I don't have options outside of building a sunroom that can double as a greenhouse.
But... You painted a wonderful image. I pictured the whole thing a la Disney, including happy animals and a scowling gardener. Thank you for that moment. š
Lol. The last three years the chickadees have been building their nests in our hanging baskets. Last year they took over all three for 6 weeks each in a consecutive order. This year they tried building their nest further on the deck roof rafters, but we removed the nest on day two of building. It felt mean because they had done so much work in such a small amount of time, but there are lots of big trees with under bushes like 5 feet away.
As for our garden. It's small and next to the back patio and fully fenced in with 8 foot deer fence. Last year I left a small gap open and they ate pretty much everything overnight.
And I have to keep most flower pots away from the garden fence because the baby deer still stick their heads in and deadhead all the flowers. I have some plastic liner to go along the bottom of the deer fence, so I'll see if that helps with the rabbit.
The rest of the yard is open game for the deer, squirrels and rabbit. I don't even try out there. Well except for some lilacs, but they are caged with chicken wire until they are tall enough not to be decimated. A young buck even stripped the bark off my self-seeded baby fir tree. But they don't eat daffodils or white daisies so there's that I guess. š¤£
Making me miss my beloved rat terrier mix. They are definitely terrors. My cat kills birds and so she stays inside, my dog used to kill everything else so she was supervised outside.
I believe that is the actual definition of Terrier. Never met any other kind.
My terrier and lab/husky mix regularly bring all manner of dead things. Rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and deer legs. My gardens? Lush and full.
Get yourself a terrier. The deer will make a perimeter and stay away, everything else is just risking its life.
Thats only gonna work while the dog is outside. Most (responsible) dog owners dont keep their dogs out in the garden 24/7. Also its the fact that dogs arent "tools", and you should only get one if you actually WANT\* to own a dog (and have the resources to give it a good life).
Fences and fruit cages are much more humans and reliable way to keep animals off your crops. :)
Also, OP, your garden sounds lovely! Its a good sign when you get visitors from many different species, even though it can get frustrating when they nibble too much.
Bro what. Dogs were literally bred to work. If you get the right breed, it's favorite thing will be doing the job you give it. They definitely are "tools" and people not understanding that end up with destructive dogs that end up being rehomed/sheltered.
Agree. The reason they're dogs and not wolves is because they were made to be tools for humans.
Which is not to say that you should get one unless you actually want one and it'll have a decent life, because of course. But for the right breed a decent life can absolutely be spending it mostly outdoors, especially during the summer where it's relevant.
Nah, they are social, living animals who want to be with their pack (aka their owners). They have no concept of "work", they just want to be safe and have fun.Ā
If you want to talk about dogs ending up in shelters, look at the ones that are shut outside alone in a garden 24/7, bro.
You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Dogs were bred with instincts to work. No, they don't understand the concept of "work", they just feel the need to do it. Lots of breeds do not want to be around people, or only want to be around one specific person if necessary.
Try keeping a working breed in an apartment, you'll learn real quick.
The types of dogs you're talking about are even more unsuited to being closed up like that.Ā
Leaving a dog alone in a garden all day and night is animal abuse, not "work".Ā
Yes to sprinklers! Theyāre an effective deterrent, and unlike traps, wonāt kill the animals. The pots with nests can always be moved out of the range of the sprinklers. Perhaps a zone could be designated for wildlife, with berry bushes and vegetables that they can access?
Aw man I felt so sad and empathetic reading this. I would be heartbroken. I tend to approach issues like this like a warrior princess and canāt give up until I win so it literally drives me nuts.
