How do you get rabbits out of the garden and crows off the fruit trees?
July 24, 2017 12:40 PM Subscribe
We have a serious rabbit problem in our backyard. Crows are also absolutely vicious to the pear trees. We also have another weird large brown furry animal that lurks around eating things as well, but I'm not quite sure what it is. Does anyone have tips on netting or other fairly affordable solutions we can buy to keep them out?
I tried traps, but they didn't work. We have a fenced-in vegetable garden and fruit trees as well as a flower garden.
The rabbits and crows are out of control this year. We also have other critters that wreck havoc like the deer and chipmunks. We also have a largish animal (groundhog?) that is terrible and I don't know how to get rid of that (someone help!).
The vegetable garden is fairly well fenced in however the smaller creatures, like baby rabbits and chipmunks, can still slip through some cracks. The crows are also swooping in from time to time.
Does anyone have any advice on how to:
1. Crow-proof the trees (started hanging CDs from the trees)
2. Crow-proof and critter-proof the vegetable garden further
3. Get rid of all these critters without shooting them
I tried traps, but they didn't work. We have a fenced-in vegetable garden and fruit trees as well as a flower garden.
The rabbits and crows are out of control this year. We also have other critters that wreck havoc like the deer and chipmunks. We also have a largish animal (groundhog?) that is terrible and I don't know how to get rid of that (someone help!).
The vegetable garden is fairly well fenced in however the smaller creatures, like baby rabbits and chipmunks, can still slip through some cracks. The crows are also swooping in from time to time.
Does anyone have any advice on how to:
1. Crow-proof the trees (started hanging CDs from the trees)
2. Crow-proof and critter-proof the vegetable garden further
3. Get rid of all these critters without shooting them
Best answer: Netting the trees is the only effective way I've found to deter crows and squirrels. It's a bit of a job, but it works.
For the vegetable patch, I'd staple hardware cloth to your existing fence so that nothing can pass through the holes. You can also try to create a hoop house cover with PVC pipe and more netting.
For the groundhog, if you can find the hole that they're using, you can dump dog poop or used kitty litter down there and fill it in. The smell is a deterrent. If you don't have a pet, perhaps a friend does and you can get some poop from them?
posted by quince at 1:34 PM on July 24, 2017
For the vegetable patch, I'd staple hardware cloth to your existing fence so that nothing can pass through the holes. You can also try to create a hoop house cover with PVC pipe and more netting.
For the groundhog, if you can find the hole that they're using, you can dump dog poop or used kitty litter down there and fill it in. The smell is a deterrent. If you don't have a pet, perhaps a friend does and you can get some poop from them?
posted by quince at 1:34 PM on July 24, 2017
Deer: we had a very tall fence, hog wire with strands of wire above that.
Ground hog: put a hole in every single winter squash. Filling the holes didn't work, it just dug a new one. We trapped it with a Havahart and it died (of fright?) before we got back the next morning. We would have been required to kill it anyway as it is illegal here (RI) to move them off your property. You can supposedly keep them out, maybe rabbits too, if you sink the fencing below ground.
One year all of our corn was destroyed, probably by a raccoon which was not impeded at all by the fence.
posted by Botanizer at 3:35 PM on July 24, 2017
Ground hog: put a hole in every single winter squash. Filling the holes didn't work, it just dug a new one. We trapped it with a Havahart and it died (of fright?) before we got back the next morning. We would have been required to kill it anyway as it is illegal here (RI) to move them off your property. You can supposedly keep them out, maybe rabbits too, if you sink the fencing below ground.
One year all of our corn was destroyed, probably by a raccoon which was not impeded at all by the fence.
posted by Botanizer at 3:35 PM on July 24, 2017
Some critters are supposed to hate blood meal. I can vouch that squirrels do seem to hate it, so maybe rabbits do too? (It's also a good fertilizer. Also smells like death fyi.)
posted by jessicapierce at 6:30 PM on July 24, 2017
posted by jessicapierce at 6:30 PM on July 24, 2017
Consider looking into upping your game to include trying much, much harder to trap the rabbits, as in planning on adding rabbit to the menu, and becoming a trapper as well as a farmer. It sounds like your neighbourhood supports enough rabbits that it can afford to supply you with a dozen meals, easily.
Human hair is supposed to be a deterrent to deer. If you get your hair done at a hairdresser ask if you can get some there.
Take a walk in your neighbourhood and see if you can spot any neighbours who are also tending vegetable gardens. Ring their doorbells in the evening, introduce yourself and talk to them about what they are doing and what is working or not working for them. With luck they will be friendly enough to show you, if only so that you can commiserate.
You might be able to figure out what time the predation is occurring and get some protection into the yard at that time. Some animals, such as deer are dusk feeders, so borrowing a dog to put in your yard for a couple of vulnerable weeks and having her out before dawn until it gets fully light, and back out before sunset and not in until midnight might make a big difference, especially if she is a large bouncy barky sort of dog. Other critters such as raccoons are all night feeders, and woodchucks are daylight feeders so you'd have to borrow the dog 24/7 (Of course we'd LOVE to look after Cerebus when you go on holiday!) and have her live in your yard if there's no main time the attacks are occurring.
One thing that might help is to make sure that there is no cover close to your garden. If the local animal life is timid they will be nervous to get into your vegetable garden if they have to cross an open expanse and get temporarily trapped behind a fence with only one way out and no cover inside the fence. However if your local animal life is not timid because people normally don't molest them this will not be a deterrent.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:46 AM on July 25, 2017
Human hair is supposed to be a deterrent to deer. If you get your hair done at a hairdresser ask if you can get some there.
Take a walk in your neighbourhood and see if you can spot any neighbours who are also tending vegetable gardens. Ring their doorbells in the evening, introduce yourself and talk to them about what they are doing and what is working or not working for them. With luck they will be friendly enough to show you, if only so that you can commiserate.
You might be able to figure out what time the predation is occurring and get some protection into the yard at that time. Some animals, such as deer are dusk feeders, so borrowing a dog to put in your yard for a couple of vulnerable weeks and having her out before dawn until it gets fully light, and back out before sunset and not in until midnight might make a big difference, especially if she is a large bouncy barky sort of dog. Other critters such as raccoons are all night feeders, and woodchucks are daylight feeders so you'd have to borrow the dog 24/7 (Of course we'd LOVE to look after Cerebus when you go on holiday!) and have her live in your yard if there's no main time the attacks are occurring.
One thing that might help is to make sure that there is no cover close to your garden. If the local animal life is timid they will be nervous to get into your vegetable garden if they have to cross an open expanse and get temporarily trapped behind a fence with only one way out and no cover inside the fence. However if your local animal life is not timid because people normally don't molest them this will not be a deterrent.
posted by Jane the Brown at 5:46 AM on July 25, 2017
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posted by PJMoore at 1:23 PM on July 24, 2017