deer, bunnies and gophers

We'd like to garden this year because we have the space and food's expensive. This is our first garden.

We live in a rural area with several miles of woods and wetlands right in our backyard. We have deer, rabbits, and gophers. I might not be able to fence, we're renting.

Does predator pee work? How do we keep the wildlife away from our food?

 

Will they let you put up chicken wire around the garden? That's what I do.
You could also try putting pepper flakes around the garden.

 

I don't know anyone who has had success with the predator pee, or human pee either. Or dirty socks or anything else like that. Certainly not lasting success.
For rabbits and other small intruders the chicken wire will work but just as effective and less intrusive (due to being less visible) is electric fence. Three strands, 3" 15", and 30" above the ground. It's fairly cheap, very flexible, and temporary, therefore landlords seldom object.
If you have a bad problem with deer, well that's a whole different thing. Usually an 8 foot tall chain link fence won't slow deer at all. There are things that will but the easiest and cheapest is a small dog that is trained to stay around the garden area. Not fenced or tied up, but trained. With a reasonably bright dog & a little time and effort it can be easily and effectively done.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

My parents have rabbits, woodchucks & gophers in their neighborhood. Rabbits are somewhat deter-able with fat cages. Mom would custom make tomato cages that were about 2'-30" across and put them around her seedlings, burying about a foot of the cage underground. This seemed to work alright, but took forever to construct the cages. (I think it's worth it though, because she only had to make them once )

Woodchucks & gophers are worse. My dad used to "hunt" them - 25 years ago their was a bounty on them by the local police, but even that didn't help much. Persistently filling their holes in seems to slow them down just a bit, but barely seems worth the effort. And adding cayenne to the garden doesn't do a thing - at least where I live, the wildlife seems to enjoy spiced greens!

I'm afraid I can't help at all with deer. I've heard that small dogs will help too, but have NO experience with them. Good luck!
love,
mom

 

There is a golpher living under our deck who has destroyed neighboring gardens.


The neighbor requested that we get an exterminator. We suggested chicken wire and bought them a roll of it.

 

i like the personal way -

so last year i had a rabbit problem . this year first i counted how many rabbits when they gathered to do their spring dance . four . so then i ate two . i got peace with them other two and they are raising a family and nobody bothering the garden . the garden's still a favorite place they like to sit . they just sit there very still , and i talk to them a bit . the little ones should be out and about any day now . i feel the way of peace is to allow a relationship .

 

I keep animals out of the garden with some small rabbit fencing which is temporary... I'll post pics this weekend. In addition I also provide scraps off food on the other side of my yard that's not protected at all. The animals eat and I keep my garden.

If anyone gets out of line I have ferrets, keeping their "presents" around the garden keeps the small animals away.

 

Last year, we had 2 groundhogs living in the shed that's directly next to our garden. We also have probably around 6 deer and numerous rabbits, possums, coons, yeah. We ended up getting squash, potatoes, and corn out of our garden last year, like the only 3 things no rodents or deer will eat.

So...

Chicken wire seemed to work for the rabbits.

I will tell you what did NOT work for the groundhogs:

Human piss in their holes.
Mothballs in the shed.
Filling in their holes.
Peppery stuff sprayed about the garden.
Chicken wire. They go right under it.

The only thing that gets rid of groundhogs/woodchucks is to trap them and relocate miles away or shoot to kill. The little fuckers will ravage everything.

Deer. Still working on them We're in city limits so no firing a gun. It's a shame cuz deer is tasty.

We also trapped some coons and possums, but I don't know how big a threat they pose, so we just let them go everytime.

Like the one guy in this thread said, electric fence and a smart outdoor dog are probably your best bets for deer and most animals.

 

i know its been mentioned but your best animal deterrent is a couple good guard dogs..
our great Pyrenees keeps EVERYTHING away,,an what does come around ,,,he eats before they can eat.

 

Inexpensive bird netting 6' high keeps the bunnies and deer out of this neighborhood gardens. It's funny to see the bunnies bouncing off the fence when they try to jump thru it.

 

I garden, but keep outdoor plants to things they DON'T like to eat, or otherwise can't reach (hanging planters for the win!).

"they" = Deer, bunnies, Javelina (wild boar), birds and gophers.

"things they DON'T like" = mint, catnip, rosemary, thyme, etc. Deer still eat our rosebuds, but we manage to trim/train the bushes high enough, so the deer can't reach the buds (they still get the ones lower down).

We stopped trying to "fight" the animals some years ago, and just work 'around' their interests. Because of this, we are able to enjoy watching them without needing to run outside to chase them away from 'our' plants.

When you work around them, they can become beneficial to you instead -- Case in point: javelina in my back yard -- they do help clean up. Read my notes on the side.

 

oh , the rabbits . since last i wrote they've gotten so they come right up to me . but actually , when then i speak out loud directly to them they get rather huffy and snort and stamp and run off into the tall grass . i thought i said something nice enough . oh , well . it could be small talk is just too insultingly ignoble . i've met wild children in the forest who can be that way , too , expecting something real and respectful .

 

Ok, Any of you who don't already think I'm nuts will now.

