Deer, Rodents & Insects
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Deer
Deer have an extremely sensitive sense of smell, as much as six times more so than dogs. Deer are very wary of predator scents such as urine and hair. Of these, urine has the stronger scent and the urine of the deer's natural predators - bobcat, fox, wolf or coyote would probably serve best. One such method is as follows:
There are also natural scents such as putrified (rotted) eggs or the blood based (bloodmeal) deterrants that work well, but must be reapplied after each rain or particularly heavy dew. Strong scented soaps like Irish Spring will work in a pinch, and dryer sheets, like Bounce, torn into strips and tied to the stalks will work even better.
Using human hair is an old tried and true method that requires nothing more than a few inches of your hair or asking your barber if you can have his floor sweepings. Just tie clumps of hair to the stalks to keep deer away. But this method like the blood and soap methods must be repeated after each rain.
One of the simplest, easiest and most effective methods is stringing a strong monofilament fishing line around the perimeter of your grow about 3 1/2 to 4 feet above the ground. I know it seems ridiculous, but deer won't advance past the point where the string touches their chest because deer have a natural fear of anything they feel but can't see.
Of all the methods to repel or deter deer nothing beats a good fence. But since deer can jump 4-5 feet from a standing still position and as high as 5-7 feet on the run a deer fence must be around 8 feet tall or 5 feet tall with a 2 foot section slanted outward to be effective. A double fence will work well as long as it's high enough that the deer can't see above it because deer won't jump into an enclosure they think they'll be trapped in. Fences are ideal when dealing with deer, but not very practical for the guerilla grower that doesn't want to attract attention to his grow location.
To ensure a deer free growing environment I suggest employing 2 or 3 of the mentioned methods and change the set up each season.
Rodents & Small Pests
Since rodents fear the same predators as deer the same urine odors that work with them will work just as effectively with rodents of all kinds. These are a few specific tips that may come in handy for those who prefer to grow outdoors.
Rabbits
Rabbits will avoid the scent of vinegar, so if you save the corn cobs from your dinner and cut them in half you can soak them and scatter them around your plants. You can reuse the cobs and vinegar over and over again too.
Planting a few onions will repel rabbits too. I'm not sure on why this is, but my granny swore by it and who am I to question her?
Sprinkling red pepper, black pepper, cayenne, paprika etc on the ground around your plants will work well as a deterant too. Because bunnies are always sniffing the ground they'll get a snootfull and bolt. (This is one of those methods that needs reapplying after a rain or heavy dew.)
Garlic Oil Spray is an option with rabbits. You'll need the following materials:
Raccoons & Skunks
Not much will stop raccoons and they usually have litters of between two to seven babies. They're territorial and will run the same area for generation after generation. This knowledge won't make combatting them any easier, but it will make your success failures more bearable.
Surrounding the grow area with a horizontal border that coons and skunks don't like to walk on such as crumpled up black plastic, newspaper, or aluminum foil. Hold these in place with some rocks, landscape pins, or soil.
Using mesh fencing or chicken wire as a horizontal barrier is probably one of the best ways to deal with these varmints. Raise these slightly above the ground with some bricks to make it even more of a hassle to cross.
Finally, spreading naphthalene flakes or balls around, raccoons hate the taste of this in their paws and they are said to also aid in repelling skunks. Also the vinegar soaked corn cobs used to keep away rabbits will aid in keeping 'coons and skunks away too.
Squirrels
Squirrels will not be much of a problem until the budding stages. To repel squirrels mix naphthalene flakes, gypsum, and chile pepper. Spread around the grow area. The pepper mixture used on rabbits will be effective here as well.
My advice for dealing with squirrels is get stoned and watch them as a source of amusement because they don't usually do enough damage to get upset about.
Moles, Voles & Groundhogs
I don't have much first hand information on these critters, but here are a few tips I gleened from other growers:
Spray a solution of 1 tablespoon of castor oil and 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap per gallon of warm water on the soil around plants.
Some people have had success at keeping moles at bay using hot peppers. Use jalapenos or habaneros, the hotter the better! Keep a bag full in the freezer to have on hand when you need them, ready to use against moles and for your bug sprays. What you want to do is tightly pack the peppers into the openings of the runs using as many as you need. Do this everywhere you find an entrance and at intervals along the tunnels if you can find them. Dig an opening then stuff with peppers. For every spot you pack with peppers be sure to fill it in with dirt and tamp down firmly.
