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Garden Gate:  Critters  |
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neeter302
True Blue Farmgirl
257 Posts
Anita
Hanover
Indiana
USA
257 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 02 2013 : 09:10:36 AM
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I love wild critters but it's so frustrating when they decimate the garden. Between the rabbits, raccoons, mole/shrews, turtles and deer helping themselves a lot of hard work is for naught. I don't know what to do. Neighbors had a little mixed breed dog that did a wonderful job at keeping critters at bay and out of our garden but the old lady passed away and now the animals have taken over :-(
Farmgirl #522
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2013 : 09:34:23 AM
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Ooooooh! That is just so... Oooohhhh! I'm so sorry, Anita! Investing all that hard work, hope and anticipation just to lose it all to the critters is just plain cruel on the heart. What are you doing to help keep them at bay? What really helped us was the chicken wire fence dug 6 inches into the ground all the way around the garden. (I think it was six inches - may have been twelve. My hubby did it and isn't here, I'll have to ask him for you.) I know that some of the animals really do not like mint or dill or marigolds. I realize it's a little late in the season, but I don't think it's too late to plant them. Just remember the mint and dill are prolific - if you don't want them to spread and take over, you will probably want to plant them in pots. I've also seen success with planting a double and triple row of onions and/or garlic around the exposed edges of my gardens. The animals really don't like the scent of them. And a lot of people here have great success with dial soap chips - they either hang them or lay them on the ground to ward off the deer. We did try mothballs for the moles, but they really didn't seem to have an effect. The chicken wire fence was a godsend - no moles, no rabbits, no raccoons, no gophers, no nothing! I should be knocking on wood right about now just for saying that, though. ;) I hope that some of the farmgirls can give you some better solutions than I, but I hope this helps a little. Hang in there, Anita - I'm sure there is something that will help! Hugs - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2013 : 09:38:14 AM
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Oh, and my aunt, the original farmgirl in the family, used to swear that bloodmeal around the garden would ward off animals, as well as human hair and dog fur clippings. She also used ground hot pepper on her plant leaves. I've tried the bloodmeal, but didn't notice much of a difference, to be honest. You may have more success with it than I did, though. :)
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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Edited by - Ninibini on Jul 02 2013 09:38:37 AM |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2013 : 1:43:51 PM
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predator urine, buy it at your local gun shop, hunting supply and some hardware/gardening stores
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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CindyG
True Blue Farmgirl
293 Posts
Cindy
Fairfax
VA
USA
293 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2013 : 4:41:30 PM
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Yup - coyote pee may do the trick! Who the heck would have thought someone could make a living selling coyote pee, but someone does. I'm really hoping it is a synthetic replica because I don't even want to think about the collection process for the real thing.
I worked at a nature-related store where people had horrible problems with raccoons and deer wiping out the contents of bird feeders in a matter of hours. The predator urine usually did the trick. It also helped force squirrels out of attics and skunks from under decks.
For your garden, it may help with the deer, raccoons and rabbits.
Hmmm...if the little mixed breed dog did the trick, perhaps you need to get one of those. Think of all the money you'll save not buying predator urine  |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2013 : 7:36:54 PM
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LOL! Cindy! You are SUCH a hoot! :) I don't even want to know, either! LOL!
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Jul 03 2013 : 05:49:42 AM
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They trap and cage the wild animals in order to obtain the urine.
"Keeping 150 to 600 foxes alive is no small chore. Under each cage there is a metal tray that funnels into a five gallon metal bucket. A fox will fill the bucket every week and a half."
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-05-20/features/8602060313_1_urine-deer-hunters-fox
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
"Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better."--Albert Einstein
"A meal of bread, cheese and beer constitutes the perfect food." --Queen Elizabeth I
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neeter302
True Blue Farmgirl
257 Posts
Anita
Hanover
Indiana
USA
257 Posts |
Posted - Jul 03 2013 : 06:16:43 AM
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Well I will put some of these suggestions to work. Thanks so much, only thing we've done is hang aluminum pie plates here and there but it's obvious we're going to have to try other things if we want to have anything left to harvest....grrrrr
Farmgirl #522
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hour3suns
True Blue Farmgirl
76 Posts
Sharon
Frankfort
OH
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - Jul 03 2013 : 09:15:18 AM
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Wild rabbits = vicious garden eaters.
Opossum = just plain nasty, but I hear good to eat (having grown up in the 'burbs, I figure if there's an aporkalypse I'll give it a go).
Raccoon = why don't we just give them the chickens to eat?
Feral Cats = ditto.
Flat Tailed Weasel - double ditto - especially if it's a 4-H project chicken.
Skunk = Really??? Did you have to spray that sheep, the dog, and me?
Coyote = don't even think about coming through the fence to the lambs or I will tan your hide...literally.
Dogs = if you're not ours, don't even think about trespassing. We've had enough dogs try attacking our livestock and, sadly, us in the past few years.
Japanese Beetles and a variety of other garden/plant destroyers - a poultry delicacy.
I'm wondering if I used coyote pee around the garden if it will attract the local coyote wildlife? Maybe I should find something else bigger than they are...like bear...or Dinosaur...you know, something that will really scare the proverbial piss out of them. Smiling & Waving, Sharon
http://www.thesilvermaplefarm.com |
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neeter302
True Blue Farmgirl
257 Posts
Anita
Hanover
Indiana
USA
257 Posts |
Posted - Jul 04 2013 : 08:00:32 AM
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LOL Sharon, raccoons have eaten so many of our chickens I can't even tell you. I bet we've lost fifty in the last couple years. Not to mention the chicken hawks, foxes and feral cats. Lordy it's out of control, if the chickens don't get in the coop at night they will not be there the next morning.
Farmgirl #522
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magnoliakathy
True Blue Farmgirl
453 Posts
Kathryn
Magnolia
Texas
USA
453 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2013 : 06:16:49 AM
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Coyote and wolf pee, got it from MyPetChicken.com, we also bought those dispensers too. It works, our problem is it evaporates in a week here in South Texas. Of course, there is the deer that comes up to the front porch and devours my porch plants. Moved them all to one spot and hung one of those bird nets over them, yesterday. I'll let you know how it works. We will be checking that netting several times a day because the first bird feeder is only 20 feet away, don't want to harm any song birds.
When you free your mind your heart can fly. Farmgirl # 714, |
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cozie lady
True Blue Farmgirl
58 Posts
Amy
Mt Pleasant
MI
USA
58 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2013 : 09:45:42 AM
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Turtles, I didn't not know they were a problem until I got a couple of ducks in May. Snappers ate one and tore the 2nd up pretty bad. She didn't make it through the night. We were able to get 2 turtles out of the pond and move them to the river down the road a few miles. I am scared to get more ducks until I know they are gone. :(
amy r
sister #4186 |
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mscountrygirl
True Blue Farmgirl
552 Posts
Michelle
Lucedale
Mississippi
USA
552 Posts |
Posted - Jul 10 2013 : 09:53:47 AM
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WOW turtles do that? And LOL to the animal urine. Wasn't MyPetChicken featured in Mary Jane's magazine a few months back? The have a great waterer for chickens. Anyway my animal issue is my new puppy who insists on being a cat! She sees the cat going through the raised beds after frogs, ect and she thinks she can follow. I resorted to spraying her with the hose and it has at least made her pause before she does it now!
It all comes back to the ground!
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Garden Gate: Critters |
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Critters
