Share Your Property With Animals
Despite ever shrinking green space, the animals that share the Earth with us are trying to survive. Our homes, offices and shopping centers were developed on what was once forest and fields. Chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, possums, skunks, raccoons, ground hogs and deer are not the invaders. We are. Please remember this when these displaced animals forage for food on your property or try to find places to bear and rear their young.
With education and raised awareness, more and more people are choosing the enlightened and compassionate way to protect their homes and gardens from unwanted animal visitors. There are many humane alternatives to killing. Simple commonsense and prevention are the best forms of animal control.
Raccoons and possum are attracted by garbage. Keep all leftover food inside until the night before trash pick-up. Seal organic garbage in plastic bags (a good way to reuse sandwich or storage bags) and refrigerate or, better yet, freeze it. The less your garbage smells, the less likely it will attract an animal. Use trashcans, with locking lids, where allowed. Otherwise, use heavy-duty, tightly tied trash bags.
With so few places left to burrow or nest, raccoons, possums, skunks and ground hogs will look for safe haven wherever they can find it. They will seek out the weak spots around your home. Neglect invites these animals. A well maintained home does not.
Install lattice under porches and decks to block animals from nesting. Another option is stainless steel screening that can be sunk into the ground around the inhabited area. A one-way gate is installed that allows the animal to leave, but will not allow it to return. Only install this form of prevention when there are no babies in the nest.
Keep your garage or shed door tightly closed and repair broken boards at the bottom of cracks in the foundation.
Seal all openings under the roofline and cap your chimney. Do not do this if an animal has already entered. Wait until the animal has left to look for food. And be certain that there are no babies left behind. Do not use mothballs or ammonia to flush the animal out. You will kill the babies. A radio tuned to a talk show will sometimes disturb the mother enough to cause her to move out with her babies.
Your garden, whether it is a flower garden or you grow vegetables, will tempt any animal that forages for vegetation. There are a variety of repellants commercially available that claim to keep animals away. These range in cost and effectiveness. And there are recipes for homemade, foul smelling deterrents all over the Internet. The same commercial products used to repel cats and dogs often deter raccoons.
Another option is a mechanical device. Motion-activated sprinklers can be purchased that shoot a stream of water at an intruder, like a remote squirt gun. Loud or annoying sounds can also be set to go off like a security alarm, whenever movement is detected.
Polypropylene netting is sold to cover plants and keep deer and rabbits from eating them, but this netting can put other wildlife at risk. Small birds, toads and other animals could become trapped in the mesh. The netting is also very difficult to work with and expensive in large quantities.
By far the most effective “critter control” is fencing. A low voltage, electrified fence can be effective for all animals, but this option can be expensive. Chicken wire has served the purpose for years. A picket fence may be charming, but deer can jump those of average height. Decorative metal fencing looks good and should keep out all but the most intrepid deer. A low-tech method is simply a nylon string, stretched across your garden perimeter, chest-high. A deer will back off when it feels the tension.
Deer can be the most destructive of all the animals that come into your garden to forage. In addition to the measures above, you could simply plant as many deer resistant plants as possible. The following is a list of plants that deer will “rarely” damage or “seldom severely” damage. Ask your nursery expert or search online. You can find photos of beautiful plants that won’t tempt the creatures in your garden.
Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) -Groundcover
American Holly (Ilex opaca) -Tree
Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia sp. (Datura) -Annual
Anise (Pimpinalla anisum) -Annual
Anise Hyssop (Agastache sp.) -Perennial
Annual Vinca (Catharanthus rosea) -Annual
Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) -Shrub
Autumn Crocus (Colchicum sp.) -Bulb
Barberry (Berberis sp.) -Shrub
Barrenwort (Epimedium sp.) -Groundcover
Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) -Shrub
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) -Groundcover
Big Bluestem (Andropogon sp.) -Ornamental Grass
Bigleaf Goldenray (Ligularia dentate) -Perennial
Bishop's Weed (Aegopodium podagaria) -Groundcover
Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) -Perennial
Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) -Ornamental Grass
Blue Mist Shrub (Caryopteris clandonensis) -Shrub
Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) -Ornamental Grass
Bluebell (Endymion sp.) -Bulb
Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) -Tree
Broom (Cytisus sp.) -Shrub
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) -Groundcover
Bush Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) -Shrub
Butter & Eggs (Linaria vulgaris) -Perennial
Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) -Perennial
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia sp.) -Shrub
Cactus (Cactaceae sp.) -Perennial
Catmint (Nepeta sp.) -Perennial
Christmas Fern (Polystichum arcostichoides) -Fern
Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) -Fern
Clump Bamboo (Fargesia sp.) -Ornamental Grass
Coleus (Coleus sp.) -Annual
Common Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) -Shrub
Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) -Biennial
Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) -Perennial
Corydalis (Corydalis sp.) -Perennial
Crown Imperial, Fritilia (Fritilaria imperialis) -Bulb
Daffodil (Narcissus sp.) -Bulb
Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) -Perennial
Daphne (Daphne sp.) -Shrub
Devil's Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa ) -Shrub
Dill -Herb
Drooping Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana) -Shrub
Dusty Miller (Centaurea cineraria) -Annual
Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica') -Tree
European Ginger (Asarum europaeum) -Perennial
False Camomile (Matricaria sp.) -Annual
False Indigo (Baptisia australis) -Perennial
Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis sp.) -Ornamental Grass
Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana sp.) -Annual
Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sp.) -Perennial
Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica) -Annual
Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides) -Ornamental Grass
Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatic) -Shrub
Fringed Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) -Perennial
Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) -Perennial
Germander (Teucrium Chamaedrys) -Perennial
Giant Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus floridulis) -Ornamental Grass
Giant Reed (Arundo donax) -Ornamental Grass
Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) -Ornamental Grass
Greek Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis sp.) -Perennial
Hakonechloa (Hakonechloa macra) -Ornamental Grass
Hard Rush (Juncus Effusus) -Ornamental Grass
Hayscented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) -Fern
Heath (Erica sp.) -Shrub
Heather (Calliuna sp.) -Shrub
Heliotrope (Heliot-opium arborescens) -Annual
Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum) -Fern
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) -Perennials
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) -Perennials
Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) -Perennials
Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) -Ornamental Grass
Iris (Iris sp.) -Perennial
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphylum) -Perennial
Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergiana) -Tree
Japanese Blood Grass (cylindrical) -Ornamental Grass
Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium goeringianum) (nipponicum) -Fern
Japanese Pieris, (Andromeda Pieris japonica) -Shrub
Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia) -Shrub
Japanese Sedge (Carex sp) -Ornamental Grass
Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) -Ornamental Grass
Japanese Skimmia (Skimmia japonica) -Shrub
Japanese Spirea (Spiraea japonica) -Shrub
Japanese Sweet Flag (Acorus sp.) -Ornamental Grass
John T. Morris Holly (Ilex x 'John T. Morris') -Shrub
Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)-Tree
Ladys' Mantle (Alchemilla sp.) -Perennial
Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantine) -Perennial
Large Blue June Grass (Koeleria glauca) -Ornamental Grass
Larkspur (Consolida ambigua) -Annual
Lavendar (Lavandula sp.) -Perennial
Lavender-Cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) -Perennial
Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei) -Shrub
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis ) -Perennials
Lenten or Christmas Rose (Helleborus sp.) -Perennial
Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) -Groundcover
Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) -Ornamental Grass
Lungwort (Pulmonaria sp.) -Perennial
Lydia Morris Holly (Ilex x 'Lydia Morris') -Shrub
Lyme Grass (Leymus arenarius glaucous) -Ornamental Grass
Marjoram (Majorana) -Perennial
May Apple (Podophyllum) -Perennial
Meadow Rue (Thalictrum sp.) -Perennial
Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) -Tree
Mint (Mentha sp.) -Perennial
Monkshood (Aconitum sp.) -Perennial
Moonglow Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum 'Moonglow') -Shrub
Mountain Pieris (Pieris floribunda) -Shrub
New York Fern (Thelyptens noveboracensis) -Fern
Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) -Ornamental Grass
Oregano (Oreganum sp). -Perennial
Oregon Grape Holly (Mahonia aquifolium) -Shrub
Oriental Fountain Grass (Pennisetum orientale) -Ornamental Grass
Ornamental Onion (Allium sp.) -Perennial
Ornamental Onion (Allium sp.) -Bulb
Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) -Fern
Pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis) -Groundcover
Pampus Grass (Cortaderia selloana) -Ornamental Grass
Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) -Tree
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) -Tree
Peony (Paeonia sp.) -Perennial
Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) -Tree
Poppy (Papaver sp.) -Annual
Pot Marigold (Calendula sp.) -Annual
Potentilla, Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.) -Perennial
Prince of Wales Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis 'Prince of Wales') -Shrub
Purple Moor Grass (Molinia caerulea) -Ornamental Grass
Purple Rock-Cress (Aubretia deltoidea) -Perennial
Ravenna Grass (Erianthus ravennae) -Ornamental Grass
Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) -Shrub
Red Pine (Pinus resinosa) -Tree
River Birch (Betula nigra) -Tree
Rock-Cress (Arabis caucasica) -Perennial
Rocket Ligularia (Ligularia 'The Rocket') -Perennial
Rodgers Flower (Rodgersia sp.) -Perennial
Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria) -Perennial
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) -Annual
Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) -Fern
Rue (Ruta sp.) -Perennial
Russian Cypress (Microbiota decussate) -Shrub
Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) -Shrub
Russian Sage (Perovskio atriplicifolia) -Perennial
Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) -Fern
Siberian Bugloss (Bruneria macrophylla) (Brunnera) -Perennial
Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica) -Bulb
Silver Mound (Artemisia sp.) -Perennial
Small Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro) -Perennial
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) -Annual
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) -Bulb
Snow-on-the-Mountain (Euphorbia marginata) -Annual
Spider Flower (Cleome sp.) -Annual
Spotted Deadnettle (Lamium sp.) -Groundcover
Spurge (Euphorbia sp.) (except 'Chameleon') -Perennial
Statice (Limonium latifolium) -Perennial
Strawflower (Helichrysum) -Annual
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritime) -Annual
Sweet Box (Sarcoccoca hookeriana) -Shrub
Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) (Asperula odorata) -Groundcover
Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) -Ornamental Grass
Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) -Perennial
Threadleaf (Coreopsis Coreopsis verticillata) -Perennial
Thyme (Thymus sp.) -Perennial
Variegated Purple Moor Grass (Molinia caerulea 'Variegata') -Ornamental Grass
Varigated Oat Grass (Arrhenatherum elatius -Ornamental Grass
Weeping Love Grass (Eragrostus curvula) -Ornamental Grass
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) -Perennial
Winter Aconite (Eranthus hyemalis -Bulb
Wood Fern (Dryopteris marginalis) -Fern
Yucca (Yucca filimentosa) -Perennial
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