As a last resort and a more permanant solution you can place rolled up pieces of Juicy fruit gum in mole tunnels. Be sure to wear gloves to mask your scent when you unwrap the gum. Moles love it, but it clogs their innards, fatally. Or use Ex-Lax which has the opposite effect.
Rats & Mice
These varmints can ruin an entire harvest by getting into a drying bin and eating your stash. What they don't eat they'll defecate on and ruin that way. A simple yet effective method of keeping them away is to scatter fresh or dried mint or holly leaves as a repellent. The mint works like a charm and it smells good too. Use it everywhere mice are a problem and they will not go near it.
A more final solution is to slice up corks, mix with food grease (bacon grease, hamburger grease etc.) then scent this mixture with oil of anise. Put out for the rodents. They love to eat it, but cannot digest it and die.
Cats & Dogs
If you're having a hard time keeping Fluffy and Fido out of your grow then here's a couple tips that will help you out and won't hurt the family pet.
Try scaring the begeezus out of them by placing mouse traps with the trap side down on the soil. When they are disturbed they will pop into the air and scare the intruder. This will not only work well with dogs and cats, but wild critters will be kept away as well. The trap is already sprung when it jumps so it won't hurt the animals. Also making use of the pepper mixture mentioned before will deter cats and dogs.
Slugs & Common Insects
I've never had a slug problem before, so I searched the web and found this section from Natural Life that verified some of the methods I'd heard of but never used myself.
Controlling Slugs
Insects
This is a recipe for an organic insect repellant that works pretty well with most insects.
Aphids
To keep aphids and other pests off your plants just finely chop1 onion and 2 medium cloves of garlic. Put ingredients into a blender with 2 cups of water and blend on high. Strain out pulp. Pour liquid into spray bottle. Spray a fine mist on plants, making sure to coat both tops and bottoms of leaves.
Spider Mites
Combine 1/2 cup buttermilk, 4 cups wheat flour and 5 gallons water and apply the same as the aphid solution. This suffocates spider mites and other mites.
Australian Indigenous Varmints
My appreciation to Rob Young for his contribution. Rob suggests tying fresh bones around your crop, with fence wire, to attract dingos, or wild dogs. According to Rob:
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Deer
Deer have an extremely sensitive sense of smell, as much as six times more so than dogs. Deer are very wary of predator scents such as urine and hair. Of these, urine has the stronger scent and the urine of the deer's natural predators - bobcat, fox, wolf or coyote would probably serve best. One such method is as follows:
MaterialsFirst you'll want drill or puncture several holes about 1/8 of an inch in diameter around the middle of the bottle. Then stuff the bottle with the cotton balls and soak the cotton well with the coyote urine and place the cap back on the bottle. Hang the bottle with the fishing line from one of your perimeter plants and resoak the cotton every 2-3 weeks.
Small plastic bottle
Cotton balls
Fishing line
Coyote urine (garden supply store)
There are also natural scents such as putrified (rotted) eggs or the blood based (bloodmeal) deterrants that work well, but must be reapplied after each rain or particularly heavy dew. Strong scented soaps like Irish Spring will work in a pinch, and dryer sheets, like Bounce, torn into strips and tied to the stalks will work even better.
Using human hair is an old tried and true method that requires nothing more than a few inches of your hair or asking your barber if you can have his floor sweepings. Just tie clumps of hair to the stalks to keep deer away. But this method like the blood and soap methods must be repeated after each rain.
One of the simplest, easiest and most effective methods is stringing a strong monofilament fishing line around the perimeter of your grow about 3 1/2 to 4 feet above the ground. I know it seems ridiculous, but deer won't advance past the point where the string touches their chest because deer have a natural fear of anything they feel but can't see.
Of all the methods to repel or deter deer nothing beats a good fence. But since deer can jump 4-5 feet from a standing still position and as high as 5-7 feet on the run a deer fence must be around 8 feet tall or 5 feet tall with a 2 foot section slanted outward to be effective. A double fence will work well as long as it's high enough that the deer can't see above it because deer won't jump into an enclosure they think they'll be trapped in. Fences are ideal when dealing with deer, but not very practical for the guerilla grower that doesn't want to attract attention to his grow location.
To ensure a deer free growing environment I suggest employing 2 or 3 of the mentioned methods and change the set up each season.
