rajncajn Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 So, what do you all use to deter the animals from eating your goods before you do? I'm just now getting some veggies on the plants & I'd like to put in my preventive measures sooner rather than later. The pests I'll be tackling are coons, squirrels & birds. I know when I was a kid we used to put pie plates on a pole, but I don't remember how affective that was. A friend recently told me that he hangs red Christmas balls on his tomatoes & by the time the tomatoes ripen the birds have already given up on them. I've also read that you can sprinkle crushed cayenne around your garden & that will also keep them away. The best option I've seen is the motion activated sprinklers, which looks like it would work great, but I'm not fond of shelling out $50 for one if I can find a simpler, more cost effective option. The same goes for fencing the garden... I'm already planning on expanding it & definately wouldn't look forward to having to build a cage to keep the animals out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 The best defense is to have no garden. LOL There is no defence against racoons. They are tenacious. They will never give up if they really want something. 'Bout the only defence against racoons is a shotgun or a beagle that is outside all the time. Netting will keep most of the birds away. And bird feeders will keep the squirrels away. Most of the time. That is the best I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Well, to discourage the big pests, and fortunately that seems to be your problem, I would suggest the following: Buy several sections of 1" pvc and several sections of 1/2". Cut the 1" pipe into foot-long sections and either leave the 1/2" ones 10ft or cut them in half, depending on how big you want the hoops to be. Hammer the big pipe into the ground until just a bit is sticking up in pairs on either side of your beds. You're going to ultimately bend the thinner pipe into a hoop, sticking each end in the large, mostly buried pipe. You can then stretch deer netting over that and use ground cover staples to fasten it to the ground on all sides. If you have the inclination and want to make something even more slick, you can produce sections of these hoops and fasten chicken wire to them, cutting a section the shape of the ends to cap them. That will mean that, when you want to Josh Gordon or harvest, you have to remove the hoops, but it will be bad-ass and permanent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.