How To Protect Your Vegetable Garden From Animals & Pests

How To Protect Your Vegetable Garden From Animals & Pests

When you work hard to create a beautiful garden, it’s very important to think about potential pests that can appear as well. There’s no denying that gardens attract all kinds of animals, especially if you grow many vegetables which these animals consider their food. Which brings the question, how can you actively protect your vegetable garden from animals? Here are some great tips and tricks to help you get started.

Surround your garden with a fence

A good idea is to create a fence around your vegetable garden. It’s maybe the ideal method you can use to keep all those unwanted visitors away. On top of that, you should also consider extending the fence at least a foot underground. Of course, you can also go with rabbit fencing, chicken wire or anything similar.

Plan shrubs with thorns

It’s an idea that works especially when it comes to slightly larger mammals. A good thing that you can do is to take your time and figure out what shrubs suit your garden. But yes, this is a solution that works very well and which will convey a great result. It does take a bit of a trial and error to find the right shrubs. But these can protect your vegetable garden and that’s what matters the most.

Use plant covers

Plant covers can be a great pick if you want to keep your plants safe and away from most animals. With that in mind, plant covers will not do much if you have burrowing animals. Yet they will keep the others away and that’s what will make a difference here. Netting doesn’t really affect plant growth that much, as long as they still get the sunlight they need. So it’s actually a very good idea to use plant covers, if you have the opportunity to do so.

Beer traps

One of the issues that many vegetable growers deal with are slugs. These end up eating veggie leaves, and in the long run those vegetables can die. What you can do is to create a beer trap. A container and some beer will do the trick. You burry the cup and ensure that it’s at the soil’s level. Then you will notice snails and slugs gravitate towards it and they will drown in the container.

Use a wire cloche

Wire cloches are interesting because they are protective items made out of steel. These are usually suitable for one or two plants at most. So you can’t really have a lot of these in the garden, which means you should use them for the more important plants. You can replace them with chicken wire if you want.

Raised beds

Using raised beds might actually keep a lot of animals away. That means you need to customize the vegetable garden and work on it a bit more, but it can deliver great results and that’s the thing to keep in mind. They are great against rabbits and smaller animals. So if you’re dealing with such pests, raised beds might actually solve the problem.

Noise generators

Another thing that might keep animals away would be noise. Finding a simple noise generator can actually help in a situation like this. There are different options to consider. You can hang a wind chime near the garden, or you can have a radio near the garden and you leave it working non stop. It’s definitely worth giving it a try at the very least.

Add some plants with bad taste

Nasty tasting plants will deter animals from getting into your garden. Marigolds keep rabbits away and they are not alone. Lavender is another important option to keep in mind here. What you want to do is to research which plants are safe and what species are suitable depending on the pests you are dealing with.

Avoid being very tidy

Sometimes it makes sense to leave the grasses and shrubs around your garden to go a bit wild. Once you do that, the garden will feel less attractive to animals. They will also be less likely to arrive if they feel potential predators can be nearby. So yes, sometimes the idea of being tidy can backfire quite a bit, and that’s the thing you need to keep in mind.

Scare animals away

Bird tape, a scarecrow, even metallic streamers can be a great option. Some people do this with the use of motion activated lights and sprinklers. All of these can be suitable against mammals, just give them a try and see how it all works. In the end, it will be worth the investment.
Don’t leave compost randomly

If you do so, it’s important to note that compost will attract animals. So the last thing you want is to leave it randomly in your vegetable garden. What we recommend you to do is to keep it in bowls or any storage options that have a lid. This way it will be more difficult for animals to reach it. Yes, it might not seem like a lot, but it certainly helps and it will save a significant amount of time.

Add some soap in your garden

A good idea is to skewer some soap and then stick it near the young plants. It’s going to keep many animals away, not to mention it’s also not that appealing for insects too. Even if it might be less appealing, soap works and it will deter animals.

Use milk to keep animals away

Combine milk with natural dish soap, add it in a spray bottle and fill with water, then you spray it onto the garden plants. It might be unconventional, but this approach works and you will find it really efficient and useful.

Conclusion

We recommend protecting the vegetable garden using these tips, as you will not have to worry about animals and other pests going through anymore. These ideas are very useful and proven to work, so don’t hesitate and give them a shot. You will finally be able to deter those unwanted pests once and for all.