As spring arrives and we plant our gardens, critters appear as if on cue. They have no idea that they’re creating a nuisance. They’re just trying to find the sustenance they need to survive. Plants are a vital food source for many of the animal species that live around us, and our gardens are attractive to them and easily accessible.
How to keep animals out of the garden is a common concern. No one likes to wake up in the morning to find that all their newly planted bulbs have been destroyed, or the vegetables that were thriving have been devastated. Once pests like raccoons in the garden find this food supply, they will not only return for more, but they’ll also look for a safe place nearby to build their nests and burrows. Those safe places will likely be your attic, crawlspace, chimney, or beneath your porch.
Most Common Garden Pests
You’ll find different garden pests depending on where you live in the United States. There are some usual suspects like raccoons and squirrels that can be a nuisance in any State. Adept at living among humans, they are frequent visitors to our yards. While many of us enjoy sharing our outdoor space with them, there is a thin line between cute enjoyment and destructive nuisance.
Some of the most common nuisance animals digging up the yard and eating up gardens include:
Woodchucks
Also known as groundhogs, these stout and hardy creatures eat a wide variety of flowers and vegetables. In addition to being most fond of your leafy greens, they also love marigolds and sunflowers. They build complex tunnel systems underneath your lawn, driveway, and foundation for living, breeding, and hibernating. These tunnels can destabilize your foundation and cause cracks in driveways. The multiple holes used to go in and out of their burrow are also a tripping hazard should you step into one.
Moles
Moles, a common nuisance in the eastern United States, construct intricate tunnels. While woodchucks will eat above ground, mole damage to the garden includes destroying grass, flower, and vegetable roots as they dig for the worms and grubs that comprise their favorite foods. Moles dig closer to the surface than woodchucks, so their tunnels look like raised lines, often discolored as the grass above them dies.
Gophers
Different species of gophers are found in the Western United States, Southeast, and some pockets of the Rocky Mountains. All damage to your garden includes creating mounds around their openings and damaging lawns, gardens, irrigation systems, and foundations with their digging and chewing. Gophers love to eat roots, tubers, grasses, flowers, and seeds, damaging shrubs, flowering bulbs, and more.
Voles
While voles will eat insects, they prefer plants and have a similar diet to gophers. Voles will build tunnels above and along the ground, creating unsightly patterns throughout a lawn. Voles are most destructive in winter as they travel under the snow and below ground, eating the roots of trees, shrubs, and bulbs.
Chipmunks
Chipmunks can damage foundations, patios, walkways, and driveways with their burrowing. They will also gnaw through electrical wires and eat your bulbs, seedlings, and other plantings.
Squirrels
Squirrels are quite destructive both inside and outside your home. As rodents, squirrels have teeth that grow throughout their lives. To keep them manageable, they gnaw everything from gardens and bulbs outside to wood and electrical wires inside, where they love to nest in attics. When in your attic, they will create a mess with acorns and nuts, as well as their feces. They also bring parasites into your home.
Rabbits
Rabbits are a common garden pest that like to eat a wide variety of plants and vegetables. They are also fond of stripping bark off young trees and shrubs.
Skunks
Skunks are omnivores, eating both small mammals and carrion, as well as fruit, berries, and garden crops. One benefit is that they will eat the moles and voles plaguing your garden. Skunk damage includes digging holes in lawns as they scavenge for grubs. It is common for them to burrow under foundations, porches, and sheds, causing instability. This digging can also damage plumbing and electrical systems. Also, of course, their foul odor is unmistakable.
Birds
Birds in general, and starlings in particular, are a destructive nuisance to homeowners. Gathering in large flocks, their feces and urine contain a large amount of uric acid, which can erode paint, shingles, roofs, and even metal. They are notorious for building nests in vents, soffits, ledges, and eaves. Starlings in the garden will eat berries and fruit and nip buds from stems.
Do Deterrents Work?
Garden pest deterrents can work if used strategically. Install deterrents early in the season when these critters have not yet established themselves on your property, so they will not choose to build their nest or burrow in your yard, where they will multiply. These animals are also smarter than one would think. They get used to deterrents and begin to ignore them, so the best way to use deterrents is to switch them up and move them around to keep up an element of surprise.
- Motion-activated sprinklers use a sensor that triggers a burst of water when an animal enters an area in which you want them to stay away. Proper placement of the sprinkler is key to getting this right, and the water pressure needs to be strong enough to startle the critter. Some more intelligent animals will, over time, learn how to get around it.