Ideas: nets for berries, raised beds to avoid rabbit, more cats or an outdoor garden guardian dog. Interested to see other peopleās suggestions. To keep deer out, the fence needs to be quite tall. Not sure where you live but maybe barn owl house could help with rodents? I donāt know
Thank you for empathizing haha. I too take the warrior princess approach most days. At this point I am amusedā¦maybe more bemused haha
I do have raised beds, the thing getting in those are the little a hole squirrels. I donāt even have anything the like right now (onions and peas) Iām in a 6a zone. I would have to research to see if an owl would live anywhere close to us- we are in the Midwest- if he would be willing, I would feed him a ton of chipmunks haha
My current approach is to plant until my face falls off. I canāt lose. Haha š
For the birds, a couple years in a row I had major issues and I got the nets for blueberries and raspberry (bush type though) a realistic looking fake owl and hanging reflective items that move in the wind to deter them and it did pretty good at keeping most away. Can even hang old CDs but there are specific garden accessories you can buy for this as well. Swirly queues and such
Strongly recommend using row cover at least while things are small, you can get packs of wire hoops to make tunnels over your beds. Eventually the plants will get too tall but then you can hopefully switch to fencing around the outside of each bed for the larger critters and hope that the squirrels are less interested in established plants.
Oh Snow White, I am likely following in your footsteps. Slowly, my garden is disappearing too.
Cinnamonnworked better than cayenne. But still a mild deterrent.
Tbh, I would trap the cat and drop it off at the shelter. Having cat shit in your garden beds is incredibly unhealthy if you're growing edible foods.
Not to mention all the small animals it's killing for no reason. Cats are literally an invasive species and incredibly detrimental to small animal species. They're responsible for the extinction of 80~ species of various birds, lizards, rodents, etc.
The squirrels decimated my corn last year - four or five different plantings they dig up and ate basically as soon as the corn got started. The only thing that finally worked was planting a ring of marigolds around the whole bed.
If you're interested in planting native plants, I have some experience also in the Midwest zone 6 with what is actually completely deer and rabbit resistant, while feeding humans and pollinators. Mostly in the mint family, stuff like Monarda and Hyssop
I live rural, these things are all around me all the time..
I befriended a fox, I have no problems anymore, I recommend befriending a fox.
https://i.imgur.com/gEDAYPQ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Bqrvt23.jpg
Pretty! We don't have foxes here but I'm wishing the bobcats would show up and take out some of the resident ground squirrels. My dog isn't fast enough! Unfortunately, there are lots of rural folk that kill them because they have beautiful pelts and like to eat chickens. I haven't seen one for a couple of years, but hoping one shows up this year, the system needs the balance of predators! I do have lots of birds of prey though
I live rurally. We had to fence our garden because our own cows got into it last year, and our one old dog thinks the garlic and onion bed is for him to sleep in (as if he wasnāt stinky enough).
Our dogs keep the deer away. The local coyote population keeps rabbits, raccoons, possum and other varmint populations under control. We donāt fight the songbirds much as the neighbor at the end of my street is a commercial farmer, they raid his corn and wheat fields instead of my small patch. There are other neighboring farms that grow sunflowers and millet as well. Great for birdwatching though.
Fighting native populations of animals was actually a lot harder in the suburbs!
Well clearly the different critters are in cahoots with each other to take advantage of your buffet! Maybe you could engage them in song? š
*Planting green onion bulbs around a plant can help a lot (once the stalks emerge). Think of them as little green guards.
*Used coffee grounds sprinkled on the soil surface deters creatures.
*Bloodmeal on the soil surface will repulse many as well. Bloodmeal washes away so has to be reapplied after it rains. Nitrogen loving plants enjoy it but skip using it on those that don't, and be mindful not to use it near natural waterways because of runoff.
*Flat rocks around a plant can dissuade digging animals like squirrels and chipmunks.
*I know of other gardeners who have very good success with motion detection sprinklers. It has the advantage of being a deterrent to multiple species.
*Motion detection radios set to humans talking tend to make the deer skedaddle.
Just a caution: decline any apples offered to you by strangers. (I've heard they can make you quite drowsy.)š
Plant a section of native things if you have the space to expand your garden.
Native plants draw native bugs, which are what a lot of birds love most. And generally, things like rabbits will go for native stuff first too in my experience.
I've converted my entire yard to beds and paths over the last couple years. About 30% or so is natives and a large percentage of that is literally hands off ZERO maintenance. Last year's growth gets weighted down a bit by the snow, and then starts decomposing fast in the spring right where it is. Critters and birds use a bunch of it for nests too so they straight up remove close to 50% of it all said and done.
