Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: How to block access to the vegetable garden
• Method 2 of 3: How to scare animals away from your garden
• Method 3 of 3: Dealing with Common Pests

Growing plants in your vegetable garden can be a fun hobby that also allows you to enjoy fresh produce. However, many animals may be just as interested in your garden as you are. Keeping the animals off the site can be challenging as many of them return regularly. However, there are many methods of dealing with unwanted guests that can help you keep the harvest for yourself.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: How to block access to the vegetable garden

1. 1 Set up a fence around the plants. To prevent animals from entering your area, enclose it with a fence. There are many types of fences.The fence will create a barrier between the garden and the animals. Fences do their job well, however they can be expensive and can be time consuming to install. When choosing a fence, remember the following:
   • When constructing many types of fences, you will first need to install supports.
   • Most often, fences are placed around the entire garden.
   • You can choose any type and material of the fence. Fences are made of wood, metal, or even plastic (for example, polypropylene).
   • There are electric fences that will send out a discharge of electricity when touched.
   • It will be helpful to lower the fence 30 centimeters into the ground to create an obstacle for animals that can dig holes in the ground.
2. 2 Raise the beds off the ground. Elevated beds will make it easier for you to control weeds and care for your plants. In addition, the animals will not be able to reach the vegetables. You can build special elevations yourself, which will protect vegetables from pests.
   • Usually, elevations are made from wooden planks, stones, bricks or concrete blocks.
   • 60 centimeters above the ground will be enough to protect the beds from rabbits.
   • If you cover the bottom of the containers with the earth with a net, earth-moving animals will not be able to get to the vegetables.
   • For added protection, you can enclose the beds with a fence.
3. 3 Cover the plants. If you are concerned about specific plants, try putting extra small fences around them or covering them. This will help protect the plants from pests. You can buy ready-made structures or make them yourself.
   • You can put a regular netting around the plant. This may be enough to protect the plant from animals.
   • Purchase a special garden cloth to prevent animals from eating plants.
   • Young plants can be covered with a deer or bird net.

Method 2 of 3: How to scare animals away from your garden

1. 1 Spray the area around the beds with special sprays. Many animals enter the garden because they are attracted to the smell of food. However, with the help of the smell of animals, you can also scare away. If an unpleasant smell comes from the garden, the animals will know that it is not safe to eat here. Note the two types of garden sprays:
   • You can buy a repellent that smells like predator urine. Such repellents will let the animal know what could be dangerous here. However, in order to buy such a product, you will need to know exactly what animals enter your garden.
   • You can use a pepper spray or a foul-smelling spray. Animals do not like the smell and taste of these sprays, so they will look for food elsewhere.
   • Sprays can be purchased at most garden and home stores.
   • You can look for recipes for deterrents and prepare them yourself.
   • Many sprays need to be reapplied regularly as rain and moisture will wash them away.
2. 2 Plant plants in the area that the animals don't like. If you know exactly which animals are coming to the site, plant the plants they don't like. This will ward off pests and protect the vegetables. Pay attention to the following plants:
   • Azalea, boxwood, Byzantine chisel, peonies and marigolds do not like rabbits.
   • Dicenter, daffodils, hyssop, mullein scare away deer.
   • Try mixing these plants together to make the whole garden look unattractive to the animal.
   • Plant these plants around the perimeter of your garden to keep the animals away.
3. 3 Scare away unwanted guests. Although there are no predators in the garden, the animals that come to you still constantly expect danger. You can take advantage of this circumstance and install special devices that will scare the animals if they enter the garden. There are several types of devices that can be used for this purpose:
   • Modern scarecrows are equipped with motion sensors and spray water when animals approach.
   • There are bird repellents with shiny or mirrored surfaces.
   • You can buy a device that turns on an alarm or emits a frightening sound when it detects movement.
   • If you have a dog that lives outside, it will scare animals away as well.
4. 4 Let your cat help you with your small animal problem. Cats love to hunt, so they can drive small animals out of the garden. Cats not only reduce the number of small pests, but also repel them with their presence and smell. If you have a cat that is walking outside, let her hunt in the garden.
   • The cat must be vaccinated as far as possible as wild animals can carry diseases.
   • Monitor your cat and its health regularly. Don't let a sick animal live outside.
5. 5 Plant the plants you are willing to donate around your garden. This may seem counterintuitive, but if plants that please the animals grow around the garden, they will not enter the site. Find out which animals are coming to you and plant their favorite plants away from your garden.
   • These plants should be at some distance from the garden.
   • If the animals just have access to their favorite plants, they will not try to eat vegetables in the garden.
   • Try planting a few vegetables away from the main vegetable garden, where the animals can be easily reached.
6. 6 Use the features of the landscape. Animals have their own preferences for the landscape. Perhaps the features of your site attract animals to the garden. If the landscape is changed, the animals may not like the new conditions. Consider the following when planning your site:
   • Get rid of weeds and dense thickets regularly, as many animals like to eat surrounded by dense foliage.
   • Do not store firewood near your vegetable garden.
   • Remove shrubs or replant them if they surround your garden.

