We are having a terrible time this year with cottentail bunnies and moles (i am guessing, maybe squirels?) i have lost all my little daisies after i had removed them from the terra cotta pot i had planted them in last year.. what was wierd about that is, i had the little 2 & 1/2 inch high pot on the ground under my young weeping birch.. and they grew out of the pot, thats why i took them out and planted them right were the little pot sat all last summer and about half of this summer... they were in beautiful bloom... and a couple of days later... they were all chewed down to the leaves.. and now there is nothing left of them AT ALL... i assume it was the bunnies... but why didnt they eat them when they were in the pot? they could still reach them...??? they also ate away some other little pretty flower i had bought at Home Depot (i cant remember what it was ) at the same time all of my tomato plants where chewed from the base of the trunk... they chewed clear thru and left the rest ... but only after they had reached 2 and 1/2 ft tall with blooms all over them .. i did save the yellow tomato by putting it in a high pot... again i am assuming its the bunnies.. and something ate all the peppers off of my cherry pepper plant.. and they were ready for picking.. i didnt think they would eat the hot peppers.. but something sure did... now we did have this rather large producing tomato plant and it lived on without anything eating it (except for those darn thornworms)and i went out last week and there is a huge mound right where the trunk was comming out of the ground.. and u guessed it the plant is dead... anytime i plant roses or vines or anything like that they get eaten.. what can i do??? i have got to do SOMETHING.. i have about 5 acres i want to makes a forest of trees and gardens and i dont want them to all be fenced in and raised beds... i also have about 660ft long x 25ft wide front easment i want to fill with bulbs of all kinds.. and i need to figure out something that will keep these creatures away from them ... and my vines and roses... i was thinking for the bulbs maybe making a cage out of field fencing for under the bulbs, with small wire handles on two sides so when the season is over i can just pull them up that way, but thats ALOT of wire .. any ideas? and is anyone having problems with wasps this year.. they are EVERYWHERE out here this year.. i hate them!!! they chase me all the time.. they are even making nests in my trees!!!! so when i go to pick fruit or put lights in my trees , my hand comes within an inch of them.. and of course, making them angry and then they chase me again!!! ok this is forever long so i will leave it at that and see if any of u have any ideas for me...(: would garlic planted keep the rabbits, squirels, and moles out fro eating my plants??? PLEASE HELP!!! (: THANX ! chrissy

Loretta, at the risk of being chastised for hijacking the thread ... If it is squirrels in there, they most likely will not go away until spring, when they and their babies (raised in your attic) will move back to their summer home. In the meantime, for their winter nest they'll make use of anything you have so thoughtfully placed up there for them: boxes, fabric (they seem to particularly like Barbie clothes), fiberglass insulation ... shavings from the electric wiring insulation (guess they like a little texture in their bedding). The babies, having been born and reared inside, will think that's their rightful place and, like salmon, will be determined to return every winter to your - or a neighbor's - attic. They will chew through walls to do so. They literally tore out our soffit vents and when we secured those they chewed through the cedar shakes, vapor barrier and sheathing to get into the house. I used to think squirrels were cute ... now I have to agree with my husband: they're tree rats. Please don't ignore them. Diane

"They would survive indoors only if it's moist enough and they have a food source -- insects." I'm not sure if you really read my post... They are coming from the garden center next door, I assume to escape the heat. Insects or moisture inside my unit doesn't matter at all, I don't care if they find it or not, I just don't want them to be able to come inside looking for it in the first place. Do you understand what I am saying? I said this all in the first post. I also explained how I caulked and sealed everything. I also explained how much research I did on them, so I understand about the insect and moisture aspect. What I need is some type of strong chemical that will keep all the house centipedes from scaling my building and finding a way to get into my unit. Once they are in my unit, they will be killed by the Prelude that the exterminator sprays, but I don't want them to come in and hang around until they die. House centipedes don't have any type of long distance radar to find insects or moisture, they don't know which unit in my building has either of the two. They go everywhere in search of it, and I want to stop them from searching in my unit. I found about 10 house centipedes alive and only 5 dead after the exterminator started spraying. The reason I found them alive is because they just came into my unit that same morning. At the time (last summer) I just moved in and had little to no furniture, nothing on the walls, very little on the floor. I was able to see the house centipedes on the floors and walls since they had nothing to hide behind. Because I found so many alive, and not yet killed from the Prelude, it proved to me that they just came in that night/morning. I've sealed it up as best as I could, but I never found a definite entry point. I still think they get into the attic around the aluminum soffit and penetrate my unit from there. Now I have decorated the place and bought a lot of furniture and general home type stuff for them to hide behind, I no longer have the advantage, they do. Now that they have the element of surprise I am on the losing end of this battle. If I can't stop them by the middle of the summer, I am going to have to sell this place. It would be a shame because I love it, but I can't live somewhere that has dozens of 3 inch long horrible insects with long spider legs comeing into my bedroom at night. Whatever the case, all signs point to spraying some type of strong barrier chemical to keep the monsters away. I just need to know what actually works well.

I disagree that all possums are transient. We have had a family living near us for years. Like raptors and geese most all of these birds fly away when the seasons change, but there are a number of these critters that stick around. Wild animals need a number of things, food, water, shelter and a place to raise their young. Apparently your neighborhood has all of these available. Appaarently you have a bit of a wildlife freeway going on where you live. They are using the same commute route everyday and marking that route. It does not matter how clean your place is at all, it just means you are living between home and dinner and a drink. Im not certain why this is bothersome to you. These animals do their travelling at night (unless they have rabies in which case should you see a critter outside in the late morning or early evening, you should call the humane society to have them trapped and humanely distroyed) Yes they do carry fleas and that can be troublesome if you have animals. Apply frontline or advantage and that should take care of any wayward fleas. You can also have the yard treated if necessary. These wild animals have a very important role in the natural world. They eat a myriade of insects keeping that population down. You can use a set of rubber gloves to use with a paper towel to dispose of the feces and you can hose down the area afterwards if you feel you need to. Have a pest control person come out if you need, just make certain that these critters are not denning up in your home. Raccoons can cause a tremendous amount of damage to a home, pulling out insulation etc. Once you have your house inspected (sometimes done for free) you can rest assured these critters are just walking by on the way to living their lives.