As we strive to grow abundant, efficient and sustainable gardens and yards, we often encounter vertebrate pests that enjoy nibbling on soft shoots, fresh leaves and juicy roots.
Here in the Inland Northwest, wildlife and underground rodents can be abundant in urban as well as rural settings. This past summer, a doe and her two fawns found our container garden and nibbled the top stems, buds and leaves off of all our pepper plants. Squirrels also like to bury their nuts in our blueberry bush pots, but I enjoy watching them try to find them in spring.
Mule deer and whitetail are native to our region and are considered “edge” species – they prefer to graze in and along the edges of open areas near forests and dense shrubs. Gardens and urban landscapes have an abundance of “edges,” which inevitably attract deer.
These animals, although they eat on average 7 pounds of food per day, like to nibble through an area, tasting one plant, then another. They will then return and eat in earnest if they find something good to eat. However, they’re not terribly picky, and their tastes can change, depending on drought, shortages of wild food sources and weather. Typically they enjoy fruit (tree and shrub), acorns, lichen, dead leaves, twigs, bark and evergreen boughs. But they also have a particular palate for tender new shoots and buds, which is terrible news for a gardener.
Rodent pests can range from squirrels to mice, voles, marmots, rabbits and even raccoons and skunks. Mice and voles travel in tunnels and love grassy areas and leafy mulch. They feed on a variety of vegetation, including flower bulbs, vegetable roots, tubers, young tree bark and shrubs.
Marmots, also called rock chucks or whistle pigs, are the largest member of the squirrel family and are common in Idaho. They love juicy vegetables and can strip a garden to the ground in just a few nights. Rabbits will consume your flowers, greens and vegetables and multiply quickly. Raccoons and skunks are not solely herbivores, however, raccoons do love fresh corn. Both live in rural wooded areas or lightly populated neighborhoods. Skunks can also carry rabies.
» What to do
- Identify your animal. Every animal leaves damage unique to them.
- Get a pet. Domestic cats and dogs deter many wild animals.
- Modify your habitat to co-exist or discourage pests. Deer tend to avoid plants with strong scents, bristly or thorny textures, and fuzzy leaves, although they might eat if hungry enough. Planting clover close to a known marmot den can keep the rodents from wandering into your garden. For rabbits, remove brush, stones and weed patches. Secure your trash cans and bring pet food and water inside at night to ward off raccoons.
- Establish fencing, chicken wire or row covers appropriate for your pest as well as your dog or cat, which might want to dig in your beds.
- Use a repellant such as castor oil or garlic spray (which helped with my deer situation), depending on the season, animal and situation. Using poisons can negatively affect your plants, vegetables and health. Inflatable snakes may help with rabbits. Light and noise emitters, moved regularly, may discourage deer.
- Lay traps, but first inquire if there are any protected animals in your county. For deer, call wildlife control to help relocated the animals. You can also hire a professional to remove rodents or use store-bought traps or glue boards. Peanut butter and vitamin D are decent bait for mice and voles. Marmots can be baited with sprigs of clover. Skunks and raccoons prefer sardines or cat food. If trapping live, be sure to have a removal plan and location at least 5 miles away and not your in-laws’ house. And always wear protective clothing and eye goggles with skunks.
Check with your local Department of Wildlife or Extension Office for more animals that might become a nuisance in your garden and other solutions that may be effective in your area. N
By S. Michal Bennett