It can prove tricky to maintain your garden of patch of land from wildlife with having to resort to hurting or killing them.
It’s important to remember that animals and wildlife don’t know that it’s your land.
It’s not possible to completely make your land animal proof but there are steps you can take to minimise damage.
Here’s some tips on protecting your land without harming wildlife…
Discover Which Animals Are Entering Your Land
Before you kit out your garden with protection methods it’s worth finding out what exactly is causing the problems. Animals that are known to cause havoc in a garden are mainly deer, rabbits and moles. Look out for the signs: deer leave clear identifiable tracks. Rabbits leave distinctive droppings while moles create annoying mole hills. Birds will leave holes in your fruit rendering them useless for eating.
Fence Off Your Area Of Land Or Garden
The most effective to keep critters and beasts off your land is fencing. If you do this from day one animals will never enter the land as they wont know any food is even available. Bury the fence deep to ensure industrious moles and rabbits can’t bury their way under. Wire mesh fencing can prove a cheap and effective way to keep most animals at bay. If deers are causing you problems be sure to erect your fence at least 4 feet tall. To protect your fruit from birds buy some plastic netting to cover your crop.
Ensure You Protect New Plants
When you buy plants from the garden centre they’ll usually be at their peak strength. This means they have more nutrients than usual and animals naturally pick up on this. Fencing them off or keeping them on higher ground would be beneficial. Plant new plants gradually as a lot of fresh plants are bound to attract unwanted attention.
Plants In Pots And Beds
Elevating your pots and planting beds will limit attacks from animals such as rabbits. Adding a fence around the top will add double protection. Hanging baskets are another great way to avoid nibbles plus it looks pretty.
Plant Less Scrumptious Plants
Animals will pretty much eat anything if they’re hungry enough but planting certain fizzy or prickly plants could ward off potential raids. Have a look around your local area for plants that do well and add them to your garden or land.
Scare Them Away
A good old fashioned scarecrow is great for scaring away birds. This should protect some of your fruit. Activated lights are a good idea to startle deer. Sprinklers are good for rabbits and high frequency speakers are effective for petrifying foxes.
Animal Repellents.
As a last resort, you could try repellents. There are plenty on the market that cause upset tummies without actually harming the animal. Not a nice way to ward off critters but effective. You’ll need to replace them after rainfall so the winter could prove tricky. Make sure you read the label to make sure the repellents are unharmful.
What you can do
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Robert Lovell
Robert Lovell is a writer and editor with a love of wildlife and a passion for environmentalism. He is based in the north of England but loves to travel.
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