Do you often step outdoors to find that common pests have destroyed your garden or landscape? Give them the boot once and for all with these hacks to banish them from your yard.
After all of the work you’ve put into your yard and garden, there’s nothing worse than dealing with pests. From small to large they can often make quick work of your efforts especially when they’re hungry.
Despite what you may have heard, you don’t always need to call a professional to get rid of them. In fact, there are quite a few ways you can deter them on your own.
So here are some of the easiest and most humane ways to deal with four common invaders.
Rabbits
Those cute little bunny rabbits you see in your yard are usually up to no good. They love nothing more than to eat your grass, vegetables, and nibble on your seedlings. Hands down the most effective solution for keeping them out is to use fencing around the areas where they are likely to feed and cause damage. Fortunately, unlike with other common pests, you won’t need a full-size fence.
You can even use chicken wire if you’d like to save cash. Just be sure that the fencing you ultimately choose is at least three feet high so it can’t be jumped over by the rabbits. And it will also need to be installed at least ten inches below the soil line so they can’t dig under it either.
Raccoons
One of the most common and troublesome of all pests are raccoons. These critters love eating trash in particular and seem to enjoy making a mess while doing it. Even though they can be incredibly difficult to keep off your yard all-together, you can make your outdoor space less attractive to them. So be sure to keep all of your trash inside of your garbage cans and keep the cans securely fastened. Clean up well after outdoor dogs and cats have eaten and store their food indoors not outside.
Raccoons are also very well known for eating fish from ponds and using swimming pools to go to the bathroom. For keeping them out of water sources a gator decoy is usually the weapon of choice. These harmless yet intimidating looking fake alligators float in the water and effectively trick the raccoon into thinking they are looking at a hungry predator.
While decoys can be used in either location some are made specifically to be used in the pool. In addition to scaring raccoons, a few pool alligator decoy models are made to dispense important swimming pool chemicals such as chlorine as well.
Gophers
No one wants gophers moving onto their property. That’s because these rodents create intricate tunnel systems as they burrow underneath your beautiful lawn. Not to mention the large holes and mounds of dirt they create when digging up your lawn to make the entrances to those tunnels.
Because gophers can be very hard to get rid of and can easily dig under fences, making your yard as undesirable as possible is the key. This can be accomplished by using ultrasonic repellents or castor oil sprays. I was skeptical, but I tried these repellent spikes for our moles…they worked!
Squirrels
If you don’t know just how sneaky, athletic, and determined these pests are, just ask someone with a bird feeder. Squirrels are expert thieves when it comes to bird food which is one of their favorite things to eat.
Deterring them will typically require you to switch the type of seeds you are currently using in your bird feeder to something they don’t like such as safflower. Using a special squirrel-proof feeder or installing what’s known as a squirrel baffle to your existing feeder can work too.
As you can see there are quite a few deterrents you can use for each of these pests. By applying them you can keep damage to a minimum and save some cash instead of hiring a pro.
Mike H is a writer and backyard enthusiast. From trying out new composting methods to adding tree faces, when he’s not taking care of his yard, he’s coming up with ways to make it more efficient and, of course, fun.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
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