problem of monkeys

i am starting my new terrace garden on a 2000 square foot terrace, in the western state of gujarat, India. The gray langur monkeys have been infamous in this area and being herbivores, they leave no scope of letting plants grow. nothing survives their prying fingers and insatiable nibbles! How do i tackle this problem? I want to plant all kinds of garden varieties, as well as herbs, veggies, flowering creepers..... But they keep coming in large groups and ruin gardens all around. My terrace is on the 4th floor and is the top of the building.

I sure hope you find a solution for your problem. We have cats here and wild armadillos which do damage. It is very frustrating to put in all the work and some wild animal tear it up. Luciee {;^)

Perhaps take a page from the Bhutanese farmers. They plant Molasses grass (Melinis minutiflora) as as a living fence around their crops. You could do the same thing in containers around your herbs, veggies and flowers. It seems the grass is very sticky and emits a strong odor of Molasses and Cumin.


http://www.bhutancreativetour.com/news/bhutanese-farmers-discover-monkey-repellent-grass/


Spell check....sigh


This message was edited Dec 3, 2012 3:23 PM

This message was edited Dec 3, 2012 3:26 PM

Thanks, moon, I have heard of molasses grass. Someone told me that
silver dollar crab grass was molasses grass. I'm glad there is such a thing as the lady seemed flaky. Luciee

I do know many tropical areas have problems with the wild life moving into populated areas....monkies, iguanas, birds....much like we have deer, opossum, raccoons and alligators. They just sound a lot more exotic to us. I can well imagine Langurs climbing up onto balconies.

Here is some info on Molasses grass.

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Melinis_minutiflora.htm

Thanks, moon for that link. I am always willing to learn something new. I do not think we have any grass like that in my neck of the woods. Ila, I hope you get some help for your problem. Luciee {;^)

That's a huge area for an apartment(?) terrace! Can you attach (staple/nail) chicken wire to your terrace? I don't know anything about the monkeys - are they strong enough to be able to pull it off?

Male Langurs can get up to 40 lbs and can leap 12 to 15 ft horizontally and 35 to 40 ft descending...

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest.[2][3] There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are always longer than their bodies.[7] Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur[3] However, the Kashmir gray langur is reportedly the largest species in the genus, though few actual measurements are known.[8] The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.[7]

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on and the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.7–4.6 m (12.0–15.0 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.[9]

Add together the agility, strength and intelligence, and it sounds like a problem that is worse than the deer, rabbits, raccoons and voles that are the worst pests around here.

I do agree Diana....while maybe not as dangerous as an alligator like we have here, just as big a nuisance I am sure.

can you believe it! after a long and ardous struggle, i gave up the terrace garden.....only the lawn remains, which we use often for enteraining. thank you for all your inputs, guys!!