How do you keep the wild animals away from your garden?

**homesteadmamma** · 01-18-2006, 04:19 PM

We haven't had too many problems except for the wild cats. If only they'd stay away and do their "business" elsewhere I'd be happy.

**momof42003** · 01-18-2006, 04:47 PM

I was going to say that I have no wild animals, except we do have cats that really like my dirt as a litter box... Now if I could just figure out how to keep them away, I woulld be doing good.

**forestdale** · 01-18-2006, 04:53 PM

we have all sorts of wild animals here but the ones I have the most trouble with are my own animals and chooks. I have fences to keep them out, and in, but sometimes they don't stay contained.

I'm always amazed that we don't have more problems with the wild beasties. My sister has possums eating her $150 rose bushes and wallabies eating her herbs, members of my permaculture group have kangaroos eating their vegetables and just about every gardening book I read has tales of bats and birds eating fruit. I guess we've just been lucky and I think the dogs keep a lot of them away.

**Valerie in WA** · 01-18-2006, 06:07 PM

I can't keep the birds off the cherries - yet! I haven't given up!!!

My vegetable garden used to be okay, but last year it was viciously assaulted by a digging dog (right after I planted in pain-staking grids). So it now has a fence of 3ft chicken wire & metal fence stakes. Just a deterent, but so far it's been enough - most dogs that wander into my yard end up circling the duck pen.

And, yes, in case you're wondering, we're on a first-name basis with our Animal Control Officer. But we keep getting new, ignorant neighbors.

**marym** · 01-18-2006, 07:11 PM

I have 2 big dogs that are usually outside. They come in at night or in bad weather. They keep animals and humans away!

**jlxian** · 01-19-2006, 10:15 AM

No real problems, and we usually plant enough to share anyway.

This last summer something chewed on our sweet potato plants while DH was away for a couple of weeks. I knew I couldn't put up any kind of a fence, so I had the kids comb the cats and dog and we put the collected hair near the spot I suspected the critter was getting to the plants. It stopped soon after that, but whether the hair did the job I don't know. As it was we got such a huge crop of sweet potatoes that it wouldn't have hurt to lose a few plants.

**Darlene** · 01-19-2006, 10:33 AM

I have a picket fence surrounding the veggie garden with chiken wire mounted onto it on the inside. Can't really see it and it keeps the critters at bay.