Dealing with Pest

Ivy1 had a good idea about the Irish Spring shavings in one of our threads - can't wait to try it!! Anyone else have ideas or tricks that they use to control pests in the garden?

I use moth balls to curb the cats - they like to hide in the flowers and try to get the birds - unfortunately they tend to flatten out my beds...[pout]. The only problem is the aroma of moth balls...

Anita

That's a good idea, Anitabryk2! When I first put in my catmint, something was laying in it. Every morning when I came out it would be squashed flatter than a pancake! Luckily, whatever it was didn't like more mature plants and stopped.

My husband and I were trying to catch a woodchuck with a hav-a-hart trap. We loaded it up with catmint, roses, lettuce, some carrots, all the things it was nibbling at in the garden.
My DH came out the next morning to find we had captured a skunk! Luckily, the catmint (and a good meal) seemed to have made him quite happy and docile. We threw a blanket over the cage and opened the doors and he left wondering what the heck these humans were up to!

Keep cats away with rose, raspberry or blackberry branches laid down in plain sight.
I had a real problem with feral cats until I started using blackberry stems.
Andy P

I tried something similar to that Andy - I watched them jump right over it!!

I've found that Millorganite works for a while(plus it fertilizes), as do the sprays I've made or bought.I guess I'll try Irish Spring if it lasts that long. Good tip Ivy!

It was interesting to hear Maine Man say "an occassional deer" but I guess it makes sense that the deer problem is worse here in sprawling suburbia than in Maine because we've removed all their habitat....or , I should say: changed their habitat from woods to backyard gardens .

To repel deer, I've used Irish Spring Soap tied in nylons and descretely placed around the gardens. Also I've used various commercial deer sprays with pretty good success. Liquid Fence is one brand that works well but it is expensive. The thing with deer is you need to keep rotating methods and sprays to keep them away. Lot of useful ideas in the following book:

Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden (Paperback)
by Rhonda Massingham Hart

Bloodmeal will keep the rabbits from your Asiatics and Oriental lilies. Cayenne pepper won't harm birds but any critters that put their paws to their mouths won't linger and most won't return.

Deer Scram worked for a while for the deer and they usually stop their travels at our next door neighbors but have made their way to our gardens. Why they'd bother with a vacant vegetable garden beats me.

LOL - they are just getting in line, Pirl

LOL! You're probably right. Maybe they're as anxious for the first peas as we are. They just better stay out of the asparagus bed: then it will be war.

mmmm...fresh asparagus...I'm getting in line too!!!

Human scent, is the best critter control I have tried.
I asked two salons in my "hood" to save me the hair cut litter when they sweep the floor, yes questions were asked, (just tell them your cloning people in your basement) then take the hair and stuff a pair of pantyhose, and put it where you want the critter to stay away from, in my case a skunk under my shed.

great idea Dena, although I'm not so sure that I like the idea of someone else's hair.....((shivers))

Anita, it is alittle creepy, nothing some rubber gloves wont take care of.

very true Dena-

hi everyone i just the site a few days ago so i missed the thread that ivy posted about thr irish spring soap and repelling deer,iv'e been deer attacked or should i say my spring bulbs have been, when i bought them from Brecks they said deer proof ...yeah right, the deer just dig them up eat them and whats left they relocate to my neighbors yard, i tried everything , my husband keeps on saying a 22 would work fine , i keep saying no. i just spent so much money and time on these bulbs i would love to see some come up and say spring is here, any ideas would help .....................................cindilynn

I'm afraid to - I don't want them coming to my house in retaliation!!

Cindilin,
I've never had deer eat daffodils. As a matter of fact they're the only thing deer haven't eaten.

Another tip is to get a mountain lion ;)

Actually Dave, you're right. Squirrels don't either.

Here are a few links that might help..

http://www.skagitpublishing.com/publications/homeaccent/0106/feature.php?article=2006.01.05-pests

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_bulbs_seeds/article/0,,HGTV_3553_1392738,00.html

LOL...LOL...LOL,don,t worry i won,t send them to long island,if i do i,ll send them to my ex-husband's house in East Meadow,now that may be an idea you thing the deer can read a map? and as for the mountain lion i don't think that my 3 rottweilers would appreciate that, but seriously i need help.... its not only daffs that i planted its tulips,muscari,iris,and asiaticlilles they all said deer proof....is this a hopeless situation????HELP

cindilynn

anita that was a good hyperlink from skagit publishing learned something going to try bloodmeal sprinkled around the bulbs maybe that will help we have a whole bunch of critters around here it could be the turkeys,racoons,groundhogs, and lets not forget my little friend the rabbits,or maybe just the deer i don't know but i am going to try the bloodmeal right away.
thanks
cindilynn

Cindilynn,
3 Rottweilers? My dogs love bonemeal and if it smells like animal I'm sure bloodmeal would interest them. Do you know if it is attractive to dogs, as in digging it up attractive?
Pixie

pixie never had a problem with bonemeal and my dogs although i will do some investigating into this i will let you know.
talk to you soon,
cindilynn

Just had to peek my head in to see if I was the pest.

yes you are but I just invented a new product called Al-Away...lets see, you just spray like you would any other room freshener...like so *spritz spritz*
and the smell of building a wall chases your Al problem away! Just $9.95 a bottle!

