Buzz
Growing and caring for your own vegetable garden offers a sense of relaxation and provides you with fresh, tasty food. Unfortunately, many wild animals are also eager to enjoy the fruits of your hard work! Preventing animals from entering your garden can often be quite challenging, as they can be persistent. However, there are several methods to keep wildlife out of your garden, allowing you to protect and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Steps
Block the Entrance to the Garden
Build a Fence Around the Garden. Constructing a fence is an effective way to keep wild animals out. You can choose from a variety of fences to surround your garden, acting as a barrier between the animals and your vegetables. While fences are highly effective, they can be quite costly and require significant effort to install. Here are some key points to consider when selecting a fence for your garden:
- Many fences require stakes to be driven into the ground before the fencing can be set up around them.
- Most fences are built around the entire perimeter of the garden.
- The material and style of the fence are up to you. Options include wood, metal, or plastic materials like polypropylene.
- Some electronic fences will shock animals that try to breach them.
- The fence should be buried at least 30 cm below the surface to prevent animals from digging under it.
Ben Barkan
Garden & Landscape Design Expert
Garden & Landscape Design Expert
Expert advice: If you're dealing with deer or moles, try using an electric fence and baiting it. When the animal comes into contact with the fence, it will learn to avoid it, making this fence effective both physically and psychologically.
Raised Gardening Beds. Growing vegetables in elevated garden beds can be a great way to prevent weeds, make garden care a little easier, and protect your plants from common garden pests. Most raised beds are designed simply and are easy to create, allowing you to create an environment that discourages harmful creatures.
- Materials for raised garden beds can include wood planks, stone, brick, or concrete blocks.
- A raised bed that is at least 60 cm off the ground will keep rabbits out.
- Adding a mesh lining at the bottom of the raised bed can deter digging animals.
- You can still surround the raised bed with a fence for added security.
Protecting Your Plants. If you're concerned that some of your plants may be damaged, you can enclose them with a fence or cover them. This method will effectively block most animals from entering. You can either create your own barrier or purchase protective fences at garden supply stores.
- A thin wire mesh fence around the plant is enough to deter most pests.
- You can buy garden netting to cover your plants and prevent animals from eating them.
- Deer and bird netting can be used to protect young plants.
Repel Animals from the Garden
Spray Repellent Around the Garden. Most animals that sneak into your vegetable garden do so because they smell the plants and are eager for a free meal. Scents can also be used to repel animals by signaling that your garden is not a safe place for them to forage, or by creating unpleasant odors. Consider the following two common methods and choose the one that works best for you:
- Purchase a repellent with a scent similar to the urine of predators. These scents make your garden seem dangerous to animals. You might want to know which animals are frequent visitors before choosing a predator's scent that will scare them off.
- You can try using spices or homemade animal repellents and spraying them around the garden. These mixtures will either make the animals uncomfortable or make the garden smell unpleasant, forcing them to seek food elsewhere.
- Animal repellents in spray form are available at most home goods or garden supply stores.
- Look for recipes online to create your own animal repellent at home.
- Many repellents need to be reapplied because they can wash away in the rain or wet conditions.
Plant Vegetation That Makes Animals Uncomfortable. If you know which animals are frequenting your garden, you can try planting plants that they find unpleasant. These plants will help keep pests away and protect your vegetables. Consider planting these types of plants that are known to deter specific animals:
- Rhododendrons, yew, lamb's ear, peonies, and marigolds are disliked by rabbits.
- Morning glory, yellow daffodils, lavender, and marigold are effective against deer.
- Try mixing these plants to make the entire garden less appealing to nearby animals.
- Plant these types of plants around the garden as a barrier to discourage harmful creatures.
Scare Away Unwanted Animals. Even if your garden is peaceful, animals sneaking in are always alert to dangers. Therefore, you can use devices that will make any animal attempting to nibble on your plants jump and run. Consider these ideas to scare away unwanted visitors:
- Modern scarecrows with motion sensors that spray water at any wild animal that enters.
- A dog in the yard can deter many animals.
- Some devices use flashing lights and reflective materials to scare away birds.
- Buy animal deterrents that make alarming sounds or emit frightening noises when movement is detected.
Keep Cats to Deter Small Animals. Cats have natural hunting instincts and are great at keeping small animals away from your vegetable garden. In addition to hunting, the mere presence of a cat can discourage pests from entering. So if you own a cat, let it roam the garden to reduce the number of pests invading your vegetable patch.
- Remember to vaccinate your cat, as many wild animals carry diseases.
- Always monitor your cat to ensure they stay healthy and safe outdoors.
Plant Sacrificial Vegetables Outside Your Garden. While it may sound counterproductive, planting vegetables that animals love just outside your garden is a clever way to keep them from entering. Once you know which animals are causing trouble, plant their favorite crops at a distance from the garden so they’ll eat there instead of your precious vegetables.
- Ensure that these animal-friendly plants are far from your garden.
- Once animals can easily access their favorite food, they are less likely to attempt entering the garden.
- Try planting additional vegetables in areas easily accessible to animals to keep them occupied and away from your main garden.
