Learn humane, effective methods to keep unwanted animals out of your garden, flower beds, and yard. From squirrels and rabbits to deer and stray cats — practical solutions that actually work.
You step outside with your morning coffee, ready to admire the lawn you have been coaxing into shape all spring, and there it is: a winding ridge of raised earth cutting straight across the grass like someone dragged a garden hose underneath the turf. A little further on, a fresh mound of loose soil sits … Read more
That unmistakable sulfurous odor drifting through your bedroom window at 2 a.m. tells you everything you need to know: a skunk has claimed your yard as its personal buffet and bedroom. Maybe you have already spotted the telltale signs, like shallow cone-shaped holes dotting the lawn where grubs once lived, overturned trash cans, or worse, … Read more
Learning how to keep birds from eating plants is one of those gardening puzzles that sounds simple until you walk outside and find your strawberry patch stripped bare by 7 a.m. One morning you’re admiring ripening tomatoes and tender seedlings; the next, sparrows have pecked holes in every red fruit and starlings have shredded your … Read more
If you want to keep raccoons out of your yard, you are probably tired of waking up to tipped trash cans, scattered garbage across the driveway, and those unmistakable little handprints in the mud by your back door. You are not alone. Raccoons have adapted so well to suburban life that wildlife biologists now estimate … Read more
Learning how to keep chipmunks out of garden spaces is one of those spring chores that sneaks up on you. One morning you walk out with your coffee, ready to admire the tulips you planted last October, and instead you find shallow holes dotting the mulch, bulb scales scattered across the soil, and a suspicious … Read more
If you’ve been wondering how to keep deer away from your garden without resorting to a medieval-style moat or a shotgun strapped to a rocking chair, you’re in excellent company. Across the country, gardeners who spent years nurturing tomato plants, hostas, hydrangeas, and tulips are waking up to find their hard work reduced to chewed-off … Read more
If you want to keep rabbits out of garden beds for good, you already know that cute little cottontail munching your lettuce isn’t nearly as charming as it looks on a greeting card. One pair of rabbits can produce up to 35 offspring in a single season, and a hungry doe will mow down a … Read more
If you want to keep squirrels out of garden beds without hurting them, losing your mind, or spending a fortune on gadgets that don’t work, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve been there. One summer I watched a fat gray squirrel take a single bite out of every tomato on my plants, then drop … Read more
If you’re trying to keep cats out of your yard, you already know the frustration. You step outside to check on your tomatoes and find holes dug through your flower beds, droppings buried in your mulch, and seedlings trampled flat. Maybe the neighborhood tabby has decided your freshly tilled garden is the world’s finest litter … Read more