I too have some rabbits (and a possum) who are not totally afraid of me. Try this, before you talk to them, slowly & smoothly sit on the ground. Them in a soft, gentle voice slowly sing a children's lullaby or John Lennon's song "Imagine".

Having a wild animal, there in a natural place, voluntarily spend some time with you is about the coolest thing I know of.

Peace, eace:
poor_old_dad

 

.
.
yaya , i like to make music . i think tho different animals have their own preferences about it . squirrels love the drum . a flute is fine for fish . true enough i suppose that a peaceful intention is what really is heard and honored . what really tho is absolute peaceful music ?

once i was a pig farmer . after while i discovered lsd and then-after i sang to them alot the songs of whatever my soul . my dad wondered why they got so happy and were growing faster .

music for rabbits ? somehow i'd believe itsa banjo picking in the old mountain mystic style . i do have a broken old banjo that i found hanging in an arkansas tree . yep , fix it up and let us sing . crazy divine . the youngster rabbits from deep in the tall grass should be out and about any day now .
.
.

 

It's best to just kill them. They will eat up all your stuff and never leave. They shit all over the place and just make a mess. Trust me kill them.

Peace

 

We have deer problems around here. Just today I was asking one, a little doe how my echinacea tasted. She just chewed and stared at me. The dogs were napping. Luckily they don't seem to have found the garden, but last year we interplanted a couple of tomatoes with the flowers on the patio and they seemed to enjoy them. We had a little luck with the dogs, but one doe with twins stomped my cow dog Daisy so she's now shy of them. So I tied shiny Christmas tinsel around the tomato cages and low and behold no more half eaten tomatos. Haven't pulled out the tinsel yet this year but it may come to that. They then eat the roses, and I am not about to tie tinsel on all the roses, the yard would look a mess. So I consider it natures way of dead heading and live with it.

Don't have many problems with gophers. Have gopher plant all around, and a couple of the whirly plastic flower things. Maybe they work or maybe I've just been lucky.

Rabbits stay down the hill, I think the dogs do the trick there, possibly the cats as well. And I am not talking big dogs. 2 Lhaso Apsos, 1 minature Schnauzer and 1 red cowdog that's scared of deer now.

No groundhogs around here that I am aware of. But when the wild turkey find their way up here they are murder on the eggplant. Our cat tries to keep them away, but when a flock of thirty or so wanders in it's a bit much for one little older lady calico.

 

I didn't think anything would eat Datura "loco weed" (except hawk-moth caterpillars). But rabbits DID eat my datura inoxia today. I obtained these plants in the wild by transplanting them from a dry riverbed into pots.

A few days ago, I noticed that one young plant was missing. Today, two more plants had been chomped on and a third was missing entirely. The rabbit(s) ate the stems but not the leaves. I found the leaves intact, and scattered about.

...The other day I didn't know what had done it. Today, however, there were bunny poops around the pots and little scratch/dig marks in the soil - not to mention a few "bite" marks on leaves that weren't consumed.

I've moved the pots onto a table. Once these plants rooted (after being dug up & potted), I was going to plant them in my yard... but WTF? Tripping bunnies??? Suicidal rabbits??

(If I ate that much plant, I'd be in a coma or dead. I certainly don't eat it. I make a tincture by soaking fresh leaves in rubbing alcohol; it's good for blisters and bruises, used sparingly.)

 

... So I put my potted daturas onto a table, out of the rabbits' reach. THEN they started eating my catnip. In the same fashion, they are consuming the stems and scattering the leaves. This time I caught one in the act.

Catnip makes a little more sense, but still.....

For now I'll leave the catnip pot on the ground and let the little bunnies get high if they want to. The catnip is growing really fast anyway. It's odd that they aren't going after plants in the ground (including catnip growing right next to the pot), they only seem interested in plants in pots. But you know, as soon as I say that, they'll prove me wrong.

The little shits.

=P

 

I have been examining the phenomena of rabbits eating my datura and catnip.

I have come to the conclusion that they only do this when they are very thirsty - on a day that we haven't turned on the sprinklers.

The reason they only go after potted plants is this: We water our potted plants extra, so they don't dry out. The ones in the ground are a little more 'stable' so we don't worry about them as much. Potted plants are kept watered, therefore they are nice and juicy. :cheers2:

I had moved one of my potted daturas back to ground level, and nothing happened for a few days, until we took a break from watering the lawn. THEN the bunnies started munching on daturas and catnip again.

...A few days ago, Mum found a dead bunny in our rose garden. His little belly was slightly distended. I can't help but think that maybe the daturas were to blame. He may have died of intestinal blockage due to constipation/dryness caused by datura... Of all the things to munch on when one is thirsty, datura has got to be one of the worst. It dries a body out. Side effects are: excessive thirst, nausea, severe constipation, dehydration and inability to sweat.... in other words, a BAD IDEA.

tl;dr - Give the little critters something to drink!!!

 

I live in the country and had the same problems. This is what we use to keep deer away. It doesn't cost much, almost everyone has these ingredients at home and it WILL NOT harm your garden;
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic
2 TBSP of hot sauce
2 TBSP of cayenne pepper
2 cups of water
Put this in a blender and puree, then let it sit for a couple of days. Sray on or around your plants,deer hate it, rabbits don't care for it either
hope it helps