tied to stakes or leaving a radio
on at night. Installing some blinking lights, hawk-like
balloons or kites that mimic larger birds can also
be effective.
And of course, the two old stand-bys – scarecrows,
or a dog or cat – always help out with the bird
problem. Because birds and other animals need a source
of drinking water, eliminate any standing water near
the garden.
Night time is prowl time for the four-legged pests.
Each animal
has a distinctive footprint and each has its favorite
delicacy
to munch on. Many of them, such as deer and raccoons,
can be
eliminated by putting an electric fence or other barrier
around
the garden. Pocket gophers can be stopped by putting
a fence
made of hardware cloth two feet below and two feet
above the
surface of the garden.
A chicken-wire fence works the best for rabbits,
but the holes need to be 1” or smaller. Those
young rabbits aren’t very big. To keep the mice
from eating your fruit tree’s bark, sink wire
mesh or ¼” hardware cloth several inches
into the ground around the fruit trees.
How can you tell which animal is doing the munching
during the
night? Footprints are one way. Another is to place
about 10
marshmallows out in one spot where the animal has
been feeding.
Cats won’t eat the marshmallows. Raccoons and
skunks will eat
all of them in one sitting.
Possums will only eat one or two, and then come back
later for another one. Some animals will only be eliminated
by being caught in a trap. After they are caught be
sure to take them at least one mile away and release
them in a natural habitat. And, be careful not to
get bitten. Rabies is a reality among wild animals.
Gardening saturates one with a feeling of accomplishment
and
peace. The joy of picking your fresh vegetables right
before
dinner can hardly be matched by any other activity.
Well,
perhaps the fragrance of your freshly picked flowers
can
compete!
About the Author: Paul Babs is the
owner and operator of Evergreen Lawns Resource to
the gardening industry.For more information, go to:
http://www.leegardening.com
Source: www.isnare.com
