Wildlife Damage: Protecting and Fixing your Garden and Landscape
If you own a garden or designed landscaping, you have to protect it from the wildlife and natural calamities whenever possible. Landscapes and gardens are investments, not only of large amounts of money but of time and effort as well. Only people who have the inclination and the resources to own a garden are lucky to have one. And because not everybody is blessed with such, gardens have to be provided with the right care and attention so that they can thrive.
Here are some tips on how you can keep your gardens safe from the animals of the wild:
1. Keep your gardens animal free with the use of toxicants, repellents, and fumigants.
If wild animals are one of the biggest problems for your garden or landscaping, try to find a suitable chemical solution. However, be sure to choose one that has been tested by the govenment for safety of use. These are, generally, found not to affect humans or house pets. There are some chemicals that are tagged ‘For Restricted Use’ available in the market as well. If you have to use such a formula, you have to be very well informed about it. Also, it is a must that you take extra care as you use them.
2. Use barriers or fences
Some smaller animals can be warded off with the use of barriers. Barriers are perimeter fences that can either be made from hardware cloth or sheet metal. Barbwires can also be used for larger animals. To install barriers for small animals, you have to dig a trench about 15in deep and 10in wide around the edges of your garden. Put the barriers under the soil. Bend a part of it forming an L so that it would easily stand on its own. Other types of fences you might consider using include electrical fences and underground barriers.
3. Create Traps
Traps are for mice and other small rodents infesting your garden. If you know how to use mousetraps inside your home, you can very easily adapt your knowledge for use outside in your garden as well. Live traps can be placed strategically near the common entry points of these animals. You can create a pit trap so that moles, rats, and other small animals won’t have a field day in your garden, messing up your plants.
4. Use your dog.
When all else fails, you can use a guard dog to take care of your garden when you are not around. Dogs can create noise that can scare wild animals away. They are especially effective with smaller animals, like rodents. Just make sure that your dog proves to be superior to your wild visitors. Don’t use dogs to ward away fiercer animals like wolves or foxes.
5. The use of certain plants.
Some wild animals and insects don’t like the smell of some plants. Hence, they keep away from them as much as possible. If you have a specific type of problem animal pestering your garden, you can do a little research about which plants they prefer to avoid. Use this knowledge in your garden or landscaping ideas to help keep damage-causing animals away from your other plants. If your problems are deer, try planting woody ornamental and herbaceous plants. While these plants can’t cast away these animals, they are more deer-proof and are resistant to these wildlife visitors.
as well. Live traps can be placed strategically near the common entry points of these animals. You can create a pit trap so that moles, rats, and other small animals won’t have a field day in your garden, messing up your plants.
4. Use your dog.
When all else fails, you can use a guard dog to take care of your garden when you are not around. Dogs can create noise that can scare wild animals away. They are especially effective with smaller animals, like rodents. Just make sure that your dog proves to be superior to your wild visitors. Don’t use dogs to ward away fiercer animals like wolves or foxes.
5. The use of certain plants.
Some wild animals and insects don’t like the smell of some plants. Hence, they keep away from them as much as possible. If you have a specific type of problem animal pestering your garden, you can do a little research about which plants they prefer to avoid. Use this knowledge in your garden or landscaping ideas to help keep damage-causing animals away from your other plants. If your problems are deer, try planting woody ornamental and herbaceous plants. While these plants can’t cast away these animals, they are more deer-proof and are resistant to these wildlife visitors.
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