I have a critter problem...

[urban dreamer]

I discovered a couple of days ago that my strawberry plant had one big, slightly pink strawberry on it. I started paying extra special attention to it, waiting for it to get big and red and some little critter came along yesterday and ate the darn thing! It couldn't have been my chickens, they are confined to the coop and run. I suspect it may be either one of the little bunnies that run around out back or the coon that left tracks around the feed buckets. We have lots of squirrels too, but the chickens usually scare them away (garden is right beside the coop). How do I keep the critters out of my garden? They haven't touched anything else, then again, nothing else is doing anything. I don't want to lose the rest of my little strawberries and my future tomatoes and squash! Do you think I need to dig some chicken wire down around the garden and put up a fence?

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I have been trying to convince my DH that it would be less costly to fence the garden than to try to fence all of the poultry IN.

I think a good fence around your garden is a good idea, but some of those critters can climb. We usually station our dogs on either side of the garden during the growing season. They do an excellent job of keeping vermin out.

 

[Wildsky]

Bet its the bunnies, they eat every-darn thing.

Fence it in.

I had to put some wire over some flowers (bulb) that started sprouting up - the darn bunnies kept eating them...

To have a quick fix I used those wire storage cube thingies I had already, zip tied together and popped over the top... looks funny, but keeps bunnies out!

I love those wire storage cubes, I have used them for just about everything (cept storage! ) I used them to make a brooder for my chickens, and used them again for the ducks... so handy!

 

[mrs.puff]

slugs eat strawberries up really fast too. And I get some kind of beetle that eats them.

 

[urban dreamer]

We have chihuahuas that bark at everything, but they arn't outside enough to ward off critters. I have plenty of chicken wire and hardware cloth left over from the coops. I was thinking about making a chicken wire cone to steak down over the strawberry plants. How tall of a fence do I need to keep'em out of the tomatoes and such later this summer?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

We have chihuahuas that bark at everything, but they arn't outside enough to ward off critters. I have plenty of chicken wire and hardware cloth left over from the coops. I was thinking about making a chicken wire cone to steak down over the strawberry plants. How tall of a fence do I need to keep'em out of the tomatoes and such later this summer?

Chicken wire will not keep the mice out......

 

[Wildsky]

We have chihuahuas that bark at everything, but they arn't outside enough to ward off critters. I have plenty of chicken wire and hardware cloth left over from the coops. I was thinking about making a chicken wire cone to steak down over the strawberry plants. How tall of a fence do I need to keep'em out of the tomatoes and such later this summer?

I saw some little rabbit fencing idea's around raised gardens, but they looked only a foot or two high, and I'm pretty darn sure a rabbit will get over that. I'd make it 3 feet or so to keep rabbits out..

I'm going to cover my raised garden with plumbing pipe hoops and chicken wire.

 

[Wifezilla]

My critter problem is the local slugs and earwigs. I tried DE and that helped a little, but I finally found something that really does the trick.

GROUND OYSTER SHELL!

I have some on hand for my ducks and quail. I borrowed a little and tried it around the bok choy that was slowly disappearing. NO MORE EATEN LEAVES.

This is the best thing I have tried yet. Good thing I have a 50# bag of the stuff in the shed

 

[urban dreamer]

My critter problem is the local slugs and earwigs. I tried DE and that helped a little, but I finally found something that really does the trick.

GROUND OYSTER SHELL!

I have some on hand for my ducks and quail. I borrowed a little and tried it around the bok choy that was slowly disappearing. NO MORE EATEN LEAVES.

This is the best thing I have tried yet. Good thing I have a 50# bag of the stuff in the shed

I have a small bag of oyster shells for the chickens. I have also heard that using ground pepper works (the bunnies don't like the smell) and human hair (I guess they think the human is still out there?). I think I am going to try to build a little fence from the chicken wire. I know it won't keep mice out, but with all of our local feral cats running around, I don't think that is a very big problem. I expected to see some sign of mice around the feed buckets when I first got the chickens, but so far nothing. I think I could get some wooden steaks about 2 1/2 high and have a 2 foot high fence with a 1 foot skirt of chicken wire aound the bottom. Tack it to the ground to prevent bunnies from digging under. And two feet is just short enough for my short butt to climb over and I won't have to worry about a gate. Another thing I heard about slugs is, if you leave a small dish of beer out, the slugs will get in it and drown. Any other ideas?

 

[modern_pioneer]

The family dog use to eat mine as well as bugs, I used DE and that helped a bunch!!