Having a garden in your yard and tending to it in the warm months is such a wonderful thing! What happens when you have unwanted predators in your garden, though? It can completely ruin the experience, not to mention take away from the healthy food you are growing for your family. This is why it is extremely important that you take steps to make sure you keep predators out of your garden. Here are some tips on how to do so.
Determine What Types of Predators You Have in Your Area
If you aren’t too familiar with the types of predators that lurk in your area, you could do a little research, or you could install a camera in your yard. There are wildlife cameras that can be set up to go off when motion is detected. This might show you the types of animals you have roaming around your yard when you are not home. Knowing the types of animals that might threaten your yard can help you to determine which method of keeping them away will work best.
Use Raised Beds
Raised beds may not work for larger predators such as deer, but they can work for smaller predators such as mice and rabbits. This will prevent you from planting directly into the ground, which can be helpful if you have moles and other animals that dig through your yard. While it may not prevent them from bothering your garden completely, it will certainly lower the risk.
Be Wise With What You Grow
You might simply be able to deter predators by choosing what you grow wisely. Perhaps you can figure out what plants are safe from animals like deer and rabbits with a little research. Chances are, even with this research, you will need to do more to keep predators out, but it is a good idea to learn about what certain predators will and will not eat.
Put Up a Fence
A fence is the most obvious way to keep out most predators. You will need to decide how tall to make your fence. If you are just trying to ensure mice and rabbits stay away from your crops, you won’t need too high of a fence. If there are deer in your area, you will need a higher fence to keep them out. This is why it is important to determine what types of predators you are dealing with. While a fence may not be able to deter birds that can fly right over it and into your garden, you might look into getting a laser scarer, which can scare pesky birds away.
Allow Overgrowth
This might seem counterproductive, but if you have predators in your yard looking for food, you might be able to deter them by giving them other food sources. By letting tall grass and weeds grow outside of or near your garden, it might prevent the animals from going into the garden. If the can find a good source of food before they go inside your garden, then this could serve as some protection.
Use Repellants
Using repellants may not be the best for your crop or the environment, but it is an option. Sometimes it might be the best option and there are many natural repellants out there. There are natural repellants you can make at home, which could deter animals from biting your crops, so you don’t have to worry about using harmful chemicals. They are also easy to make and can be made with most ingredients that you probably already have at home.
Call a Professional
Perhaps you have tried all the options above and more, but nothing is keeping your crops from getting ruined. Year after year, you are frustrated and disappointed that all your hard work goes to waste and you walk away from your garden without anything you can use because it has all been destroyed. Don’t worry! You can call a professional who knows what to do. Both animal control and pest control will be able to give you advice on what to do.
Final Words
You can keep away unwanted predators from your garden by using one or as many of these tips as you need to. It is devastating to walk out to your garden expecting your flowers to bloom and your plants to be producing fruits and vegetables only to find that some creature has ruined it all. Luckily, there are many natural ways you can make sure predators don’t go into your garden while you aren’t looking. What you do will also depend on the area you live in and what kinds of animals you have out there. It is hard work to keep predators away, but it is worth it when you are able to produce yummy food and beautiful flowers in your own yard.
