Q & A: Critters

deerGot a gardening question? Ask Susan! What follows are reader questions. Each time a new one comes in, I’ll add it to the top. To ask a question, drop me a note at Susan@susansinthegarden.com.

Q: I think I recall in one of your videos (either in the video or in the comments) you mentioned a pellet that you sprinkled to protect plants from being nibbled by rabbits.  I searched your book and your website, but I
couldn’t find it.  Do you remember the product you suggested? DH

A: I’m trying to remember any videos where I sprinkled a product to protect my plants and I’m pretty sure I was talking about keeping gophers and voles away from the flowers in my front bed. And that product is goes by different names such as Mole Chaser and Mole Away. It’s made with woody granules that are coated with caster oil. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work for rabbits. First of all, when trying to repel any type of critter from eating your plants, what you use depends upon whether the plants are ornamental or edible. So always read the label to see if it’s safe to use around edibles… if that’s what you’re in need of. The good news is that there are some commercially-made repellents that keep rabbits away from plants. Again, check the label to see their specific use. I haven’t had any experience using them, however, so I can’t really recommend a specific product from personal experience. However, I should mention that Plant Skydd makes a rabbit repellent. I’m not sure if it’s OK to use near edible crops so you’ll want to check that. Other possible options are to place bars of deodorant soap near plants (not touching, if they’re edible crops), or scaring them with pinwheels or a motion-activated sprinkler. Barriers are the most effective method for keeping rabbits away… whether it’s with a chicken wire structure, bird netting, or with a wire fence around the area you need to protect.

Q: I’m a avid gardener from Massachusetts and thoroughly enjoy gardening programs such as P. Allen Smith, and especially Joe Lampl’s Growing A Greener World which is where I discovered your wonderful gardening website. I’m wondering if you can give any proven techniques on controlling deer in my garden landscape? I’ve tried the fishing line technique which works fine but staking and running fishing line all over the yard can look alittle insightly and impedes with mowing etc. Home made concoctions or hanging soap don’t work very well. Don’t want to replace my many hostas or prized hydrangeas. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! DH

A: Deer can be really challenging. The absolute best way to keep them away is through physical barriers, whether it’s with a deer fence or wire enclosures protecting tree trunks or other desirable plants. I know that doesn’t work for everyone but I just wanted to be honest about it. I did shoot a video on dealing with deer last year, and perhaps it might give you some ideas. Here’s a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1cYfDdWu0A

Q: We would like to purchase a heated bird bath but don’t know which would be best.  We live in southeastern NC in a zone 8A but we still get freezing weather.  The birds love all our bird baths but can’t use them when frozen.  I’ve researched several kinds but they have poor reviews.  What kind of heated bird bath do you have?  The birds obviously enjoy it! CBT

A: We purchased our heated birdbath from gardeners.com many years ago. They don’t carry our model anymore. I just searched their website and they do have 2 models. I don’t know anything about these models but Gardener’s Supply (gardeners.com) does guarantee everything they sell. Here is a link to the heated birdbath we have, from another supplier: https://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=API-970&src=froogle&kw=API-970&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn5yRs6_n4AIVfyCtBh1k0ATcEAQYASABEgLp8PD_BwE (I don’t have any experience with this mail-order source, however). But that way you can see the specs.

Q: Do you have ideas for discouraging the neighbor cat from using my raised vegetable beds as litter boxes? Gah! CM

A: I share your disgust and frustration. My friend Joe Lamp’l has an interesting system that he says works great: at planting time, he places cattle panels (which you can find at farm stores and feed stores for a fairly reasonable price) onto the soil surface. They serve 2 purposes: 1) the squares in the panels help him space his seedlings better, and 2) the wire grids make it difficult for cats to scratch around in. That might be worth a try.

Q: We have quail in our yard.  Will they eat Swiss Chard?  I sometimes see them pecking at the Swiss Chard but tell my husband they are just eating the bugs.  However, my Swiss Chard doesn’t seem to be growing very well. SW

A: Quail love salad greens so I’m pretty sure they would nibble on Swiss chard as well. I grow my chard under floating row cover for the entire season, both to keep the “nibblers” away and especially to keep adult leaf miners from laying eggs on the leaves. Since Swiss chard doesn’t need to be pollinated, the floating row cover works perfectly for this.

 

Q: A friend of mine has deer in her garden, since she is next to green space and  large woods. She and her husband have many hostas and they aren’t eaten.  Mine are nibbled right down to  the ground by deer.  When I asked her why theirs aren’t,  she replied that they put shavings of Irish Spring soap in  and around  the vulnerable plants as they come up and after every heavy  rain.  The deer don’t come near, as they hate the  smell.  Have you  heard of this?  she said the soap does no damage to the plants. JC, Ontario

A: Yes, I have heard of this. Deer have a keen sense of smell and are quite repelled by deodorant soaps because they have such a strong scent. For years, we used bars of soap in our orchard — hung from tree branches — before we finally put up a deer fence and the soap worked great.

Q: I saw your garden on “Growing a Greener World.” Lovely gardens! I was very impressed by the quality of photos shown on the episode. I’d like to know which camera you use. JW, VA.

A: I primarily use a Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, although there are newer versions of it available now (mine is about 4 years old). I really like the zoom it has, which is perfect for getting bird and wildlife photos from a distance. I do have a DSLR (Canon 50D), which I really should update as well, but I’ve been so happy with how simple the PowerShot is to use. I also like using my iPhone for flower and insect close-ups.

Q: What to do about voles? I cannot use poison because of my dog. I have tried the water from the hose, but I am on a well. I do use hardware cloth on the bottom of all my raised beds. The voles are in my grass and perennial strips along the fence in the plain dirt. In fact, I was walking on a pathway next to some of my raised beds last week on top of the bark which is on top of the black weed blocking cloth.  I felt a raised area so I moved the bark away and removed about 8 staples from the cloth and found that a vole had come up into the bottom of the cloth with her/her dirt pile.  I cannot have voles coming up into stapled walkways with weed block and constantly be in a repair mode! Help! SS, Spokane

A: As I read your description, I think you have gophers although maybe some voles thrown in, too (lucky you). Voles do not make mounds of soil, gophers do. Gophers mostly live underground, tunneling through the soil and pushing the soil up to the surface to make their burrows. Voles do dig into the ground but you’ll only see a neat, round hole… no soil mound. I’m with you: don’t use poison bait! For one thing, if a dog or a hawk ate the dead or dying gopher or mole, those poisons will kill them as well. The best way to get rid of gophers is to use a trap. Unfortunately, using body-gripping traps in the state of Washington is illegal. But there is one thing you can try that I’ve had good luck with. There are repellents on the market that are made from ground up corn cobs that have been impregnated with castor-oil. Gophers and voles do not like the smell or taste of it at all! You can find these products at NW Seed & Pet. One of the brands I’m familiar with is MoleMax (no, we don’t have moles over here but it works on them, too). I think Mole Chaser is another brand. You sprinkle it on the ground and it permeates the soil. It should go under the weed-blocking fabric, esp. with a bit of watering or when it rains. Read the label instructions. It lasts for about 3 months.