Keep Critters out

Your garden is no place for critters. You may enjoy a leisurely stroll with the family cat, but you won't be amused with his leavings. Dogs can trample a seed-bed faster than anything short of the neighbor's children, especially if you are out walking with the cat. Wild animals from deer to raccoon can do even more damage, because they are intentionally after your produce.

The most effective way to keep wayward wildlife from your garden is to erect a fence. Fencing materials are certainly not cheap, but a well-constructed fence will serve for years. Woven wire, poultry netting, or welded wire will keep out most neighborhood pets and pests. The bottom of the wire should be buried below soil level if rabbits are a problem. Foil persistent gophers by lining planting beds with fine mesh fencing. A fence up to 8 feet high is necessary to prevent deer from jumping over. Leave approximately the top 18 inches of the wire unattached to any support. This wobbly fence discourages such climbing critters as raccoon, porcupine, and opossum.

In lieu of expensive fencing you may first want to try some of the many intriguing animal repellents available. Forget the store-bought solutions and whip up your own thrifty alternatives. Here are a few suggestions:

® Hair clippings from the local barbershop scattered around the garden scare off critters that fear the ominous odor of humans. A few articles of really smelly dirty laundry, left about the garden at night will also deter many wild animals, including deer, raccoons, and rabbits.

® A sulfurous odor can be created by cracking a few eggs and letting set until pungent. The strong scent repels deer.

® Dried blood meal scattered around plants keeps away deer, ground squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and woodchucks.

® Hot peppers, garlic, vinegar, and water mixed with a squirt of dishsoap and pureed in a blender deters large nibblers as well as insect pests from tasting any garden fare on which it has been sprayed.
® Ammonia. Ironically, the nasty smell of rags soaked in ammonia repels skunks and rats.

® Beer. Set out a shallow tray of beer to lure and drown slugs. To be truly frugal, use cheap beer.

® Repellent plants. Gopher spurge, (Euphorbia lathyrus) repels gophers, with varying degrees of success. Castor oil plant, which is highly toxic, also repels them. Both have some effectiveness against moles. Plant garlic, onions, or ornamental alliums to deter woodchucks. Plant garden rue to discourage cats.

Protect against Birds

For the most part birds are very beneficial to the garden. They are wonderful insect predators, especially in the spring when they need a supply of protein to feed their young. But hungry birds also can take a toll on freshly sown seeds, tender seedlings and luscious fruits and berries. You may need one or more of the following controls:

® Netting is an important barrier to birds and some small animals. It is an absolute necessity with expensive berry crops, such as blueberries and strawberries. To keep greedy beaks away from berries, support netting on a framework several inches from the plants. Peeled poles or scrap lumber make inexpensive, rusticlooking frames. Handled carefully, netting will last indefinitely.

® Plastic berry baskets, panty hose, cheesecloth, salvaged window screening, and other no-cost finds also work to create handy bird deterrents. Fasten any of these to a wire tomato cage for an individual plant protector.

® Wire or fishing line, stretched between row markers over newly planted seeds, makes an inexpensive bird repellent. As birds approach for a landing they are snagged by theunseen lines and quickly retreat to safer ground.

® Scarecrows are cute but ineffective. Don't spend a cent on one.

Encourage Beneficial Organisms

The use of beneficial organisms in the home garden is hardly new. If you think of Adam and Eve as the original garden pests, look at the effectiveness of one snake. Actually, snakes are wonderful, free rodenticides. They patrol for ground-level mice, shrews, bugs, and slugs. In return they need an accessible water source, maybe a nice, flat rock on which to sun themselves, and not to be run over by a lawn mower.

Bats are another fine addition to any garden. Bats consume many times their own weight of flying insects over the course of the gardening season. Persuade them to roost near your garden by putting in a little bat condo. Commercially made bat houses are available, or construct one yourself.

Birds are valuable bug-eaters. They will reward your thoughtfulness with years of dedicated service. Provide them with a bird bath, some cover in the form of bushes or trees, a small house or two, and perhaps a free meal every now and then.

Toads are underappreciated assets in the garden; they guzzle bugs daily. Encourage their presence with a damp, shady spot for them to hide in during hot, dry weather. A board propped up over a puddle is toad heaven.

Predatory and parasitic insects prey on other bugs for free, and unless you garden in a vacuum, they usually come with the garden. Be careful not to annihilate them with broad-spectrum chemical pesticides.

Beneficial organisms, from barely visible mites to 6-inch-tall praying mantises, are available to work in your garden. You can purchase them, but your money would be better spent encouraging existing, native populations. The trouble with many store-bought bugs is they are disloyal, and will probably leave.

Plant flowering herbs, such as thymes, mints, rosemary, sage, and dill for beneficial adult insects to eat. Or entice them by interplanting your crops with daisies, petunias, cosmos, nasturtiums, marigolds, and sunflowers. Provide a water source. The lingering dew on plant leaves is often sufficient; the constant moisture provided by drip irrigation is ideal. Most important, don't spray pesticides. Welcome the beneficials that occur naturally in your garden.