How to Keep Pests From Bothering Your Vegetable Garden!

By Steve Gunther

Birds: Birds can be a real pain in the neck in going after your berry bushes and many of your vegetable plants. Here is how to deal with them.

1. Some people like to keep birds out of their gardens by enticing them elsewhere. To do this, simply hang or mount a couple of bird houses or bird feeders well away from your garden area and keep the food in good supply.

2. Rubber hoses cut into sections about 18"-24" in length and scattered between rows look like snakes from the air.

3. Gallon and half gallon milk cans can be placed upside down on thin stakes driven into the ground. When the wind rattles the cans around the noise will typically scare off birds.

4. Nets! Almost any decent garden center or nursery will sell nets that you can use to cover crops (especially berry bushes) to protect them from birds. There are kinds that are more bird friendly then others in terms of the ability of a bird to become entangled.

Rabbits, Groundhogs, and other rodents: My garden used to be plagued by rabbits and groundhogs. They really enjoy eating bean plants, pea plants, tomato plant roots, lettuce, and many other vegetables.

1. Trap them and move them to another area. There are many types of non-lethal traps to be found, however, you should check with local regulations to make sure you are allowed to trap animals in your area.

2. Lethal. To most people lethal means eliminating the rodents with a bullet. Again, many people do not like the lethal option and you will need to check local regulations for discharging guns in your area. I know many people who have had no choice but to use this option, and it has worked well for them.

3. Pellet or spray repellants. You can find these at any garden center and I have found them to be somewhat effective. You will also need to read the packaging to find out how close to your edible plants you can sprinkle the repellant. Also, you will need to repeat applications every couple of weeks or so.

4. Rubber hoses cut into 18"-24" sections and scattered between rows will look like snakes to those little bunnies.

5. Anything that makes noise or moves. This could mean milk jugs placed upside down on stakes or pinwheels planted in the ground. Rabbits and groundhogs do not like shiny items moving or noise. Some people have found aluminum pie plates or cd's to be effective when hung from stakes, since the move, flash, and make noise when a breeze moves them.

6. Fencing. This is one of the most common and most effective ways of keeping unwanted rodents out of your garden. Make sure to choose a fence at least 36" high and bury it at least 12" deep around the entire perimeter of the garden. Both plastic and metal mesh varieties are available.

7. Homemade remedies. Many people claim that mixtures including: cayenne pepper, garlic, black ground pepper, tobasco sauce, etc. make great sprays to use on individual plants to deter rodents.

8. Some people claim that planting the favorite food of rabbits (clover) in large patches will distract the rabbit from their vegetables.

9. You can plant the most desirable vegetables in the middle of the garden and plant less desirable plants (peppers, certain herbs, prickly plants like pumpkins and squash) around the outside perimeter to deter them from entering the garden. I find this to be fairly ineffective but some people say it works.

10. Sprinkle hair from your dogs around the garden. The animals will smell the natural predator and stay away. Some people also like to use fox urine in their garden. Fox or wolf urine can usually be found in sporting goods/hunting stores.

Deer. Deer can be a real headache for those in suburban or country settings. They eat voraciously and can easily clear even 6' tall fences. Here are some suggestions for trying to deter them.

1. Use very tall fences. Minimum of 8' tall around your garden. This can be costly and you may still find a deer or two occasionally within the confines of the fence.

2. Use repellents, either spray or granular around individual plants and the perimeter of the garden. This can be somewhat effective.

3. Use cages around individual plants, thereby making it difficult for the deer snouts to access your plants.

4. Use motion sensing lights or sprinklers. These can be found at many garden centers, online, or at home improvement stores.

5. Allow your dogs to roam around your garden or take their hair (from grooming) and sprinkle it around your garden.

Good luck on embarking on the never-ending quest of keeping your veggies and fruits safe from these natural predators!