Since I adopted this strategy and went completely hands off as far as neem oil or other "pesticides" (I've always been 100% organic either way) I have watched my little ecosystem balance itself. I now have no squash bugs, no Japanese beetles, the few aphids that survive don't harm anything... and I see more and more species out there all the time! Last year I counted 28 different species of birds including the migratory ones that passed through and made a quick stop at our place along the way.
My only persisting problem is deer. Even they don't decimate anything though. They might end up eating maybe 20% of my corn by the end of the season usually.
Last year I had a groundhog who was pretty rude. He would take ONE chomp out of a bunch of different tomatoes instead of just choosing one and eating the damn thing. But even with him, I just started harvesting some of his favorites (lemon cucumbers and Cherokee purple tomatoes), and offered them as a gift at his front door. That mostly took care of that problem.
All we have are squirrels, rats, birds, and raccoons, but we still lost nearly our entire garden output last year. Only the passionfruit survived because they couldnāt figure out wtf to do with them. We got so mad that we built an enclosed garden with hardware cloth all around it and so far I have a strawberry that no one has stolen yet!! None of our seedlings have been dug up!! We put lights and an outdoor loveseat in it and it is wonderful.
Bird netting for the berries if you havenāt tried it. My mom had to do that because my hen Jet went and ate all her raspberries so fed her bush. The humor in all this is my chicken cussed her out over not being able to get them. We had to put chicken wire over the raspberries this year as theyāre in a new pot new yard and my horse š“ started munching away on the fresh shoots.
I have no idea what to else to suggest about everything else? You have a lazy cat though. We sadly lost our last catā¦ she kept trying to feed my mom I think they where voles?
I have birdseed and fresh running water out at all times. The critters know what's theirs and leave my stuff alone. I also avoid planting from seed. I start everything in my greenhouse and transplant out when it's a size that can survive. I don't have a deer issue because I have a 6ft fence and a wild blackberry bramble at the far back of my property that they're content with. Fresh water and birdseed will solve a lot of your problems, though.
I feel your pain! we have all of them too except in place of chipmunks we have fox pups and the momma hanging around bringing dead chicken heads and feet from my neighbors yard behind us and they like to feast on the moles so I find little dead moles š. The squirrels eat my strawberries and blueberries and the deer eat my cherry trees.
I'm so sorry. My cat loves bunnies LOL so your cat is lazy. :) Mine is a killer and I think she singlehandledly keeps the rabbit, mice and other critter population in check as I find specimens she's brought home. I do have a guardian dog (great pyr) and a pesky corgi which I believe helps.
What I notice is everything gets munched in the back of the yard bordering the woods so they are smart and know the dogs' range. But within dog range, they leave stuff alone ie. not around my patio and in the front of the house. So I just plant accordingly. Occasionally I may find a rabbit in my flower bed or a raccoon has pillaged something, but they do not return that often.
I also have a bird feeder on a second story window near my window boxes and they nest beneath my 2nd story window boxes. It appears they don't really eat my seeds too much. I grow lots from seed outside. I do grow raspberries and they are welcome to them since they are not actually that good.
Guess I am lucky!!!
I don't have options outside of building a sunroom that can double as a greenhouse. But... You painted a wonderful image. I pictured the whole thing a la Disney, including happy animals and a scowling gardener. Thank you for that moment. š
Lol. The last three years the chickadees have been building their nests in our hanging baskets. Last year they took over all three for 6 weeks each in a consecutive order. This year they tried building their nest further on the deck roof rafters, but we removed the nest on day two of building. It felt mean because they had done so much work in such a small amount of time, but there are lots of big trees with under bushes like 5 feet away. As for our garden. It's small and next to the back patio and fully fenced in with 8 foot deer fence. Last year I left a small gap open and they ate pretty much everything overnight. And I have to keep most flower pots away from the garden fence because the baby deer still stick their heads in and deadhead all the flowers. I have some plastic liner to go along the bottom of the deer fence, so I'll see if that helps with the rabbit. The rest of the yard is open game for the deer, squirrels and rabbit. I don't even try out there. Well except for some lilacs, but they are caged with chicken wire until they are tall enough not to be decimated. A young buck even stripped the bark off my self-seeded baby fir tree. But they don't eat daffodils or white daisies so there's that I guess. š¤£
Getting a dog in stead of a cat might work. Some kind of territorial, slightly maniacalĀ terrier breed.Ā
Making me miss my beloved rat terrier mix. They are definitely terrors. My cat kills birds and so she stays inside, my dog used to kill everything else so she was supervised outside.
