Off the Urban Grid

Animal Invasion: Humane Ways to Protect Your Garden

You tend to your garden every day to make sure it’s hydrated and flourishing. But then when the time comes for you to harvest your vegetables, the worst thing happens…animals have tasted the fruit of your hard work before you get a chance! Preventing local wildlife such as deer, raccoons, rabbits, etc. from invading your garden is a chore. However, you can approach this problem in a humane way.

Small Backyard Critters

When it comes to rabbits and even destructive insects such as snails, you can use narrow gauge copper wire to surround the plants. Or you can at the very least surround the plants with a lattice fence to prevent small animals from getting through to your garden.

Large Backyard Critters

Deer are more difficult to fend off, but some gardeners have found that planting marigolds around the perimeter of the vegetables can deter them. Just be cautious not to plant hostas or daylilies, because deer love to eat this plants. Another option is to place a motion sensing light nearby the garden or something that will go off and scare the deer away from the plants.

As a gardener you have to be prepared for any type of animal or insect to take over your ripe vegetables, which is why it’s best to do everything you can to fend them off. However, you don’t want to use harmful pesticides that can leach into the soil, and you also don’t want to compromise your diverse backyard wildlife.

Along with humane methods of protecting your garden, you can also choose hardier species of plants and grow more just in case the animals get to some of the harvest first. Your first year with growing plants will be experimental, so observe everything you can and take notice of the types of insects and animals you have in your yard.

Tags: garden tips, protect garden from animals, protect your garden