Growing your food at home can be rewarding, with recent UK research revealing many benefits of this activity. These include saving money, enjoying more fresh foods, and making tastier meals, all without any potentially unsafe chemicals. Therefore, if you have a home garden, it’s essential to keep it well-protected to enjoy maximum benefits. Apart from natural elements like flooding, which can damage your garden, another thing to consider is the resident wildlife. If you’re worried about these animals damaging your garden, below are seven ways to put them off.
1. Identify the threats
Before you declare war on all furry and feathered things, it is best to know which garden threats you’re up against. The plan here is to play detective and look out for clues. Deer leave big footprints and chomp down plants cleanly, rabbits do the same but leave little round droppings behind, squirrels crack nuts like nobody’s business and bury bulbs, while cheeky birds like to peck fruit before it’s even ripe. Once you know the threat, you can choose the best way to keep them out of your garden.
2. Cover your compost
Open compost piles are an exciting invitation for garden critters, who then move on to your tastier treats. It is not a pleasing sight when you have those midnight visitors tripping over or scattering your compost heap. Therefore, keep your garden pest-free with a lidded compost bin to stop these dumpster divers in their tracks. The same goes for pet bowls; bring them in after dinner to avoid attracting unwelcome guests like skunks and raccoons. And if you have bird feeders, swap your containers for a secure, chew-proof one to keep your garden safe.
3. Fence your garden
Fencing your garden will largely depend on your specific needs. For instance, using a 2 to 3-foot fence should keep out most rabbits, but the smart ones might try digging under. To outsmart them, try to bury the fence a foot underground. For troublesome deer, you’ll need a heavy 6 to 8-foot fence, while you’ll need to put a net over your precious berry bushes if you have feathered friends before they ruin your crops. It’s best to research and choose appropriate fencing for the entire home to protect it against any further damage by these pests.
4. Try repellents
Repellents might be your solution for guarding your garden, particularly if you start early in the season. Think of them as deterrents that remind these animals your garden’s not a free lunch stop. Repellents might work for many animals, although there are two types: taste-based and odour-based. Remember, prevention is key since it’s easier to stop these pests from developing a taste for your prized garden than trying to kick them out once they’ve settled in.
5. Use pots and raised beds
Planting in raised beds or pots can be a great way to keep nibblers at bay. A raised bed two feet high should deter rabbits, especially with a little fence on top. Pots are even better; hanging them on railings or planting herbs in window boxes can keep your greens safely out of reach of any unwelcome creatures.
6. Be realistic
While doing all you can to protect your garden, remember that you may not be able to do so completely. Having this realistic picture will help reduce the number of times you feel overwhelmed or frustrated with trying to safeguard your garden. By combining different methods, like repellents and a few realistically placed sprinklers, you can make your garden a whole lot less appealing to these animals. That said, protecting your garden from wildlife could be about learning to coexist instead of declaring war on them. So keep at it, and with a bit of persistence, you can create a garden that’s less of the wildlife enjoying an all-you-can-eat buffet in your garden.
7. Try scare tactics
Sure, the scarecrow may not be a good fit for your garden, but all is not lost yet. You may try scare tactics like motion-activated water sprinklers, although you have to keep these options as effective as possible. For instance, you may move the sprinklers around the garden or use a few at once; otherwise, those clever critters will learn to avoid the spray in one spot and just feast elsewhere. Always keep in mind that the surprise element is key.
Ultimately, wildlife plays a useful role in our environment; however, it can also be a challenge sometimes. For this reason, if you’re having trouble with these animals damaging your garden, it is best to follow a few of the above tips.