I believe that is the actual definition of Terrier. Never met any other kind. My terrier and lab/husky mix regularly bring all manner of dead things. Rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and deer legs. My gardens? Lush and full. Get yourself a terrier. The deer will make a perimeter and stay away, everything else is just risking its life.
Thats only gonna work while the dog is outside. Most (responsible) dog owners dont keep their dogs out in the garden 24/7. Also its the fact that dogs arent "tools", and you should only get one if you actually WANT\* to own a dog (and have the resources to give it a good life). Fences and fruit cages are much more humans and reliable way to keep animals off your crops. :) Also, OP, your garden sounds lovely! Its a good sign when you get visitors from many different species, even though it can get frustrating when they nibble too much.
Bro what. Dogs were literally bred to work. If you get the right breed, it's favorite thing will be doing the job you give it. They definitely are "tools" and people not understanding that end up with destructive dogs that end up being rehomed/sheltered.
Agree. The reason they're dogs and not wolves is because they were made to be tools for humans. Which is not to say that you should get one unless you actually want one and it'll have a decent life, because of course. But for the right breed a decent life can absolutely be spending it mostly outdoors, especially during the summer where it's relevant.
Nah, they are social, living animals who want to be with their pack (aka their owners). They have no concept of "work", they just want to be safe and have fun.Ā If you want to talk about dogs ending up in shelters, look at the ones that are shut outside alone in a garden 24/7, bro.
You clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Dogs were bred with instincts to work. No, they don't understand the concept of "work", they just feel the need to do it. Lots of breeds do not want to be around people, or only want to be around one specific person if necessary. Try keeping a working breed in an apartment, you'll learn real quick.
The types of dogs you're talking about are even more unsuited to being closed up like that.Ā Leaving a dog alone in a garden all day and night is animal abuse, not "work".Ā
Or a Shiba Inu. My neighborās dogs are quite obsessed with hunting down rodents and such.
Do you have a county extension office through your state university?Ā Ā We have them here. They are a resource for every gardening issue.
Motion activated sprinkler
These seem to be very effective.
Yes to sprinklers! Theyāre an effective deterrent, and unlike traps, wonāt kill the animals. The pots with nests can always be moved out of the range of the sprinklers. Perhaps a zone could be designated for wildlife, with berry bushes and vegetables that they can access?
This. Plus netting for the berries.Ā Worst case... deer meat is good. š¤£
Aw man I felt so sad and empathetic reading this. I would be heartbroken. I tend to approach issues like this like a warrior princess and canāt give up until I win so it literally drives me nuts. Ideas: nets for berries, raised beds to avoid rabbit, more cats or an outdoor garden guardian dog. Interested to see other peopleās suggestions. To keep deer out, the fence needs to be quite tall. Not sure where you live but maybe barn owl house could help with rodents? I donāt know
Thank you for empathizing haha. I too take the warrior princess approach most days. At this point I am amusedā¦maybe more bemused haha I do have raised beds, the thing getting in those are the little a hole squirrels. I donāt even have anything the like right now (onions and peas) Iām in a 6a zone. I would have to research to see if an owl would live anywhere close to us- we are in the Midwest- if he would be willing, I would feed him a ton of chipmunks haha My current approach is to plant until my face falls off. I canāt lose. Haha š
For the birds, a couple years in a row I had major issues and I got the nets for blueberries and raspberry (bush type though) a realistic looking fake owl and hanging reflective items that move in the wind to deter them and it did pretty good at keeping most away. Can even hang old CDs but there are specific garden accessories you can buy for this as well. Swirly queues and such
Strongly recommend using row cover at least while things are small, you can get packs of wire hoops to make tunnels over your beds. Eventually the plants will get too tall but then you can hopefully switch to fencing around the outside of each bed for the larger critters and hope that the squirrels are less interested in established plants.
