Critter-resistant vegetable garden design question

15 years ago

I am over-run with squirrels, voles, deer, raccoons, you name it, but really want to build a vegetable garden from which I get something to eat! A deer fence will go up this fall, so it's defense against the smaller critters I'm trying to design for.

My garden will be fenced, with raised beds inside the fenced area. I understand that taking wire mesh at an angle down into the ground 6-12" around the perimeter is good. But how can I design protection against the climbers like squirrel and raccoons? I have considered making "cages" for each raised bed (a bit unsightly--like a garden in jail!) I have also considered putting a wire mesh roof across the entire garden so that it is enclosed on 4 sides and above...

Anybody have ideas?

Thanks/Ray

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Comments (6)

laceyvail 6A, WV
15 years ago
At the top of the fence jut out a three foot section at a 45 degree angle. Should keep out raccoons. BTW, squirrels are no problem in a vegetable garden. For voles, you will have to kill them. If you want info on how to do this, post and I'll post the directions.
rayliveshere
Original Author
15 years ago
laceyvail, thanks. squirrels in my neck of the woods are a terrible menace, in fact. they eat every apple off my trees, ruin tomatoes by taking one little bite out of each, eat young melons, etc. tell me your vole secrets.
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Tuckers, I've gardened in four states, just in the USA. Deer seem to behave differently, in different locations. For instance, take potatoes: in some places they don't bother them. In others, they do. Anywhere I've been they devour okra. When we lived in NJ I had squirrels raid the garden and run up trees with tomatoes in their mouths. Like I said, deer behave differently in different locations and circumstances. In NJ I doubt I could get away with it. There the deer were so populated that they ate things they normally would not. But here in OK I'm pretty sure I could grow a non sweet corn, potatoes or most aromatic herbs. Also, here, I've successfully grown winter squash out in the open. Neither the deer nor my goats (insert exclamation points!!!) tend to bother the squash. But groundhogs/woodchucks, now they're really bad! Unless one can eliminate them that would probably knock out the corn and squash. George Tahlequah, OK
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I grew very spiny squash last year, several varieties in fact, and squash bugs loved them all. The woodchuck did, too. Many of the plants did not make it and we had no glut of zucchini or other squash. I certainly did not see the spines deterring the bugs at all. There are varieties of zucchini sold, ie. Meteor F1(Johnny's Selected Seeds), Born Free Hybrid (Burpee), and probably many others that are spineless. I think the ones you bought that weren't spiny were bred to be that way. You mention the spines bothering you in the kitchen. They are even worse when you have to reach into a ginormous spiny plant and cut a spiny stem just to harvest your lunch. (Said by a gardener who hates to always wear long sleeves and gloves.) The spineless varieties sound good to me. Maybe next summer I can tell you how the bugs liked them. I am not aware of things you can do to your plants to increase or decrease the spines. I think it is mostly determined by the genetics of the variety you plant. Your town garden sounds amazing. What a wonderful resource for the people of the city!
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Mangoes, and 'maters, and mutts, oh my! Hahaha. Florida mimi, my little Maks loves my cherry tomatoes, too. He can carry one around all day long with breaking the skin on it. He just lies to toss it and chase it. And he was fixated for awhile on a low growing Meyer lemon I have in a pot. He was SURE that lemon was his yellow tennis ball, and would come to a screeching halt every time he ran by the pot, so he could stare at it and try to figure out how to get it down. (Of course, Maks is a nut case who also buries his own pee by pushing sand or leaves over it with his nose. I've NEVER seen a dog do THAT!) Trini, I love the image of the bulldog standing on a chair, hoping to get a mango! Silvia, you are so right about dog breeds. I've been fascinated by them for years, because they are all man-made, and with the exception of the really wolf-like breeds (huskies, etc), are all so far from the original design as to be completely amazing. There is no other animal on the planet that has been deliberately bred and modified to such extremes as dogs. And each breed DID have a purpose, from herding & protecting the flocks, to protecting the home, to hunting via running down the game, scenting out the game, digging up the game and retrieving the game. And of course, some were bred purely as companions. Dachshunds were bred to dig out and kill badgers, which are pretty ferocious animals. And their hunting instincts are very strong, even if they are mostly used as companions today. It doesn't matter if they or their immediate ancestors have ever seen a "varmint" before or not. They just KNOW they need to catch it and kill it. That can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what they see as being a varmint. Mine go after my black racers all the time, and it's only been by my immediate intervention a couple of times that the racer lived to slither by another day. Cat person or dog person? Me, I can't live without them BOTH. (Three huge cats 15 to 20 pounds each, and two small dachshunds at 10 and 11 pounds.) Marcia (Kathy, we hijacked your thread a bit...but still, dogs CAN be one good answer to a critter problem)
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laceyvail 6A, WV
15 years ago
Here's the vole technique, but it's very difficult to do during the growing season when there's a lot of foliage. First you have to find exit holes. To determine if the hole is active, place a piece of apple in front of it. To keep rabbits etc. from eating the apple, place two short pieces of two x four on either side of it and the hole. Put a five gallon bucket on the two x fours and weight it down with a rock. If the apple is gnawed or gone the next day, it's an active hole. Now, place some mouse/rat poison in a yogurt or cottage cheese container, lay it on its side and place it where you had the apple. with the opening facing the hole. Replace the bucket set up. (This keeps other animals safe from the poison.)

Check it daily and replace poison as needed until it's no longer taken. Look for other holes and do the same. This holds the population down, but doesn't really protect my sweet potatoes in summer, because the holes are impossible to find under all the vegetation in my ornamental gardens. But it does work, and is the only thing I know of that does.
lpinkmountain
15 years ago
Squirrels in my urban neighborhood do all kinds of damage to my vegetables. My friend has a wonderful suburban vegetable garden--he has an electric fence around it. Keeps away racoons and squirrels. Also the fence burying part, which you've already got covered. Will voles go for mousetraps? I occasionally put out a slew of mousetraps in my yard when the little guys seem to be overpopulated, but I'm talking about mice that get into my compost bin.
rayliveshere
Original Author
15 years ago
lpinkmountain--how is the electric fence set up by your friend to be effective against squirrels--is it a single strand several feet off the ground, multiple strands, etc?
Thanks.
lpinkmountain
15 years ago
It's been two years since I saw the garden, but according to my memory, it was a wire fence, about 4 ft. tall, burried probably a foot or more, then one electrified wire running all along the top. But that's a two year old memory! I suggest calling the county Cooperative Extension office and ask what they recommend.

Critter-resistant vegetable garden design question

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