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Do you often find chewed leaves, displaced vegetables or mysterious holes in your pristine garden? If so, you’ve likely encountered the unwelcome presence of wildlife. While some critters benefit a healthy ecosystem, others are detrimental to your carefully cultivated plants. Here are the 10 most common animals to be on the lookout for.
1. Deer: The Midnight Munchers
These elegant herbivores can wreak havoc on your prized ornamentals if you live in rural or wooded areas. Deer often browse on shrubs, flowers and vegetables, and they visit your home mainly because of the food in your garden or yard.
Keep an eye out for hoof prints and browsed foliage. Deter them by installing a tall fence around your garden or applying deer repellents around your home, like those made from predator urine or strong-smelling substances they find repulsive. Also, incorporate deer-resistant plants, such as lavender or sage, into your garden to help keep them at bay.
2. Rats and Mice: The Unseen Threat
Rats and mice are often overlooked as outside pests. These tiny critters eat seeds, damage roots and create nests in garden beds, causing significant damage.
Keep your garden clean and free of debris and trash to prevent an infestation. If necessary, use traps or rodenticides. Seal gaps in garden structures to prevent these rodents from making themselves at home in your yard.
3. Squirrels: The Acrobatic Thieves
Squirrels are agile and curious creatures that can wreak havoc on your garden. They love to dig up bulbs, steal seeds, chew on fruits and gnaw on tree bark. Look for disturbed soil or bite marks to identify their presence.
Keep squirrels away by using squirrel-proof bird feeders and netting to cover young plants. Another option is to spread ground coffee or cayenne pepper around your garden. Placing motion-activated sprinklers or a few decoy predators, like plastic owls, can help scare them off.
4. Raccoons: The Nocturnal Prowlers
Raccoons are clever and resourceful animals that raid your homestead for food. In addition to uprooting plants, these nighttime guests disturb garden structures and rummage through compost bins, causing a mess.
To deter raccoons, secure your compost bins with tight-fitting lids and use motion-activated lights or sprinklers to keep them away. Removing food sources, like pet food or bird feeders, can make your garden less attractive to these nocturnal visitors.
5. Burrowing Animals: The Underground Destroyers
Burrowing animals, including armadillos, groundhogs, moles, voles and gophers, are notorious for digging underground in search of food and shelter. Their burrows uproot plants, destabilize garden beds and create unsightly mounds of soil on level land. This subsurface activity often weakens plant roots, resulting in stunted growth or death.
Preventive measures are viable strategies for managing these tunneling terrors, such as installing underground barriers and using repellents. Traps and natural repellents like castor oil can also be effective.
6. Rabbits: The Garden Nibblers
Rabbits are notorious for munching on garden plants, especially young seedlings and tender greens. If you notice your herbs and vegetables are being chewed down to stubs, these cute, furry creatures might be the culprit. You’ll also know by the telltale small, round droppings they leave near the plants they’re eating.
Protect your garden from rabbits using hardware cloth or mesh wire around the base of plants and garden beds. Placing rabbit repellents, such as those made from hot peppers or garlic, can further discourage these furry intruders. Also, destroy potential nesting areas like overgrown grass patches to prevent an infestation, considering how quickly rabbits breed.
7. Birds: The Feathered Foragers
While birds are beneficial for pest control, they can also be a nuisance when they feast on ripe fruits, vegetables and seeds. Signs include half-eaten berries, open pods and pecking marks on leaves.
Invest in bird netting or install scare devices like reflective tape, wind chimes, the classic scarecrow, or decoy predators such as fake snakes or owls to protect your produce. Place feeders away from your garden to distract birds from your plants.
8. Insects: The Tiny Destroyers
Insects feed on leaves, stems and roots, weakening plants and making them more susceptible to disease. Common culprits include aphids, caterpillars, beetles, slugs and snails.
Manage insects by using insecticidal soaps or introducing natural predators like ladybugs. Also, check your plants for signs of infestation every so often and act quickly to prevent widespread damage.
Companion planting is one of the most effective natural pest control methods for keeping harmful bugs away. For instance, incorporating marigolds into your vegetable patch with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce or green beans will make your garden unattractive to destructive bugs.
9. Skunks: The Smelly Diggers
Skunks dig shallow holes in search of insects and grubs, disrupting the root systems of plants. While they usually target lawns, their digging can extend into flower beds and vegetable gardens, creating unsightly holes.
Keep your garden tidy to ward off skunks, remove potential food sources — including pet food — and use motion-sensor lights or sprinklers to scare them off. Putting up a wire mesh or concrete fence at least a foot underground and bent outward discourages even the most ambitious digger.
10. Cats: The Unexpected Garden Visitors
Cats, whether strays or pets, can be surprisingly disruptive to gardens. They often dig in soft soil, which can disturb plant roots. Their droppings in garden beds also pose a sanitary issue and a risk to plant health.
Cats are attracted to gardens for their soft soil and potential prey. Their natural curiosity and love for sunny spots can lead to trampled plants and scratched trees.
Deter these feline furries by using motion-sensor sprinklers to startle them with a spray of water. Scent-based deterrents like citrus peels, coffee grounds and certain herbs can also repel them. If you’re dealing with a colony, invest in ultrasonic cat repellers that emit sounds unpleasant to kitties but inaudible to humans.
Take Back Your Garden
Managing a vibrant garden requires more than just a green thumb and seasonal care — it also involves managing the wildlife that can interfere with your hard work. Even the most pristine patch can quickly become a playground for animals seeking a snack or a cozy spot. From nibbling rabbits to burrowing gophers, learn to identify which critters are causing trouble so you can take the necessary steps to protect your garden.
With the right tools and techniques, you can preserve your garden’s vitality and enjoy its rewards throughout the seasons.
Jack Shaw is a freelance writer specializing in home improvement, gardening, and caring for the outdoors. He’s the senior writer of Modded and has contributed his advice through sites like Green Living Journal, House 2 Home Organizing, Log Cabin Hub, and more. You can reach him via LinkedIn.