Rodents & Small Pests
Since rodents fear the same predators as deer the same urine odors that work with them will work just as effectively with rodents of all kinds. These are a few specific tips that may come in handy for those who prefer to grow outdoors.
Rabbits
Rabbits will avoid the scent of vinegar, so if you save the corn cobs from your dinner and cut them in half you can soak them and scatter them around your plants. You can reuse the cobs and vinegar over and over again too.
Planting a few onions will repel rabbits too. I'm not sure on why this is, but my granny swore by it and who am I to question her?
Sprinkling red pepper, black pepper, cayenne, paprika etc on the ground around your plants will work well as a deterant too. Because bunnies are always sniffing the ground they'll get a snootfull and bolt. (This is one of those methods that needs reapplying after a rain or heavy dew.)
Garlic Oil Spray is an option with rabbits. You'll need the following materials:
3 Ounces of minced garlic glovesCombine 3 ounces of minced garlic cloves with 1 ounce of mineral oil. Let soak for 24 hours or longer. Strain. Next mix 1 teaspoon of fish emulsion with 16 ounces of water. Add 1 tablespoon of castille soap to this. Now slowly combine the fish emulsion water with the garlic oil. Kept in a sealed glass container this mixture will stay viable for several months. To use: Mix 2 tablespoons of garlic oil with 1 pint of water and spray on the stalks.
1 Ounce mineral water
1 Teaspoon fish emulsion
1 Tablespoon Castille soap
1 Empty mayomaise jar
1 Mist sprayer
Raccoons & Skunks
Not much will stop raccoons and they usually have litters of between two to seven babies. They're territorial and will run the same area for generation after generation. This knowledge won't make combatting them any easier, but it will make your success failures more bearable.
Surrounding the grow area with a horizontal border that coons and skunks don't like to walk on such as crumpled up black plastic, newspaper, or aluminum foil. Hold these in place with some rocks, landscape pins, or soil.
Using mesh fencing or chicken wire as a horizontal barrier is probably one of the best ways to deal with these varmints. Raise these slightly above the ground with some bricks to make it even more of a hassle to cross.
Finally, spreading naphthalene flakes or balls around, raccoons hate the taste of this in their paws and they are said to also aid in repelling skunks. Also the vinegar soaked corn cobs used to keep away rabbits will aid in keeping 'coons and skunks away too.
Squirrels
Squirrels will not be much of a problem until the budding stages. To repel squirrels mix naphthalene flakes, gypsum, and chile pepper. Spread around the grow area. The pepper mixture used on rabbits will be effective here as well.
My advice for dealing with squirrels is get stoned and watch them as a source of amusement because they don't usually do enough damage to get upset about.
Moles, Voles & Groundhogs
I don't have much first hand information on these critters, but here are a few tips I gleened from other growers:
Spray a solution of 1 tablespoon of castor oil and 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap per gallon of warm water on the soil around plants.
Some people have had success at keeping moles at bay using hot peppers. Use jalapenos or habaneros, the hotter the better! Keep a bag full in the freezer to have on hand when you need them, ready to use against moles and for your bug sprays. What you want to do is tightly pack the peppers into the openings of the runs using as many as you need. Do this everywhere you find an entrance and at intervals along the tunnels if you can find them. Dig an opening then stuff with peppers. For every spot you pack with peppers be sure to fill it in with dirt and tamp down firmly.
As a last resort and a more permanant solution you can place rolled up pieces of Juicy fruit gum in mole tunnels. Be sure to wear gloves to mask your scent when you unwrap the gum. Moles love it, but it clogs their innards, fatally. Or use Ex-Lax which has the opposite effect.
Rats & Mice
These varmints can ruin an entire harvest by getting into a drying bin and eating your stash. What they don't eat they'll defecate on and ruin that way. A simple yet effective method of keeping them away is to scatter fresh or dried mint or holly leaves as a repellent. The mint works like a charm and it smells good too. Use it everywhere mice are a problem and they will not go near it.
A more final solution is to slice up corks, mix with food grease (bacon grease, hamburger grease etc.) then scent this mixture with oil of anise. Put out for the rodents. They love to eat it, but cannot digest it and die.
Cats & Dogs
If you're having a hard time keeping Fluffy and Fido out of your grow then here's a couple tips that will help you out and won't hurt the family pet.
