If your garden is your pride and joy, it can be exceedingly frustrating when animals nibble on your plants or make a mess.
While there are many ways to keep your animals out of the garden, your options can feel limited if you don’t want to hurt or kill moles or squirrels.
There are plenty of human pest control methods to try, and they can be just as effective as poisons and traps with none of the cruelty. You can also choose pest control in Denver and get rid of all the pests.
The humane animal deterrents below will help you accomplish both goals. And encouraging animals to stay away from your flowers, fruits, and vegetables, but without harming local wildlife.
Read below some of the best ways to protect your home and garden from wildlife:
1: Ultrasonic Pest Repellent
One of the most effective ways to keep raccoons, deer, foxes, and other animals away from your garden beds is to use an ultrasonic pest repellent.
Ultrasonic pest repellent, much like those, can control pests indoors, and it plays a high-frequency sound when activated by the motion of an animal. The noise and lights scare away animals after a bit of exposure and can condition them to keep their distance from your plants.
2: Garden Fencing
While building a fence around the garden may solve your pest problem and protects your plants. Determine the ideal height for the wall based on the type of critters. That has been getting into your garden.
For example, a short fence will likely suffice if you are only dealing with rabbits or other small garden animals. But if you are dealing with deer or other large animals, opt for fencing at least 5 feet tall. If your pests live underground, you can dig a trench and fence a few feet down to protect your vulnerable root vegetables.
3: Mint
You can use mint to keep animals out of your garden in a few different ways. They won’t be as interested in your flowers or beans if they smell them because the scent is quite strong. Another option is to mask other odors on top of the mint, so no one stands out.
You might want to include a mint border, peppermint plants surrounding insect-attractive plants, peppermint essential oil sprayed on fencing, rocks, or other hard surfaces, or tea bags scattered about the area.
4: Castor Oil
Castor oil is an excellent product for pest prevention. Using it appropriately is the best way to avoid attracting unwanted visitors to your home or garden.
You can use castor oil as a repellent that keeps out animals. Combine 3 tablespoons of castor oil, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and 1 gallon of water to make your homemade spray. On average, you will be able to cover about 400 square feet with this mix.
5: Cloche
Wire cloches are easy to use, inexpensive, and a practical solution for your garden pests. They’re made from chicken wire, so they can be placed around plants without harming them.
Your flowers and plants will be able to grow undisturbed because animals won’t be able to reach them, which will save them from being eaten!
6: Pepper
Even if you don’t know whether it’s a bird, a rabbit, or even a bug digging in your yard, you can still deter them by using cayenne pepper. It’s one of the best deterrents they’ll encounter!
Plants infested by animals need to be protected from them, and a great way to do this is by sprinkling cayenne pepper on them.
7: Noise
When garden pests don’t leave your crops alone, consider using noise-making devices to get rid of them.
Hiding in a garden can be challenging, especially if you have plants. Animals may think that humans or predators are around and leave your plants alone when they hear the noises.
Some good ideas to consider include hanging wind chimes or leaving a radio playing in or near the garden.
8: Raise Garden Beds
Raised garden beds can protect your garden from small animals, especially if you have rabbits. However, large, more destructive animals may still destroy it.
Elevated garden beds are a viable solution to keep them safe if you want to grow as many plants as possible.
9: Provide Alternative sources of Food
It’s possible that keeping some other food types nearby might deter animals from nibbling. Using this knowledge, you could save yourself time and keep your plants safe.
Of course, you’re going to want to cover all your bases. One way might be to install a seed feeder while also putting up bird barriers or covers in the garden so that smaller animals can still access the FoodFood.
10: Do a Reality Check
Naturally, animals can cause damage to your garden, but here are a few behaviors you should be aware of.
Your outdoors can be an excellent place for animals and plants when you take the time and effort to look after them.
Creating a regular pattern of tidying up your yard can make it easier for you, your neighbors, and the local wildlife. Next season would be even more beautiful if you start working on this one!
11: Make Use of Barriers
Wild animals can be a nuisance, and one of the easiest ways to deter them from eating your garden is with barrier plants, chicken wire, and netting. Just make sure you’re not feeding them as well.
Fences are the ultimate barrier and should be implemented to prevent animals from escaping. They are incredibly successful at keeping pests out of your garden if you invest in the right type for your pet.
- Tall fences are great for keeping deer out, but make sure that your height prevents the deer from climbing over the wall. At the minimum, a 4-foot fence is recommended if you want to be safe.
- It is necessary to protect your home from crazy, destructive rabbits. To do this, you should surround your property with a fence (height should be approximately 3 feet) out of something the rabbits can’t chew through.
- Burrowing animals, like gophers and woodchucks, require an underground base. Installing a fence about a foot deep will help them avoid getting caught on your new one.
12: Remove Hiding Spots
Some yard cleanup can do the trick. Maintaining your house is also necessary to keep unwanted animals out of it. Choose the best wildlife pest control near me and remove all the unwanted pests from your home and residential areas.
Ensure that your home is secure at all times. Take care of your outdoor sheds even when you’re not a homeowner because they have openings that thieves can use.
13: Cover Compost
Compost is a great way to feed your yard and provides plenty of raw material for animals, like birds and other small creatures, to use. There is an issue, however, in that you should take precautions, such as having wire fences around your compost pile or putting fruit at the bottom for birds who might want to eat it.
Be careful to make your compost area unavailable. The use of compost bins should ensure that critters will not cause havoc on your plant fertilizer. Make sure to have a container like the one shown above.
14: Protect New Plants
If your seeds are starting to sprout, or maybe you’ve just brought home some starts from the nursery, animals and garden pests will be attracted to the tender new growth.
Make sure to secure your plant beds with a fence or trunk wraps to help keep them protected from potential predators while they’re still young—net trees and shrubs with a light cover over planter boxes to reduce sun exposure & weeds.