Are you bugged by pests in your garden? Hopping mad because the rabbits ate your lettuce crop for lunch? Deerly regretting planting raspberry bushes because the…you know where I am going with this, right. Sorry, I just love a good pun. Or a pun, at any rate.
But if, like me, you live in a rural area because you enjoy nature, you are faced with the age-old struggle of man vs. beast. Or in my case, woman vs. bunny. And if, like me, you prefer not to use poisons and pesticides in your yard and garden, let me offer a few suggestions. Some are tried and true and some, well, are just tried. You be the judge. And let me know how they work for you!
The Waspinator. This is a simple and clever solution to a wasp problem that doesn’t use chemicals or baits. I think the wasps see it as a nest so they believe the territory is already taken. All you have to do is hang the Waspinator any where wasps are likely to place a nest, like under the eaves, against an outdoor wall or in a tree.
Moles and other rodents hate mint. They hate the smell of it and the taste of it. So drop a glob of toothpaste or a few sticks of peppermint gum down the mole hole and they will vacate in search of non-minty spaces.
I plant roses and the Japanese Beetles think it’s a Golden Corral buffet table! So I use the Japanese Beetle Trap and Lure. With this nifty gadget, there are no toxic agents to damage the environment, and it will last for the entire Beetle season (about three months). The lure draws both the boy and girl bugs, but will not attract animals, birds or beneficial insects. And it’s made in the US of A.
You can also plant marigolds amongst your tomato plants to repel bugs. An added benefit is the bright yellow flowers growing cheerfully against a backdrop of lush red tomatoes. Done right, it looks like a still life painting.
If you don’t like the idea of squirting water at the critters, try our Mole Chaser. Moles dig holes. They ruin your garden, kill your plants by eating their roots and they munch on the gardener’s best friend, the earthworm. The Mole Chaser’s spinning blades drive them away by sending vibrations through the ground. Moles can’t stand this, and soon leave your yard in search of a more tranquil environment.
If you simply want to catch and relocate the animals, the Havahartis still your best bet. Our traps catch pests no matter how quick or cautious, so you can safely evict them from your basement or attic or garden. Animals walk right in because they can see through the trap until it’s sprung. You can catch any animal and move back to the woods where it belongs. And it’s USA made.
And finally, depending on your tolerance for unusual items in your garden, you can put a row of brightly colored pinwheels along the perimeter. They will turn in the wind and sparkle in the sun and frighten animals away. Large glass jugs of water will also fool the wildlife into thinking they are seeing another animal already in the garden (their reflection, get it?). A fake snake or owl will trick some of them.
Or you can give up, and put out a plate of sliced carrots on a bed of lettuce, like my eight year old daughter did one year. “They looked hungry, Mom,” she said. And she was right. They were hungry.