Try scaring the begeezus out of them by placing mouse traps with the trap side down on the soil. When they are disturbed they will pop into the air and scare the intruder. This will not only work well with dogs and cats, but wild critters will be kept away as well. The trap is already sprung when it jumps so it won't hurt the animals. Also making use of the pepper mixture mentioned before will deter cats and dogs.
Slugs & Common Insects
I've never had a slug problem before, so I searched the web and found this section from Natural Life that verified some of the methods I'd heard of but never used myself.
Controlling Slugs
Keeping plants healthy in an organic garden involves avoidance techniques like creating a garden environment that encourages plants to grow while discouraging pests and diseases. Inevitably some problems will still arise unless specific action is taken.Placing a saucer of salt is the method I've heard since I was old enough to dig in the dirt while mom pulled weeds in her flower bed. Martha Stewart recommends coiling a piece of wire around the base of your plants to give slugs a shocking experience. Of course Martha probably doesn't have the same plants in her garden as we do, but I won't tell her if you don't.
The common slug is too common a pest to even need much of an introduction. Slugs attack a wide range of plants, causing anything from slight damage to death.
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof method for eradicating slugs. All one can hope for is to reduce their numbers and protect plants when they're at a vulnerable stage.
Toads, frogs, and beetles eat slugs and are worth encouraging in your garden.
There are few fleshy plants that slugs don't eat. But if your slug problem is particularly bad, avoid their favourites, such as hostas and marigolds.
One of the best ways of dealing with slugs is to use physical barriers. Place plastic bottle cloches around plants, or sprinkle circles of lime, eggshells, or sawdust around plants.
Slugs are attracted to saucers or plastic pots of milk or beer (they drown themselves in ecstacy).
To be sure you're keeping your slimy slug population under control, collect them by hand at night or on damp days. Try collecting them under a tile or wet cardboard, and squash all eggs you find while digging.
Insects
This is a recipe for an organic insect repellant that works pretty well with most insects.
3 hot green peppers (canned or fresh)Puree the peppers and garlic cloves in a blender. Pour into a spray bottle and add the liquid soap and water. Let stand 24 hours. Strain out pulp and spray onto infested plants, making sure to coat both tops and bottoms of leaves.
2 or 3 cloves garlic
3/4 tsp liquid soap
3 cups water
Aphids
To keep aphids and other pests off your plants just finely chop1 onion and 2 medium cloves of garlic. Put ingredients into a blender with 2 cups of water and blend on high. Strain out pulp. Pour liquid into spray bottle. Spray a fine mist on plants, making sure to coat both tops and bottoms of leaves.
Spider Mites
Combine 1/2 cup buttermilk, 4 cups wheat flour and 5 gallons water and apply the same as the aphid solution. This suffocates spider mites and other mites.
Australian Indigenous Varmints
My appreciation to Rob Young for his contribution. Rob suggests tying fresh bones around your crop, with fence wire, to attract dingos, or wild dogs. According to Rob:
"Not many leaf eating animals will hang around where a dog craps. I had an area with some bones tied around it, and it kept enough digoes camped around my crop that no kanagroos would go within coo-ee of the place. When I visited the crop, scuff marks were all over the place where they had been fighting, and the definate smell of "dog" could be noticed even by humans, let alone kangaroos, or wallabies, which are our biggest problem with chewing on plants."Rob also had this to add on fencing in Australia:
"Use an electric fence. You can buy small battery operated ones. Put in some posts, either steel, and insulate the electric fence wire, which u can buy in different colors, or u can buy plastic posts, that dont need insulating, and can be painted to hide them easier. Space the fence wire a few inches apart from almost ground level up. The wombat will snif the wire with his nose, and get zapped, and bolt.Additions to this section of the Grow Guide are welcomed and encouraged.
They look like toys, but friends of mine that run big properties have gauges that measure the output of electric fences, and my little portable one put out about 100 watts more than their big industrial ones. They run on 4 D size batteries, and the electric fence comes with two pulse speeds. On slow speed, the batteries last about one month, on fast speed, about 3 weeks.
You have to place an earth peg in the ground to earth the whole turnout or else it wont work. So put a bit of water on the earth peg whenever things get a bit dry.
Since carrying water is a drag, I used to use every drop I carried for my plants, then pissed on the earth peg. If the earth peg dries out, the fence will be useless.
Not will it only keep wombats away, but wallabies, roos, and possums, and cattle."
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