Not that!

Hey I found an old 45(it's a record Dena) in the wall today.

thats cool Al! I know what a 45 is, I have my moms records from when she was a kid.

I use a product called Deer Out--smells like mint. The deer have not eaten my shrubs this year or last. The azaleas and small leafed rhodos will bloom this year because they have not been eaten. I grow hundreds of tulips and lilies, hostas etc. and this spray has really helped.
I spray all winter and spring--about every 3-6 weeks-whenever I think about it.

Haven't been bothered by deer (yet), but the one time that I put bonemeal in a newly planted veggie garden every dog in about a 2 square mile area arrived to dig it all up! I've been afraid to use bonemeal since then.

I had pretty good luck with Millorganite and its cheap and also fertilizes. The problem I've had with all the remedies for deer is you have to reapply them all and I only remember to do that after they have been eaten. There is nothing worse than growing lilies all year and just before they open...CHOMP. Then you just have a stick.

Oops, I'm repeating myself about Milorganite.

Cindilynn, Dear cannot be trained to read maps. But if you send does instead of deer, at least they will ask for directions.

Dave,that was a good oneLOL,LOL,LOL , my husband still makes fun of the way i talk he is born and raised in pa ............ghee's watcha gonna do,yo i can't help that i come from Brooklyn,Ny and i'm Italian too (i'm speaking with my hands now) LOL. dave ,i read that bloodmeal also works, i know that this is going to sound stupid,what is Milorgainte and where can i find some.
cindilynn

Cindilynn, It's the end product of Milwaukee's sewage treatment. (I know, gross) It has nitrogen and it seems to keep deer away. Lots of folks have used it and it is not smelly or gross. I don't use it on plants I eat but I think its safe for that too.
Like with deer sprays, soap & animal urine. You need to add some every month or so. I think it worked as well or better than anything else I tried and it was less expensive and it fertilized too.
I have also mixed up my own spray.
The deer were pretty bad at my previous house. I moved about a mile away and now I only have an occassional issue. I actually can grow tulips here and that is deer caviar!

Dave thanks for the info ,where can i get this from? and the spray that you made i would be interested in trying that too,anything that would work ,the bulbs are just starting to come up over my way and as soon as they pop up the deer are biting the tops off, it's very disheartening to see this i planted over 100 bulbs last fall ,i don't like to whine but this project is starting to coast some$$$$ Heck there deer feeders all over the place out here I've even made a deer feeding plot way over on the other side of my property nothing seems to work i have been really nice to them so far but i am loosing patience grrrrrrrrrrr. Help

cindilynn

Milorganite is available at Agway here and lots of nurseries. Its in big bags with fertilizers.
I would not be nice to (feed)deer. My understanding is that they are creatures of habit and drawing them to an area establishes a pattern that will continue unless you disrupt it.
I understand how you feel. Especially with bulbs (like lilies) where that one chomp isn't a whole in your plant, its the whole plant for the year!
I have my deer recipe at home and will get it to you later. It includes bar soap (laundry not hand) which I was surprised was still available , eggs, garlic,etc. The same things as most of the commercial sprays have in them that they charge you $12 - $18 for a small bottle.

Thanks dave ,looking forward to using your recipe,we have quite a few Agway stores around here too going to give them a call.
thanks,cindilynn

Cindilynn, Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Here it is:
2 eggs (including shell)
1-2 cups coarsely chopped green onion tops
2 cloves garlic
1 tb chilli powder (or red pepper)
2 cups water
blend at high speed 2 minutes
pour into a gallon bucket with a cake of laundry soap
fill bucket with lukewarm water & stir
splash over plants Reapply every 2 weeks
Invented by Joyce Descloux. Published in Fine Gardening May/June 1990

I have never religously held to the recipe nor the 2 week re-application. Hope it works for you

Thanks Dave going to try this as soon as i can ,either i'm going to have beautiful spring flowers or like my husband said a freezer full of venison,i am going to solve this problem,(personally i prefer the flowers)..................thanks again
cindilynn

Sorry for the delay. (I forgot)
GOOD LUCK!

Ithink your recipe sounds delicious, except for the shells, soap and water. I think I will have it for breakfast tomorrow and the deer can have the leftovers.

Hi I'm late to this thread, hope you are all still looking here. I have two problems.(in this area)

Speaking of deer and money, the deer over the course of the winter ate the bottom four feet completely off all my edging arbor vitae and spruces. There is no visual screen on either side of my house anymore; this would be a major financial investment to replace! Does anyone know if these trees will die? I've been told they won't regrow these bottom limbs, but would be happy if anyone knows any tricks to help them do that.

Also, my garden has been taken over by the inchworms for the second May in a row. Does anyone know when their cycle will end? One, two, three more weeks? I know this is hard on the oak trees. I've been picking hundreds by hand off my potted plants, and my deck is covered with their crud. I'm in Hampton Bays.