- Scarecrows and predator decoys work when initially introduced, but most animals become accustomed to their presence rather quickly. They are more effective when moved around to better simulate how a live owl or hawk would not always remain in the same spot.
- Reflective tape can be an effective deterrent, especially in an area where wind can aid in creating motion. The changing reflections can disorient and frighten animals. Animals also become used to this deterrent, so it is best used in conjunction with another deterrent, such as the predator decoy.
- Noises such as high-frequency sound are not as effective as other deterrents. Temperature and humidity may negatively affect the performance of these devices, as well as trees and shrubs.
Do Repellents Work to Keep Animals Out?
Garden repellents are substances that deter unwanted animals from munching on your plants. Most of these are natural substances that are disliked by animals because of their taste and/or smell. It’s important to start using repellents before animals start nibbling at your garden.
- Cayenne Pepper, because of its capsaicin compound, can deter animals because of its strong smell and burning taste. The downside is that if an animal inadvertently gets it in its eyes, it will cause them great discomfort. If you have pets, you’ll need to make sure they stay away, too.
- Predator urine is another repellent with limited effectiveness. Coyote urine is the most common and can be used around the perimeter of your garden. However, plant-loving pests will become used to the smell over time.
- Castor Oil can be an effective deterrent for digging and burrowing animals. It has an unpleasant smell and a very bitter taste that repels animals. You spray it directly onto your soil weekly through a hose attachment.
The main downfall of these repellents is that they need to be reapplied often, and especially after it rains.
Can Plants Keep Animals Away?
While most of the plant-loving animals seem to eat everything within their path, there are some plants they thumb their nose at:
- Marigolds and nasturtiums help to deter small pests such as chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits. An added benefit is that they act like a trap crop, attracting harmful insects toward them and away from your valuable plantings.
- Garlic and alliums, such as chives and onions, emit a strong scent that masks the scent of other plantings, making it more difficult for animals to find them. Rodents, in particular, are repelled by the scent of garlic and alliums.
These plants are not foolproof solutions, but when used in tandem with other deterrents, their efficacy is increased.
How Do We Keep Critters Away?
If you are looking for the most effective and long-lasting solution for how to keep animals out of the garden, call Critter Control. Critter Control has over 40 years of experience getting rid of even the most stubborn of garden nuisances. Our arsenal of humane and safe nuisance control solutions includes these exclusions:
Deer Fencing
Deer have become a big problem in suburban and rural neighborhood gardens as they are avid eaters of vegetable and flower gardens, as well as shrubs and fruit trees. We typically install a six-to-eight-foot tall fence constructed of woven wire or polypropylene.
Wire Fences
Wire fences are a great defense against small animals of all kinds. Its effectiveness in creating a barrier depends on its height, construction, and the depth to which we bury the fence to ward off burrowing creatures.
Electric Fencing
An electric fence that runs around the perimeter of your garden can keep trespassers of any size out by placing the wires at specific intervals. The wire gives these critters a jolt, teaching them to stay away.
Bird Netting
Bird netting is an excellent method for keeping birds out. Used in conjunction with a fence, it will help keep critters such as mice out, as they can squeeze through some netting.
Hardware Cloth
Hardware cloth is a different type of wire mesh that has a smaller weave, making it quite resilient and difficult for animals to penetrate. Because hardware cloth is so flexible, it’s easier to work with when burying a fence underground to deter diggers and tunnelers.
Raised Garden Beds and Container Gardens
For some small animals, raised beds and containers offer some protection but are not a complete deterrent. Raised beds are best used with hardware cloth underneath to fend off burrowers.
Hire a Professional Wildlife Control Operator
Don’t wait until your flower and vegetable gardens are ruined. Protecting your gardens and expensive landscaping is best done proactively. Call Critter Control at the onset of gardening and landscaping season for an inspection and plan to fend off burrowing, climbing, flying, and jumping critters. Our inspection will also reveal if any larger mammals, such as raccoons or skunks, have taken up residence.
Once any animal finds a reliable food source, it will not move out of its own accord. Even if you’re already seeing critter damage, Critter Control can identify the pests and send them packing.
Call Critter Control at 1-800-Critter today to humanely and effectively rid your yard and home of unwanted nuisance animals.