Defending Your Garden

Many of us may not like to dig posts and fences around our garden, but our vegetables will be gone before we could harvest them if we have rodents or small animals in our garden neighbourhood. Skunks, raccoons or rabbits can dig up lawns in their search for food. We can use eco-friendly and non-toxic pesticide and treat the lawns with it to curb the grub growing and ultimately deter the animals from visiting our garden. After taking care of the spraying of the lawn, we can erect a fence that is about four feet in height around the garden so that intruders will not be able to get an easy entry into it. Fencing material has to be tougher than chicken wire as most animals can force their entry through a chicken wire. Hard wire mesh may be a good idea. Plant covers may help at keeping the intruders from eating our garden plants and vegetables. These covers can be bought from garden centers. We can shield the larger plants by placing a net over them. For trees bearing fruit, we can employ large kind of nets that will cover the entire top of the trees to save them from birds and other wild animals. The trunks of the trees can be shielded from animals by wrapping plastic screens around them to a height of maybe two or three feet. Another approach to drive away pests and animals is to use scare methods. These methods are helpful with raccoons, pigs and rabbits. We can use scarecrows, motion sensitized lights, acoustic alarms and water sprinklers. The keyword in scaring is movement. The scarecrow also has to move by wind or by the help of some motor equipment. Otherwise, it will be useless. A scare tape is also a helpful method. We can cut the tape into strips and then tie the strips or attach them to wires or garden posts. The wind will then make the tape to reflect light and make a noise that will scare away the approaching animals. We have to keep changing all these methods periodically as the animals are smart and they will get used to the noise and motion; once they realize that it is not going to be harmful to them, they will go around these scare devices without getting scared. Another armor in our defense weaponry is a taste repellent that can be applied to the plants, fruits and vegetables that are in danger. This could be a diluted mix of water and maybe some hot sauce. This can be sprayed directly on the plants, fruits and vegetables and also the boundaries of the garden. When this is done, we have to be cautious after harvesting the fruits and vegetables and remember to wash and rinse them thoroughly with fresh warm water before we cook them or eat them. It is not only animals that we have to defend our gardens from, but even frost and extreme cold. We have to spray anti frost solutions and treat the plants with zinc mixtures so that they survive against the frost and cold conditions under the onslaught of a bitter winter. Once we take care of all this, backed by good fencing that is critter proof, we can rest peacefully and the see the garden grow and bloom.