Humans, animals, plants, birds and other creatures are part of the ecosystem. They live and survive together by following a principle of coexistence. Meanwhile, humans protect their surroundings such as gardens from other creatures, especially wild animals. A lush green garden is a place that attracts all creatures causing a great concern for a gardener as green spaces need intensive care, protection, and security from all odds.
According to Mya Baptiste (a researcher whose study got published in 2021), a common human-wildlife conflict within urban landscapes is the damage of garden beds from animal foraging. In his study, he tried to identify the most effective and humane way to mitigate this conflict by evaluating the effectiveness of several humane wildlife deterrents”
Animals are fond of eating plants and trees while a diverse perennial garden full of flowers could be the best lunch for them. Animals are foes for a gardener because their appetite for plants and trees never ends. A small group of animals can convert a multi-colored garden into a wild piece of land.
Before going into details, it is important to mention that deterrence techniques are much better than physical intervention. Multiple ways and means can be adopted to protect gardens from animals, including physical and psychological techniques. Some are expensive to apply while others are cost-effective. Let's briefly discuss some of the significant techniques below: -
Animal Resistant Plants . Animals may eat anything when they are hungry but habitually, they don't eat what they feel unpleasant as they use their sense of smell quite often. They avoid eating prickly and fuzzy foliage. Heavily scented / aromatic plants include lavender, rosemary, oregano, thyme, catmint, garlic and chives are also natural repellents for animals. So, it is good to grow strong smelling herbs and plants at the outer border of the garden to keep animals away.
Plants include vegetables, fruits, clematis, roses, pansies, azalea bushes and berries should be grown deep inside the garden to make them inaccessible for the wild animals.
Animal repellent spray. Repellents which are bad in smell and worse in taste are more effective and helpful in keeping gardens protected. This technique is being widely adopted by most of the gardeners now-a-days. Repellents made up of different formulas are available in the market. It is better to get the best after experiencing more than one repellent spray on your garden. Using different repellent sprays is also important because sometimes animals get habitual with a single smell, so experiencing different sprays would overcome this concern and benefit more. Repellents can also be made at home which are quite cost-effective.
Homemade repellent spray: Take two eggs and blend them. Take two cups of cold water and mix them with eggs and blend it again at high speed. Then add this mixture to a gallon of water. Keep it untouched for one day and apply it on the plants as & when required.
Another thing to keep in mind is that excessive use of repellents on plants (especially fruit and vegetable plants) may be harmful. Frequency of using repellents depends on the area, weather conditions and nature of plants. However, must apply the spray after rain as water washes everything, also spray plants when they get dry.
Build physical barriers/bars. It is an expensive and conventional but effective method to keep animals away from the garden. Fencing the garden is of many types including simple pallet fence, deconstructed pallet fence, split rail fence, brush fence, wattle fence, dry stone wall, beautify a chain-link fence and hedging.
Generally, heavy woven wire fence around the garden should be 6-8 feet high because some animals like deer are capable enough to jump high. Making plant nets, tree nets and wrapping of plants are other techniques to fence the garden. Wrapping young plants is essential because they are more vulnerable. Use chicken wire or netting around the garden having vegetable and fruit plants.
Electrical fence can also be used to keep animals away, as touching it once will create deterrence forever. However, it should not be preferred because it could harm living creatures.
Motion Activated Lights, Sprinkles & Sensors. Anything that creates a surprising impact may scare the animals coming its way. A sensor sprinkle system can be installed around the garden or on the walls that start sprinkling water when any unwanted creature enters the field / garden. Motion activated lights can also be installed in the garden as it would be beneficial at night.
Ultrasonic devices produce noise at high frequency that is inaudible to human beings but can be heard by animals and make them scared. However, they may become habitual by frequently listening to such sounds.
Hanging Bar Soap Near Plants . Most of the animals are very smell conscious. Soap bars with powerful smell may be hung from strings in trees or attach soap bars to stakes and place them around the corners of your garden beds to create an impact of deterrence.
Hang Shiny Metal Object. Another method is to hang shiny metal objects on the branches of trees and plants to scare the animals. These objects include tins, CDs, aluminum foil and wind chime, when hanging in masses in the sunshine, they reflect light that becomes scary for animals.
Keep Gardens Clean & Green. Sometimes, food breaks down from edible plants and gets rotten which produces pungent odor that attracts hungry critters. So, try to remove them before they get spoiled. Garbage cans must be properly closed or locked, so try to keep gardens free of trash.
Maintain Your Landscape. Overgrown shrubs and tall grass in the outskirts of your garden may become a hiding spot or a walking area for animals. Taking care just of your garden and not the surrounding land may be detrimental for all your efforts. The nearby landscape should be trimmed and properly maintained, as animals feel less comfortable on smooth land.
“Remember that children, marriages and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they receive” (H. Jackson Brown Jr). Although it is a challenging task to keep gardens protected and secured from all odds, however above techniques are helpful in overcoming this challenge.
REFERENCES
- https://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/expedition/article/view/196084
- https://orchard.com/blog/posts/how-to-protect-your-garden-from-animals
- https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/how-to-safely-deter-animals-that-steal-from-your-garden/
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