Rearrange Your Garden’s Layout to Make it Less Appealing to Animals. Certain environments or landscapes can make animals feel uneasy, and the way you arrange your garden may unintentionally attract them. A simple shift in how the garden is organized can make it less comfortable for animals and help drive them away. Keep the following tips in mind when designing your garden to keep unwanted visitors at bay:
- Avoid allowing weeds to grow uncontrollably or dense vegetation to take over, as many animals enjoy hiding among the leaves.
- Remove any firewood piles near your garden.
- Trim back or relocate any shrubs that are too close to your garden.
Dealing with Common Garden Pests
Identify the Culprit Causing the Disruption. Before you can effectively drive away the animals disturbing your garden, you first need to identify which one is causing the problem. Understanding the specific species will help you come up with tailored strategies based on their habits. The more you know about what an animal likes or dislikes, the better your chances of protecting your garden. Some common garden pests to be aware of include:
- Rabbits
- Groundhogs
- House mice
- Moles
- Raccoons
- Norway rats
- Skunks
- Deer
- Birds
- Snails and slugs
Make It Harder for Rabbits to Enter Your Garden. Rabbits love finding their way into your garden and will eat everything you’ve grown. They can be a real nuisance, so you’ll need to take steps to make your garden uninviting to them. Here are a few tips to keep rabbits from eating your crops:
- Your garden fence should be at least 90 cm tall.
- The fence should be buried at least 30 cm into the ground to prevent rabbits from burrowing under it.
- Rabbits often struggle to access raised gardens.
- Try planting barrier plants like azaleas or yew trees to deter rabbits.
- Clear overgrown bushes and remove wood or stone piles where rabbits like to hide.
- If the problem persists, consult local authorities about regulations for trapping.
Prevent Deer from Entering Your Garden. Deer are common garden pests that can cause significant damage. To keep them away, you need to make your garden unwelcoming to them. Here are some methods to stop deer from entering your garden and damaging your plants:
- Your deer-proof fence should be at least 2.5 meters high.
- Deer are unlikely to jump over a fence if they don’t have a safe place to land. Consider adding another fence or posts inside the existing one to block their entry.
- Spraying predator urine around your garden can make deer wary and deter them from approaching.
- Motion-activated devices can be very effective at scaring deer away.
- A dog left outside can help scare deer away from your garden.
- Plants like rosemary, garlic, and oregano can make excellent deer-repellent barriers.
Prevent Birds from Entering Your Garden. Birds can be a nuisance in the garden, often choosing the ripest and most delicious fruits and vegetables to feast on. There are several ways to keep birds out, including:
- Hang shiny reflective balls on poles around the garden, preferably using vinyl balls with scary face images printed on them.
- Try enclosing plants with fine mesh wire.
- Cover the entire garden with netting, using bamboo, fence posts, or tall stakes to create a frame, and secure the net to the ground with twisted wire to prevent the wind from blowing it away.
- You could also string fishing wire or black thread around the garden, as birds tend to avoid these lines.
- Try advanced technology, such as a system that simulates owl shapes and their hooting sounds to scare off the birds.
Eliminate Snails and Slugs. Snails and slugs are among the most common garden pests. Though small and slow-moving, they can consume a large amount of food—up to several times their body weight in a single night! Here are some ways to control snails and slugs in your garden:
- A barrier of diatomaceous earth, a powder made up of tiny sharp particles, is one of the best ways to get rid of snails. Be sure not to use the type intended for swimming pools.
- Use beer to trap snails. Pour beer into a shallow container (like a yogurt cup) to about 2.5 cm from the top and bury it level with the ground. Snails and slugs will be attracted to the beer and drown in the container. Change the beer every few days.
- Buy copper tape to keep snails and slugs at bay by wrapping it around plants. Copper is relatively expensive, so it's best to use it on valuable plants.
- Purchase Sluggo, a non-toxic snail and slug repellent safe for both people and pets.
- Try planting red clover around your garden as bait for the pests.
- You can also manually remove snails and slugs each morning and drop them into soapy water to kill them.
Prevent Moles from Ruining Your Garden. If moles are present in your area, you'll notice them nibbling on young plants early in the spring. Building a fence is one of the best ways to keep them out.
- Install a thin wire fence with vertical slits at the base.
- If you don’t want to build a fence, try covering your young plants with plastic or fabric mesh.
Keep Mice and Voles Away from Your Garden. Mice and voles look similar and cause similar damage to vegetable gardens. These pests are active year-round, devouring almost all the vegetables they find. Use these methods to get rid of them:
- Mix slate gravel into the soil around your plants. You can also use soil containing slate gravel for planting.
- To prevent mice from digging up bulbs, add crushed gravel to the planting holes.
- Try trapping mice with rolled oats or peanut butter, or use humane traps. You can also buy vitamin D baits to poison them after they ingest it.
- Clean up straw and loose mulch in your garden to remove their preferred hiding spots.
- Purchase a rodent repellent containing ammonia from a garden center or hardware store.
- Cats are excellent at catching mice and voles. Sometimes, just having a cat nearby is enough to scare them away.