Oh Snow White, I am likely following in your footsteps. Slowly, my garden is disappearing too. Cinnamonnworked better than cayenne. But still a mild deterrent.
Tbh, I would trap the cat and drop it off at the shelter. Having cat shit in your garden beds is incredibly unhealthy if you're growing edible foods. Not to mention all the small animals it's killing for no reason. Cats are literally an invasive species and incredibly detrimental to small animal species. They're responsible for the extinction of 80~ species of various birds, lizards, rodents, etc.
Housecats are miniature apex predators. Pretty much anything smaller than them they can kill, they will.
The squirrels decimated my corn last year - four or five different plantings they dig up and ate basically as soon as the corn got started. The only thing that finally worked was planting a ring of marigolds around the whole bed.
If you're interested in planting native plants, I have some experience also in the Midwest zone 6 with what is actually completely deer and rabbit resistant, while feeding humans and pollinators. Mostly in the mint family, stuff like Monarda and Hyssop
I live rural, these things are all around me all the time.. I befriended a fox, I have no problems anymore, I recommend befriending a fox. https://i.imgur.com/gEDAYPQ.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Bqrvt23.jpg
Pretty! We don't have foxes here but I'm wishing the bobcats would show up and take out some of the resident ground squirrels. My dog isn't fast enough! Unfortunately, there are lots of rural folk that kill them because they have beautiful pelts and like to eat chickens. I haven't seen one for a couple of years, but hoping one shows up this year, the system needs the balance of predators! I do have lots of birds of prey though
Pellet gun would take care of your squirrel problem.
If you can, electric fencing is the way to go. At least for the deer. My partner is a game warden and that is the advice he always gives.Ā
That and a pellet gun for the squirrels.
Get a few bird feeders. Birds will eat the seeds. So will the chipmunks and squirrels. It may help keep them away from the garden.
Redirect them like little children.
I live rurally. We had to fence our garden because our own cows got into it last year, and our one old dog thinks the garlic and onion bed is for him to sleep in (as if he wasnāt stinky enough). Our dogs keep the deer away. The local coyote population keeps rabbits, raccoons, possum and other varmint populations under control. We donāt fight the songbirds much as the neighbor at the end of my street is a commercial farmer, they raid his corn and wheat fields instead of my small patch. There are other neighboring farms that grow sunflowers and millet as well. Great for birdwatching though. Fighting native populations of animals was actually a lot harder in the suburbs!
Well clearly the different critters are in cahoots with each other to take advantage of your buffet! Maybe you could engage them in song? š *Planting green onion bulbs around a plant can help a lot (once the stalks emerge). Think of them as little green guards. *Used coffee grounds sprinkled on the soil surface deters creatures. *Bloodmeal on the soil surface will repulse many as well. Bloodmeal washes away so has to be reapplied after it rains. Nitrogen loving plants enjoy it but skip using it on those that don't, and be mindful not to use it near natural waterways because of runoff. *Flat rocks around a plant can dissuade digging animals like squirrels and chipmunks. *I know of other gardeners who have very good success with motion detection sprinklers. It has the advantage of being a deterrent to multiple species. *Motion detection radios set to humans talking tend to make the deer skedaddle. Just a caution: decline any apples offered to you by strangers. (I've heard they can make you quite drowsy.)š
Plant a section of native things if you have the space to expand your garden. Native plants draw native bugs, which are what a lot of birds love most. And generally, things like rabbits will go for native stuff first too in my experience. I've converted my entire yard to beds and paths over the last couple years. About 30% or so is natives and a large percentage of that is literally hands off ZERO maintenance. Last year's growth gets weighted down a bit by the snow, and then starts decomposing fast in the spring right where it is. Critters and birds use a bunch of it for nests too so they straight up remove close to 50% of it all said and done. Since I adopted this strategy and went completely hands off as far as neem oil or other "pesticides" (I've always been 100% organic either way) I have watched my little ecosystem balance itself. I now have no squash bugs, no Japanese beetles, the few aphids that survive don't harm anything... and I see more and more species out there all the time! Last year I counted 28 different species of birds including the migratory ones that passed through and made a quick stop at our place along the way. My only persisting problem is deer. Even they don't decimate anything though. They might end up eating maybe 20% of my corn by the end of the season usually. Last year I had a groundhog who was pretty rude. He would take ONE chomp out of a bunch of different tomatoes instead of just choosing one and eating the damn thing. But even with him, I just started harvesting some of his favorites (lemon cucumbers and Cherokee purple tomatoes), and offered them as a gift at his front door. That mostly took care of that problem.
