squirrels & chipmunks
Squirrels and chipmunks are fun to watch, but they are the hardest to keep away from your corn and sunflowers. A fence won’t keep them out, not even an electric one. They jump so well and scurry into the garden so fast that an electric shock doesn’t stop them. They’re in the garden while they’re still feeling the zap.
In the sweet corn or popcorn rows, squirrels climb right up the stalks and eat the ears. They’re smart. Often they only work the inside rows so you won’t notice them. A few times I have seen squirrels trying to haul away whole ears of corn. In a row of sunflowers they can jump from one stalk to the next as if they were in a tree.
In a small garden you may be able to use old stockings or heesecloth on the sunflower heads and corn ears to foil the squirrels at harvest time. In a big garden, an active cat or an eager dog may be your only hope.
Let them eat in peace!
A skunk is not a serious garden pest. In my garden, they have dug up some seeds early in the spring. Later in the season I spotted one reaching up for some sweet corn. I thought, “Well, if he wants it, he can have it.” Other than that, they have caused very little damage.
Skunks do have some redeeming qualities. They eat insects, grubs, rats, and mice, and thus help control pests in and around the garden.
If you have a surplus of skunks, almost any fence will keep them out of the garden. They won’t climb, though sometimes they will try to dig under a fence.
Mice
Let an active cat earn his keep
Field mice can be destructive. When the season is still young, they sometimes dig up big seeds before they have a chance to germinate. Unsuspecting gardeners often think that they’ve planted wrong or had a bad batch of seeds.
Mice are troublesome at harvest time, too. They love the wide rows of beets in my garden. They can hide under the lush foliage and nibble away to their heart’s content. In bad years, they’ll take bites out of almost every beet in some rows. Carrots, potatoes, and strawberries are favorite targets, too.
To control mice, keep a cat. With a cat lurking around the garden, most of the rodents will stay away. Also, avoid using heavy mulches until well into the gardening season. Mice will take shelter and breed in a thick mat of hay or straw when the weather is still cool. If you can, use mulches that contain few seeds. Mice just love hay seeds. This is especially important if you plant potatoes under mulch, because after eating a lot of seeds they’ll chew the potatoes.
Moles
Three-inch-long blackberry canes can chase them away
If there are moles in your garden, you’ll know it. Their zig-zagging tunnels are easy to recognize. Moles burrow close to the surface searching for earthworms, grubs, snails, and slugs, and this burrowing can really damage a garden. Moles can lift seeds and transplants out of the ground, and those west of the Rockies (slightly bigger than the “eastern” moles) may eat root crops, flower bulbs, or even sprouting pea and corn seeds.
There are several good techniques for repelling moles. I used one when I discovered a number of mole tunnels around our new house the day after we graded and seeded the lawn. I cut up some thorny blackberry canes into 3- or 4-inch sections. I used a piece of wire to make small holes into the mole tunnels at different spots. Then I pushed a short thorny cane down through each hole into the tunnels. Moles have tender skins and they were so annoyed that they left.
You also can squirt a little creosote on the runs every 6 or 8 feet and the moles will probably leave. Another good idea is to drop moth balls into the first run you see to discourage moles from tunneling further in the area.
Birds
Birds are usually nice to have near a garden because they eat many kinds of insect pests, but they can be a problem, too.
Crows and blackbirds are notorious for digging up corn seeds and small plants. I’ve tried the commercial coatings you put on the seeds before planting, but they don’t work very well. By the time the birds discover they’re getting a stomach ache, they’ve dug up two-thirds of the row.
I put some 12-inch-wide wire mesh over my corn rows, shaping it like a tent, until the plants get too big for the birds to pull.
This works well.
Birds can be destructive at harvest time. As berry growers know, robins, bluejays, and other birds love to gorge themselves on all kinds of berries and grapes just as you’re getting ready to pick them. Netting is the top deterrent here. Birds love sweet corn and sunflower seeds, too. People often tear open an ear of sweet corn to see if it’s ready. Don’t do this; it’s just gives birds a helping hand. Put mesh bags over the sunflower heads when you see the first bird trying to peck some seed.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Tough nuts to crack!
- Simple Garden Projects: Birdbaths and Fountain
- Help with Wildlife
- A Dozen Tactics for the Truly Lazy Gardening
- Plant a Tree or Climber for Wildlife
- A Dozen Garden Pests Tactics for the Truly Lazy Green Gardeners
- Outdoor Eating
- Sunflowers Seeds for you and the Birds
- Plants, Shrubs, Seeds, Trees, the Garden Beckons, how to plant?
- Early and Late
- Beginnings and the Seed part 3
Leave a Reply