The Downside to a Plush Lawn

danielj_2009

8 years ago

So my lawn is coming into nice shape, thickening up and getting nicer as time passes. I mow at the highest setting on my mower, 4 inches. I've learned that this tends to attract animals.

Starting last week a little fawn took up shop smack dab in the middle of my back yard. Odd, because the little one was born in my neighbor's yard, and both properties adjoin a wooded area. But no, they choose the middle of my yard to place the fawn for like 12 hours at a time. This tends to get in the way of my lawn care routine. I think the grass is like a pillow for the little guy.

Then, two days ago, my wife and I both remarked how a big rabbit was standing next our front walkway and didn't seem to be afraid of us. Yesterday, again, I see the rabbit as I come up the walkway. She hops off about 10 feet and stares at me. Then all of a sudden I notice a huge hole dug right in the middle of my beautiful KBG sod! That little bugger had just started construction on a new rabbit hole and was a good 6 inches down already, with a pile of dirt accumulated in front of it. I had one of those moments like Kramer on Seinfeld, or maybe like Ben Stiller with that little primate in "A Night at the Museum." I'm looking at the rabbit and find myself engaging in a conversation.

I say, "No way in hell, buddy. It ain't gonna happen..."
She looks back, motionless, as if to say, "Oh I'm digging that hole."
Then I say, outloud, "Over my dead body. It ain't happening!"
She says, "We'll see. I'm here a lot longer than you."

With that I chase her around the yard for awhile until she disappears into the neighbor's yard. I go back and fill the hole as best I can until the weekend when I can fix it properly. This morning nothing had been touched, but I have a feeling the last chapter in this saga hasn't been written yet... More to come...

(P.S. - don't get me wrong. I love the wildlife, but if she has a nest of babies in my yard how can I mow it without possibly killing some of them?)

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Comments (9)

morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
8 years ago
Yes, plush lawns attract critters. The old dog from catty corner to me used to come over to lie down in the lawn...it was softer than hers. Her owners were aghast, I liked it when Meredith came over. She was great company for me when I was gardening. I got free organic matter out of it. She enjoyed hanging with me on the soft grass. Everybody won. Her successor, Molly, doesn't come over so much.

Rabbits are hella hard to get rid of. Liquid fence sometimes works. Sometimes they simply ignore it.

I use an at-home spray to repel rabbits from eating or nesting in the gardens: 1 tsp Tabasco sauce, a few drops dish soap (any kind), a few drops Elmer's glue (optional), and 32 ounces water. Spray very lightly in areas where the rabbit has been seen, plus on plants that are getting eaten (if any). There are no weather considerations except that you'll need to re-do it after rain.

They dislike the scent as it marks their fur, and can't tolerate the taste.
dchall_san_antonio
8 years ago
There's Hav-a-heart traps that will safely trap them for relocation. And then there's pellet rifles which will allow you to eat them.
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krnuttle
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
We had a pair of twin fawns in our yard two years ago. We watched the doe bring them from their hiding place into our yard and watcher her nurse them.
During the winter they ate the buds from our azaleas and camellia. My wife was fuming when she saw what they had done. I had to remind her how cute they were.

They spent almost a complete year in our yard. They were born in the early spring when they were about the hight of the newly planted azeleas and were there until the following summer. We named the fawns Sam and Janet, and their mother Mrs Evening. However in late summer of the following year we realized we made a mistake, and renamed Janet, Chancey.

There are more ways to enjoy your yard that mow it and admire the pretty flowers.
paulburk426
8 years ago
hahahahah@dchall

And you are correct. This is the first year i've had a nice lawn and the amount of critters is insane. Bunnies making burrows, small snakes, and a massive amount of toads(so many i've started naming them). One product I've had great success at keeping away mammals is Milorganite.. a slow release nitrogen fertilizer. You may not like the sound of it but as its made from human waste sludge, they hate the smell and stay away. You'll notice the smell as well until its watered down some but it last over 4 weeks... and it helps your lawn at the same time! Ortho is now making a deer-b-gone or something as well. Not sure whats in it or the effects on rabbits.
dchall_san_antonio
8 years ago
I never mention snakes. When talking about the benefits of going to organic fertilizer, I'll say something like "you'll see more birds, toads, lizards, and other predators coming to take care of your insect population."
krnuttle
8 years ago
We have a deer problem and Milorganite was recommended as a product that keeps the deer off of you plants. It works great and has protected our plants from the deer. Our only problem is keeping up with the deer's changing taste.

Snakes are good things to have in your your yard. They take care of all types of small animals such as voils and moles. Of course for best results you have to let the snake population normalize from the large 4 to 5' black and rat snakes to the smaller one. The little one gets the insects, the large snakes get the large the prey.

We have a large Rat snake in out back yard. He is a very pretty snake. We come across each other as he is hunting and I am working in the yard. We have also seen several types of smaller snakes. We have a brown earth snake. He is only about 8 to 10'' long but does his job with the insects.
danielj_2009
Original Author
8 years ago
morpheus - cute name for a dog -- Meredith. I wonder how they came up with that.

dchall - I'm pretty sure I'd be the one looking for a new home if I used the pellet rifle idea. Yes, and I'm seeing garden snakes as well. A big one (as far as garden snakes go) slithered along right under foot last weekend.

krnuttle - Good idea about the milorganite. I'm putting some down (actually OceanGro) tomorrow if it doesn't rain too much. So far the rabbit hasn't returned so maybe I won. I get your point about the wildlife being something to enjoy as much as the landscape, though. Seems like there should be some ancient Confucian proverb about that.
timtsb
8 years ago
All this talk about snakes makes me want to drop my lower deck to 1.5". Jk. But seriously...
morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
8 years ago
Well, yes, we tend to ignore the snakes. Mostly because the snakes also ignore us. Every now and again I get a garter snake, but they're not common and the snake would very strongly prefer not to interact with me. I radiate "large mammalian hunter."

More caution would probably be a good idea in areas where poisonous snakes are common. While Pennsylvania has rattlers, they tend to stay far, far away from humans and I've only ever seen one once in the woods. Said snake also wasn't terribly interested in me.

The Downside to a Plush Lawn

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morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)

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The Downside to a Plush Lawn

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