Method 3 of 3: Dealing with Common Pests

1. 1 Find out which animals come to your garden. To scare away animals, you need to understand who is coming to you. Knowing which animals are eating your plants will make it easier for you to come up with a species-specific control plan. If you take into account the tendencies of the animal, the likelihood of success will be higher. The following animals can come to the garden:
   • rabbits,
   • proteins,
   • mice,
   • moles,
   • raccoons,
   • rats,
   • foxes,
   • deer,
   • birds,
   • snails and slugs.
2. 2 Scare off rabbits. Rabbits love to sneak into vegetable gardens and eat whatever grows there. Since rabbits can destroy the entire crop, it is important to arrange the vegetable garden so that these animals cannot enter it and that it seems unattractive to them. Remember the following nuances:
   • The fence must be at least one meter high.
   • Lower the fence 30 centimeters underground to prevent rabbits from digging under it.
   • If the beds are elevated, it will be difficult for rabbits to reach the plants.
   • Plant barrier plants (azalea or boxwood) to keep rabbits away.
   • Disassemble piles of branches, logs, or rocks so the rabbits have nowhere to hide.
   • If all else fails, set traps.
3. 3 Scare away the deer. Deer often come to vegetable gardens and destroy plants. To stop the reindeer from coming, make the garden unpleasant for them. The following methods can help:
   • Install a fence that is at least 2.5 meters high.
   • Reindeer do not jump over the fence unless they see a safe landing area. Try adding another internal fence or fence supports to keep the deer from jumping into the garden.
   • A spray with the smell of predator urine applied around the perimeter of the garden will scare away deer.
   • Deer can also be scared away with motion-sensing devices.
   • If a dog runs in the street, the deer will not go to the garden.
   • Rosemary, garlic, and oregano will keep deer away from your property.
4. 4 Protect your garden from birds. Birds are a real threat to crops, and they often eat the best fruits and vegetables. To scare birds away, use the following methods:
   • Hang shiny balls or balls around your garden. It is advisable to use vinyl balls with threatening faces.
   • Build a chain-link fence around the plants.
   • Stretch the net over the vegetable garden. You can make a frame out of long sticks or pegs, and then pull the net over the frame so that it reaches the ground. Secure the net with wire to keep it from being blown away by the wind.
   • You can also stretch fishing line or black thread over your vegetable garden. Birds do not like fishing lines, so this may scare them away.
   • If you want something a little more advanced, buy an electronic owl that will mimic an owl's cry and scare birds away.
5. 5 Drive slugs and snails out of the area. Slugs and snails are among the most common pests in vegetable gardens. Despite their small size and low movement speed, these animals can eat several times more food than their own weight during the night! Try to scare them away in the following ways:
   • Apply perlite around the perimeter of your garden, a powder with small, sharp particles that hurt slugs and snails. Do not use pool perlite.
   • Make a beer trap. Pour the beer into a shallow container (for example, a yogurt glass) a couple of centimeters below the top and bury it in the ground so that the top of the container is level with the ground. Slugs and snails will crawl to the smell of beer and drown in containers. Change your beer every few days.
   • Buy a snail and slug barrier and place it around the plants at a height of 5–8 centimeters. Copper barriers are expensive and should only be used on your favorite plants.
   • Buy snail and slug poison that is safe for animals and humans.
   • Plant a red clover around your garden so the snails and slugs will crawl onto it instead of into the garden.
   • You can also pick snails and slugs with your hands every morning. To destroy them, place them in a container of soapy water.
6. 6 Drive out the protein. If squirrels live in your area, they can eat fruits, berries and shoots. The most effective method of protection against these animals is plastic agricultural nets.
   • Surround the plants with plastic netting.
   • If you don't want to use a netting, try covering the plants with plastic or cloth.
7. 7 Scare off mice and other rodents. Mice and other rodents are active all year round and eat almost any plant they can find. The following methods will get rid of rodents:
   • Mix the shale particles with the soil around the plants. You can use the earth with slate.
   • To prevent mice from eating the bulbs, place crushed gravel into the holes.
   • Set up humane baited mousetraps (oatmeal, peanut butter). As bait, you can use special vitamin D treats that cause death a few days after consumption.
   • Cut tall grass, remove straw and bulky mulch from the area so that the rodents are not so comfortable in the garden.
   • Buy an ammonia repellent from your local home and garden supply store.
   • Cats are good at catching rodents. Sometimes even the presence of a cat is enough for the mice to leave the site.