Deer, rabbits, and moles, oh my! Deer and rabbits are so adorable. But, then they inch closer and closer and THEN, destroy your landscape. What do you do? Well, there are some measures you can take, or at least try, to keep them at a distance.
Let’s take deer first. Shortly I will give you a link to the best listing of deer and rabbit resistant plants that I have seen to date. But, of course, there is a kicker. Being deer resistant is only a relative term. If deer are not getting food from their usual sources, they will and do eat everything. Besides planting some of the plants that they don’t really prefer, try some other remedies as well. Outside dogs are good and will often scare away the deer and terrorize the rabbits. But, if they are like my dogs, they will lie on the porch and watch them graze…..so much for country living. If you elect to fence, then it should be 8’ high woven wire fencing or electric fence. Some homemade remedies are scarecrows, hanging pie tins, shreds of soap, human hairballs, and I recently read an article where someone used mirror and glass fragments in areas of their landscape (strategically placed around some of the more bothered plants) which worked. Also, repellents can work, but must be used regularly for the best results.
Link for plant listing: http://www.pinery.org/gardendeer.htm
Rabbits have a different story. They generally hang around because they feel protected nearby. So, you will want to remove all stone, brush, wood piles, mow regularly, and bush hog adjoining fields. Any area that you think mice might be setting up house, rabbits will, too. Woven wire fencing (low height-around 2 to 3 feet above ground) buried partially into the ground is quite helpful in keeping them out of the garden area. There are also some repellents on the market for rabbits and like deer repellents need to be used regularly to work their best.
Moles make homeowners just plain angry. You’re walking around your lawn and all of a sudden you take a step and your foot travels down another 4 to 6 inches. It’s enough to really do some serious ankle damage. I have not had moles around, until this year. My garden has its fair share of tunnels. It could be worse. I have outdoor cats that make their home in the (enclosed) garden and have caught some of these little critters. Every now and then they will leave one near the steps so I see that they are earning their keep. The first time I saw the kill, I thought it was a large mouse, but upon closer inspection, discovered it was a mole. I am including a link to the University of Missouri Extension site with an article on controlling moles. However, they go where the food is and being insectivores, they like earthworms and grubs. They occasionally eat a little vegetation, but it is not their mainstay. Meadow voles eat vegetation. Controlling the insects around your garden can be tricky as you want the worms there. The mole repellents that work best are those with caster oil (primary ingredient) which when used as directed coats the worms and roots (in the case of voles) causing them to not eat them as meals or regret that they did. One word of warning on repellents containing castor oil is to be cautious in their use around your outside pets.
Controlling Moles: http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/wildlife/g09440.htm
I hope this helps to gives you ideas on controlling some of the most annoying garden pests.
Until next week……Cheryl
To respond to or suggest topics you would enjoy reading about, drop me an email at cherylsnotes@greenwoodnursery.com
