One of the best things you can do if you’re a property owner is start tending your garden. This comes with some very obvious benefits, such as the ability to consume home-grown, chemical-free produce. Obviously, this supports a much healthier lifestyle. Secondly, having your own garden has an important therapeutic purpose, in that it helps assuage worries and fears.
But what happens when your garden becomes the reason for your worries? Namely, what do you do when your garden is being torn up by critters and unwanted wildlife?
What pests are eager to destroy your garden?
Knowing what to expect is the first step to proper prevention and protection!
1. Skunks
In and of themselves, skunks are actually a beneficial garden guest, as they often feed on worms, larvae, and other bugs that threaten your garden. However, in the process, they often dig up your garden and may upset your flower beds, leaving you behind with a ruined garden.
Not only that, skunks can endanger your household pets with their infamous spraying. Now, skunks are nocturnal creatures, and won’t usually spray another creature unless they have no choice (since it leaves them unprotected). However, if your dog or cat scares a skunk, they may get sprayed, and seriously hurt.
2. Squirrels
Squirrels are at their most aggressive either in the months leading up to winter hibernation, or immediately after, as they want to catch up on everything they missed. Usually, squirrel damage will involve a fair bit of dug-up bulbs, so they can become quite a nuisance for the average garden owner.
What’s even worse, squirrels, like pretty much any other animal, love to eat. So it’s not uncommon to find your fruit and vegetable patches nibbled through when you’ve got a squirrel guest on your property. And while these animals score high on the cuteness scale, they’re quite damaging to the state of your garden. Squirrels are also quite hard to get rid of so it’s best to call a professional wildlife removal company like Wildlife X Team Memphis for help.
3. Groundhogs
Also known as woodchucks, groundhogs are actually closely related to squirrels… and it shows! While groundhogs may appear cute, they pose quite the threat to your garden, in that they love nothing more than munching on your lettuce, carrots, and other fresh produce. Needless to say, you don’t want that when you’re tending to your lovely vegetable garden.
Another issue with groundhogs is that they risk digging up or disturbing flower beds, roots, and so on, with their underground tunnels. Usually, you can recognize a groundhog presence by the tell-tale mounds of earth that signal an entry point to their burrows.
4. Rabbits
For anyone who’s read Watership Down or enjoyed the Peter Rabbit series as a child, rabbits are just about the cutest animal in the world. However, you’ll find a slight shift in your perspective once you learn how damaging they can be to your garden.
Rabbits are known for their impressive appetite, and they sure aren’t picky. They’ll eat up pretty much anything in your vegetable patch, and will do anything they need to get to it. That means digging up and trampling flower beds, and adjacent greenery.
5. Raccoons
Some wildlife pests, such as opossums, are beneficial for your garden because, in their search for food, they rid your garden of insects. Others, however, are not. Raccoons are voracious eaters and known for their aggressive nature. This means they will peel, tear or smash up your garden in order to reach the delicious crops you’ve planted. They will also trample and dig up your flower and plant beds, and leave a monumental mess in their wake when they finally decide to leave your garden!