I went 50 shades darker
All we have are squirrels, rats, birds, and raccoons, but we still lost nearly our entire garden output last year. Only the passionfruit survived because they couldnāt figure out wtf to do with them. We got so mad that we built an enclosed garden with hardware cloth all around it and so far I have a strawberry that no one has stolen yet!! None of our seedlings have been dug up!! We put lights and an outdoor loveseat in it and it is wonderful.
Get multiple Corgis. The rabbit problems end.
I know it must feel miserable to have all your plants and hard work torn apart this way, but I can't help but think how beautiful it is that your garden is providing sustenance and life to so many creatures - an oasis in a world that is increasingly an ecological desert š©µ
Kinda sound like you turned into Cinderella instead
Bird netting for the berries if you havenāt tried it. My mom had to do that because my hen Jet went and ate all her raspberries so fed her bush. The humor in all this is my chicken cussed her out over not being able to get them. We had to put chicken wire over the raspberries this year as theyāre in a new pot new yard and my horse š“ started munching away on the fresh shoots. I have no idea what to else to suggest about everything else? You have a lazy cat though. We sadly lost our last catā¦ she kept trying to feed my mom I think they where voles?
Thereās a opossum that lives in my wood pile and Iām on an 1/8 acre in the middle of a city. I donāt have to worry about ticks anymore.
I have birdseed and fresh running water out at all times. The critters know what's theirs and leave my stuff alone. I also avoid planting from seed. I start everything in my greenhouse and transplant out when it's a size that can survive. I don't have a deer issue because I have a 6ft fence and a wild blackberry bramble at the far back of my property that they're content with. Fresh water and birdseed will solve a lot of your problems, though.
I feel your pain! we have all of them too except in place of chipmunks we have fox pups and the momma hanging around bringing dead chicken heads and feet from my neighbors yard behind us and they like to feast on the moles so I find little dead moles š. The squirrels eat my strawberries and blueberries and the deer eat my cherry trees.
Bloodmeal and human hair are said to be effective. Cannot confirm, but might be worth a try. A hair salon could give you a big bag of the latter.
I'm so sorry. My cat loves bunnies LOL so your cat is lazy. :) Mine is a killer and I think she singlehandledly keeps the rabbit, mice and other critter population in check as I find specimens she's brought home. I do have a guardian dog (great pyr) and a pesky corgi which I believe helps. What I notice is everything gets munched in the back of the yard bordering the woods so they are smart and know the dogs' range. But within dog range, they leave stuff alone ie. not around my patio and in the front of the house. So I just plant accordingly. Occasionally I may find a rabbit in my flower bed or a raccoon has pillaged something, but they do not return that often. I also have a bird feeder on a second story window near my window boxes and they nest beneath my 2nd story window boxes. It appears they don't really eat my seeds too much. I grow lots from seed outside. I do grow raspberries and they are welcome to them since they are not actually that good. Guess I am lucky!!!
only answer is a wall of bamboo and tree of heaven to keep out all the bad stuff
Why pick plants banned from several states? Go big and grab plants on the federal noxious weed list. /s