Deer, Gophers, Squirrels, Crows, Rabbits Or Other Wildlife In The Garden?

What do you do when you have the local wildlife visiting your vegetable garden? Deer love newly grown broccoli, squirrels and chipmunks love strawberries, wild turkeys love raspberries, and gophers love the delicious pea roots that hang down into their neighborhood of town. If you are someone who doesn't mind sharing your bounty with an abundance of forest creatures then this shouldn't be a problem for you.

But if you are someone who wants to keep your hard earned produce for yourself, and your family, then you are going to have to take a few measures to humanely protect your garden from the many creatures out there who feel that it is just as rightly theirs as yours.

Where deer are concerned a high mesh metal fence or a barking dog will generally keep them out of your yard area, but if you want an open garden area, then you might want to offend the sensitive little noses of deer instead.

It is a fact that deer do not like human hair and it can provide a barrier that they will not cross. So you might want to visit your local barber to see if you can regularly pick up some of his local trimmings. Most barbers are only too willing to share this amusing and effective deer deterrent with those who need it. An egg sized ball of hair can then be placed in mesh bags and these set around the perimeters of your garden to effectively keep deer out.

There are a number of commercially produced deer repellents that work on this same principle, and these can be used safely, and humanely.

Note that if are using hair that it does need to be replaced about every four to six weeks to remain effective.

Hair, as well as purchased scent powders or sprays that are used for creating this invisible deer border around your garden area, must be reapplied on a regular basis or after each rain. Manufactured scents are available at most garden centers.

Gophers, moles, shrews and other underground burrowers are actually perhaps the easiest creatures to discourage from your garden. A Gopher is actually a laid back little creature that just wants to live his quiet little life, and not have a lot of noise, or excitement in it. He likes to enjoy the nice hot summer sunshine, but he also likes to burrow down under for a good long nap, and he doesn't enjoy any annoyances while he is doing it! It makes him nervous.

Gophers and other underground burrowers do not like vibration, noise or a lot of other disturbances so add these effects into your garden and he is not going to like living there. A few well placed whirly gigs throughout your garden area can create a nice series of vibrations occurring on windy days and this vibration can be just enough of an annoyance to encourage your little visitor to move on to a calmer neighborhood.

You can also purchase a sonic gopher pole or post which is a battery operated device that when planted in the ground emits a series of vibrations or waves every few seconds.

Or you can really go environmentally friendly and purchase a windmill, this method not only eliminates your underground critter problems, but also affords you a little extra wind powered electricity at the same time.

Note: If you are growing grains or grain products, no worries then as gophers cannot exist on just a grassy diet, keep your broad leaf weeds at bay and you won't have to worry about a gopher problem.

Although appropriate fencing or a barking dog will work to keep most wilderness creatures out of your garden area, flying creatures can be a different matter all together. Flying pests will just hop onto a perch and wait for a safe time to drop by for dinner. It is for this reason that they can definitely take a little more maneuvering to out smart.

For crows, wild turkeys, squirrels, cats, dogs, rabbits and other hopping, running or flying critters one of the greatest new inventions is that of the Garden scarecrow. This wonderful little device is motion activated and shoots a very powerful burst of water at whatever creature wanders or flutters within it's range. Humane, and an excellent deterrent for a wide variety of creatures, it is well worth the small one time purchase price for this very handy and amusing form of pest control.

Creatures get the message quickly and it doesn't take them long to figure out that this enemy is always on guard. They quickly move on to easier hunting grounds.

Another decorative but humane item for chasing away unwanted wilderness creatures like crows, rodents, chipmunks or squirrels is the image of an owl. Owls in the wild consume large number of these creatures in it's diet and these creatures know it! Owl - Scarecrows come in a variety of sizes, shapes and forms, and there are Garden Owls that hoot, or turn and wobble their heads in the wind. There are also motion activated Garden Owls to scare the daylights out of unwanted visitors. These Owls in addition to keeping your garden produce safe from wandering creatures also really adds an interesting, and decorative touch to the garden, flowerbed or shrubbery area of yards.

Chipmunks and squirrels are anywhere that a free meal is, and they are one of the most creative little critters out there to watch, or to try to outwit. These little guys have smarts when it comes to hunting out a free meal. There are number of gidgets and gadgets on the market to entice them to your yard if you would like them to visit. The great news is that these same gadgets can keep these little fellows out of areas where you don't want them.

If you don't mind sharing your bird food bounty with the little tree scurrying creatures out there then you won't have much of a conflict with squirrels, but often because squirrels bury the main bulk of their stolen loot, people like to keep their feeders strictly for the birds.

If squirrels and chipmunks are in your neighborhood and happily munching out on your birdseed when you don't want them to, then Twirl-A-Squirrel is a wonderful little product that you might want to take a look at, there is just no way that squirrels can find a way to outwit these devices.

The Twirl A Squirrel actually comes in a number of different varieties, some which are designed to feed the squirrel, and some which are designed to gently remove the squirrel from your bird feeders.

