Keeping Mammals Out
By Ken Lain, The Garden Guy

The country around the Quad-Cities is full of wild mammals. However, judging from the comments of customers coming into the garden center you would think that animals have taken over all our neighboring towns! Having farms in Cottonwood and Skull Valley I’ve had to contend with javalina, bear, lions, deer, and elk. I’m glad to pass along some of the tricks I’ve learned in keeping unwanted wild mammals out of a garden.

Recently there have been several cases of pack rats, squirrels, and porcupines in gardens, but the most common trespassers are deer and rabbits. Deer and rabbits are easy to keep out of our gardens, so let’s begin with them. Six foot high fencing seems to be the magic height for keeping most deer out of a garden. Although I must confess to witnessing a deer clear a six foot fence, most won’t expend the effort to leap a fence this tall. To keep rabbits at bay you must use a field fence with spacings of one inch or smaller. I have seen a rabbit run full speed right though a chain link fence as though it wasn’t there.

The answer to javalina control is electric fencing. Just be sure that it is about one foot off the ground. A 12-volt jolt seems to be the best way to keep these pig-like animals from where we don’t want them.
Another form of mammal control is organic fertilizer, specifically blood meal. Blood meal is an all-natural fertilizer for the garden that really is made from blood. It greens up a garden, but more importantly it’s the smell of a fresh kill that sends terror into the minds of smaller mammals. The message you’ll be conveying to prospective invaders is, “I just killed your friend, and if you enter to munch this part of my garden the same can happen to you!”
Unfortunately, blood meal’s effectiveness is short-lived. Because it is a dry product, water causes it to break down quickly. Although this necessitates frequent re-applications, the garden reaps the benefits of a first-rate plant food.

Another possible solution is a messy business that I don’t recommend. I’m talking about predator urine and manure, or scat. Organic magazines endorse scat specifically for controlling coyotes or mountain lions. Its message to encroaching critters is, “this is a predator’s domain, enter and you will be eaten.” For several years I sold coyote urine at my garden center, but eventually determined that it evaporated too quickly to be effective. Consequently, because I consider it to be a marginal product I no longer carry it in my store. I think scat would be practicable if you owned a coyote or lion and thereby had access to an unending supply of their by-products.
Over the years very good deterrent results have been had from castor oil blended with the smell of garlic and the taste of rotten eggs. Those are the ingredients of my animal repellent ‘Repel’. I know it’s effective and many of my tried and true gardeners are using the product and coming back for more. I even have preliminary reports that it works on javalina. I make no promises when it comes to these obstinate creatures, but several customers have said that for months after having used ‘Repel’ javalina haven’t bothered their gardens.

‘Repel’ also does a good job against cats and dogs that might roam the neighborhood looking for a new place to poop and mark as their own. It convinces the animals eying your garden or yard that your place isn’t for them. They then go to your neighbors’ yards to relieve themselves!

Porcupines have been active within the last few weeks. I have seen obvious porcupine damage on customers’ plants, although the porcupines have never been sighted. That’s because these nocturnal animals meander through Quad-City yards while we’re asleep. Signs of porcupine damage are teeth marks, evidence of chewing, on tree trunks. When the chewed area eventually girdles a tree, it dies. Damage can be at the base of the trunk, or if the porcupine decides to climb the tree in search of a snack, it can chew the bark several feet above ground level.

If you see evidence of porcupine damage, it’s a serious danger to the attacked tree. Immediately paint the wound with a black pruning paint to keep the remaining bark from drying out. Wrap the wound with a tree wrap to create an artificial bark for the plant, and keep the tree well- watered. Perform the usual gardeners’ rituals of talking to the plant, praying over it, and playing special music for it. You’ve done all you can for the injury. If the tree makes it through summer, you have a survivor.

You are invited to today‘s garden class with guest speaker Steve Sischka from Olsen's Grain. Steve is a master with low voltage electric fencing and will be teaching local gardeners how easy it is to install electric perimeters around a landscape. We also will be talking about the plants, tips, and tricks that force critters to leave your landscape and eat at the neighbors’ instead. This free class begins at 9:30 this morning.

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.
Ken Lain, "my personal mission is to help local homeowners garden smarter and get our local garden timing right." Throughout the week Ken can be found at Watters Garden Center located at 1815 W. Iron Springs Rd, Prescott, or may be contacted through his web site at www.wattersonline.com

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.

Read Past Articles