EGARDENING 

Wildlife Attractants and Deterrents Links

 

Cottontails, Opossums and other Garden Visitors
by Catherine Kavassalis       
for the Oakville Horticultural Society

Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were-- Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.

They lived with their Mother ...

... underneath my Peace Rose in my urban Oakville garden.  It was in early March when I first came upon this little brood of cottontails. As I was raking back the fall mulch to let the warm spring air stir the garden back to life, I  heard a plaintive squeal and saw movement beside my muck boots. Cautiously, I dug my gloved hand in the litter to see what was beneath. To my delight, there was a nest of four blind pink kits. I drew the blanket of mulch back over their little heads and decided to work elsewhere in the garden. From time to time over the coming weeks, I would peek in and admire the growth of their fine glossy coats. They did little damage to the plants around them, none the less, I watched with considerable trepidation as they began darting about the garden in mid April. My carnations were not to be seen that summer. 

While my dogs seemed oblivious to the rabbit brood, my little Bichon, Molly, was absolutely incensed by another March visitor. A young and very hungry Virginia Opossum decided to forage in my kitchen compost pile (it was quite fond of apple peals). For about a week, this short-lived nocturnal marsupial came rummaging and then as the weather warmed and spring foods became more abundant, it simply drifted away as opossums typically do. Unlike rabbits, which can do considerable garden harm, opossums are rarely a nuisance and I purposely did not fasten the lid of my composter, just so I could enjoy its rare visits.

Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons, mice, bats and opossums have all passed through my urban back yard over the past few years.  My dogs and cat are not much of a deterrent as they don't spend much time outside. I do on occasion send my golden retriever, Gentle, out to chase off the raccoons that come dunking for Koi in the pond, but at 16 she often trots right on by without noticing the little marauders who delight in tossing the water hyacinths across the lawn. 

For the most part, I enjoy the wildlife in the yard, but I have learned to take some precautions. I have screened off the areas below my decking to prevent the skunks from nesting there. In general, mechanical screening is the best way to exclude unwanted critters from your garden.  You can fence the entire garden or create protection for specific plants. For instance, I use bell jars to protect the new growth on my rabbits' favorite chews. Thankfully, they far prefer the weedy plantain and clover in the lawn and thus I loose few treasures. 

You have undoubtedly discovered for yourself that certain plants are more delectable than others to garden visitors. In my area, I have difficulty keeping my tulips and crocuses away from the abundant population of squirrels. I am counseled that the most effective deterrent is to plant these tasty corms and bulbs under chicken wire (or hardware cloth boxes, if underground mice and voles are a problem). This is a lot of trouble though, and I have been moderately successful using other easier strategies.  First, I generously sprinkle bulbs with blood and bone meal at planting time. Next, I sink bulbs deeply (at least 10 cm) and place tasty corms, like crocuses, next to less delectable bulbs such as daffodils and hyacinths. Underplanting bulbs near odiferous or poisonous perennials has also proven effective. For instance, members of the mint family (Labiatae) - like lavender, sage, or catnip - are rich in aromatic essential oils and they act as lovely foils for garden nibblers. Squirrels do not seem to dig through toxic plants like periwinkle (rich with hallucinogenic alkaloids) to acquire underlying crocus. Such lovely native perennials as monkshood (Aconitum), foxgloves (Digitalis), and bleeding heart (e.g. Dicentra canadensis) are all quite toxic and can be used judiciously throughout your gardens to protect more savory plants. 

I garden for many reasons and one is to enjoy wildlife. But it is always a question of finding a livable balance within an unbalanced ecosystem. The predators like fox and coyotes that would normally keep our rodents and rabbits in check have been poorly replaced by the automobile. Thus, we must often work to exclude animals that can cause undo damage while encouraging those that support a healthy and beautiful space. Good luck to you in finding your balance.

I have included lists of resistant plants and links to more information below. 

May toads nestle in your flower beds and help you tend your beauties in this spring.

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Links

Encouraging Wildlife

Nature Watch http://www.naturewatch.ca/english/ 

Mammals in our ecozone  http://www.naturewatch.ca/Mixedwood/mammal/intro.htm 

Wild about gardening http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/ 

Wildlife Gardening http://www.wildlife-gardening.co.uk/ 

Backyard Wildlife Habitat http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/tipsandprojects.cfm 

Massachusetts Humane Society Species Information http://www.livingwithwildlife.org/wildlifehelp/helpspecies.html 

Bat Conservation International http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/tipsandprojects.cfm 

Scott’s Bee and Wasp House Page http://habitat.ms11.net//bee/beehome.htm 

Discouraging Wildlife

Nuisance wildlife solutions http://wildliferehabber.com/nuisance4.htm

Humane ways to keep animals out of the garden http://www.projectwildlife.org/gardens_animalsoutofgarden.htm  

Plant deterrents

HGTV's Critter Free Bulbs http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_diseases_pests_animals/article/0,,HGTV_3578_3381123,00.html 

Dr. Leonard Perry DEER DETERRENTS--SCENTS http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/deerdeter.html   

Deer and Your Landscape http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=LawnGarden/Deer  

Bulbs suggested as resistant to squirrels and deer

Generally hardy to at least Canadian Zone 6 or USDA  Zone 5. ( http://www.bulb.com/)


Abbreviated list of toxic garden perennials:

See also:

McGraw Hill's Useful and Poisonous Plants http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072909412/36904/useful_plants.pdf 

Melissa Kaplan's Edible and Harmful Plants http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants.html 

Just plain interesting 

Richard Schultes' The plant kingdom and hallucinogens  http://kosmicjourney.org/encyclopedia/archives/plantkingdom.pdf