The bird feeder variety come in a design which generally includes a nice little easy to grip perch for a squirrel to attach onto. When the device feels the heavier weight of a squirrel on it, then it begins to spin, and the squirrel slides down and off the feeder. Expect the squirrel to return a few times though, as squirrels are quite a determined critter, and they are going to want to try to see if they can figure a way to outsmart this interesting device.

The squirrel friendly Twirl-a-squirrel is a metal wheel that has four appendages on which you place cobs of corn or other food matter. The entire version of the Twirl-a-squirrel attaches to a tree or pole within your yard, and when the squirrel tries to acquire the corn, the twirl-a-squirrel begins to spin with or without the squirrel on it. The squirrel is rewarded for his time and effort but he also puts on quite a show in his attempts to outwit this elusive feeder.

Another interesting squirrel friendly item is a bird bath designed in the shape of a tree, the upper perch is the bird bath, and the stump section is filled with cubby holes and tunnels which can be filled with any manner of seed or feed to attract wandering chipmunks and squirrels.

If you are looking to keep squirrels from invading your hanging baskets or bird feeders look into "twirl a squirrel" products. These are humane little devices that gently spin the squirrel off of his intended target. Squirrels are very intelligent and persistent little critters and these devices take those factors into account.

Although sometimes we might get a little arrogant and believe that we are the sole owners of this great planet that we live on, the truth is that there are a number of other beings that exist here with us, and they have just as much right to this old land as we do. Sometimes it would even seem that many of them even have more respect for it than we do, so play nice out there, and share.

If you enjoy the company of the local creatures and critters then you might actually want to encourage them to your yard. In which case you might want to implant a few devices for their amusement as well as for your own. Birds, raccoons, deer, chipmunks, squirrels and many other creatures can be attracted to your outdoor space to provide an atmosphere that is at once entertaining, and relaxing. These wilderness pets are great for hundreds of hours of entertainment, and there are some pretty wacky products out there, that are designed with the sole intent of encouraging these wild pets to frequent your yard on a regular basis.

Birdhouses, birdbaths and bird feeders come in virtually any size, shape, or theme that you can imagine, and these items can be easily used to create a wonderful, magical decor within your outdoor area. You can find Birdhouses designed as castles, country cabins, churches, barns, and Cantinas, let your imagination go wild. Looking for a western, royal, country, glittery, superhero or super charged atmosphere in your backyard? It is really quite easy to acquire, simply choose your theme, and then add bird houses, birdbaths and birdfeeders to match the atmosphere that you have decided to create. Just remember to try to avoid plastics whenever possible, they are not good for the atmosphere, or the little creatures that might accidentally ingest them. Whenever possible stick to wood or metal items to decorate your yard.

Flowers and fountains are always great for creating a magical little land within your outdoor space. If you want to get the neighbors talking add a special magical touch to your flowerbeds and design a miniature wonderland for creatures that normally would not otherwise visit. You could design a fairy wonderland complete with colorful butterfly accessories, water pools, and dancing fairies statuettes. Or perhaps a land of leprechauns with tiny pathways leading to tiny little mushroom houses, and a black kettle or pot filled with golden rocks to complete the image of the pot of gold. Rainbows can be painted onto backdrops, or put in place through the strategic planting of flowers, or they can also be created by using crystals to reflect light into the water of a fountain. It's your wacky little world, so you decide on the theme that you want to create there, and then go wild.

When creating, and maintaining your garden area, just know that what looks good to you is going to look absolutely yummy to a number of other creatures too. It's in their nature to want to prepare for their future by gathering, and storing food for future use, just as this same principle is embedded in your thought processes. Keep your sense of humor about you, and work at humane ways to outwit or outsmart the competitors for your gardens bounty, it's the environmentally friendly thing to do.

Sleek black in color with inquisitive dark eyes, a loping gait, and an intelligence level that far outreaches that of their lighter colored winged brethren. They are a bird well worthy of our respect and admiration. The Crow has long been recognized for its intelligence, especially for its ability to outwit humans when they try to ban its access to acquiring an easy meal.

Often viewed as a nuisance bird, the crow is far from deserving the reputation that we humans have given it. A bird with strong family values the inquisitive Crow strives to live within the many prejudices and misjudgments bestowed upon it. To earn it's right to exist within the confines and restrictions of our complex human society. Crows are often misrepresented, misunderstood, and their intelligence level greatly under rated.........Read Full Article.

A lucky penny found on the sidewalk can be a world of dreams to a young child. Although most grown ups usually won't admit it, that little found coin means something special to them too. There is something magical about finding that copper colored coin that other coins just can't equal up to. Pennies are wishes and wishes have the ability to change the world.

My little magic penny tale is a little off the wall, but it does fall under the category of wishes, so here is my slightly smudged tale of wishing wells and magic pennies......Read Full Article.

Squirrels are a very special kind of creature. They are furry, cute, hardworking, inquisitive and a joy to watch. They are also pesky, thieving, biting, chewing, disease ridden varmits. It all depends how you view them.

They are certainly interesting little critters to observe. They spend the better part of their summer months industriously working to set aside a large stockpile of food for the lean winter months. The remainder of their time they seem to spend chasing each other around......Read Full Article.

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