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Old May 31, 2017   #16
greenthumbomaha
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This was my greeting yesterday morning after I had installed a two foot chicken wire fence around the pepper area.. I tucked all the peppers back in their hole and watered. I also put some deer netting that I salvaged from the trash across the street before the truck came ( I think they were trying to keep their dog out of something) over the two foot chicken wire fence. This episode had much more damage than the prior ones. I didn't check today, but if it is an animal that eats the fruit I don't want to fight this all summer. On the upper right corner you can see where the mound for a squash got dug out again.

Surrounding the tomato cages with chicken wire seems to have helped in that area. I ran out of material so I made a tiny 1 foot round cage to protect a new tomato. Somehow the offender managed to dig under the chicken wire and pull the plant out. Left the bigger cages alone - at least that night.

- Lisa

Edit - the picture rotated so the squash mound would be on the upper left.
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File Type: jpg pepper damage.JPG (138.5 KB, 132 views)

Last edited by greenthumbomaha; May 31, 2017 at 07:49 PM.
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Old June 1, 2017   #17
pmcgrady
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I planted another 25 tomatoes yesterday and noticed I left out a bag of Tomato Tone overnight, it was not where I left it, upon further inspection I noticed 2 big holes chewed thru it. I am wondering if whatever it is will attack my plants also.
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Old June 2, 2017   #18
MissS
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To avoid the animals digging up the plants, I apply the Tomato Tone or Plant Tone 1-2 weeks before plant out and water it in well. If I need to re-apply it during the growing season, I dig a small trench around the plant, place the fertilizer, cover with soil and water it in well. Watering it in well seems to solve my problems with critters coming by for a snack.

Hope that this helps.
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Old June 2, 2017   #19
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I put that stuff out and I get a trillion flies.
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Old June 2, 2017   #20
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Yes, but you do with Bone Meal or Dried Blood too. I guess that it is part of putting corpses in the garden...
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Old June 2, 2017   #21
SteveP
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That looks terrible. I think I would try to trap and relocate in cages. Or garden sit overnight with some .22 shorts.
I hope you get it under control soon.
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Old June 2, 2017   #22
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I roto till all of my compost into the garden in the fall and I take a soil test in the spring. All of my nutrients tested as above optimum so I need to add no fertilizers.

After seeing the devastation from adding them I am really glad that I do not. It must be so upsetting so see your plants ripped out like that.

This year I did decide to side dress with some blood meal for Nitrogen at the recommendation of Penn State and I found holes dug by skunks the next day so no more of that! No plant damage thankfully.

I don't think that killing the skunks or other wild animals is the answer because there will always be more of them to move in and take their place anyway.
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Old June 2, 2017   #23
SteveP
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If a critter is in my garden destroying something I have spent money on and have invested
sweat equity, it has to go. Unless it is a DoDo bird.
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Old June 2, 2017   #24
brownrexx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveP View Post
If a critter is in my garden destroying something I have spent money on and have invested
sweat equity, it has to go. Unless it is a DoDo bird.
Then you will have a never ending battle.

A better idea is to make a physical barrier of some sort or come up with another solution like a different way to fertilize or a different fertilizer or something like that. I am not saying to let them destroy what you have worked for but just killing an animal will never work because more will take their place.

On another forum a poster suggested killing sparrows to protect another posters peas from being eaten. Do you think that this will really work? Can you kill every sparrow? I use netting over my peas. It's a whole lot easier and I don't need to spend time sitting at the garden with a gun.
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Old June 2, 2017   #25
greenthumbomaha
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MissS that is excellent advice. I never put 2 + 2 together that fertilizer was applied before hand to deter animals. I incorrectly assumed it was to give the fertilizer pellets time to break down so nutrients would be available at plant out.

Still it would be too much trouble for me to pull up all the pins and dewitt fabric to fertilize again with granular.

A friend offered to loan a racoon trap. I considered this but the procedure to leave the animal with the humane society would have meant a drive 20 miles away. There could be more than one anyway.

So I am pleased to say that at least this morning, I found only the first three peppers had been torn out, and I had replacements ready. It appears the animal may have come thru a teensy gap in the chicken wire folded over for a gate or it was too slack. It appears the deer netting is somewhat working. I had it loosely folded over each pepper like a roller coaster. I had to reposition the deer net so I could replant after and it wasn't as wavy; fingers crossed it still works.

You are certainly correct that a lot of effort went in to starting the plants and preparing the bed. I was very discouraged by what happened but it is a learning experience. I hope others will benefit from seeing this actually happened to me. Its one of those things you think always happens to someone else,

- Lisa
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Old June 2, 2017   #26
MissS
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Lisa, could you take a hose or something and water each planting hole very well to get this into the soil and breaking down? I think if you could water it in well, the critters would leave them alone.
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Old June 3, 2017   #27
oakley
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I shared my similar woes last season when a still unknown critter dug up some freshly
planted starts to get at the tomatoTone. I trench so they mostly got the food without
disturbing. I've put fert in the plant hole for years without incident.

I set traps but relocating is illegal here. Did not catch a thing and the digging stopped.
Possibly the plantTone made them sick. I even used the fert in the traps. It is not
necessarily toxic but in high doses in a small critter it can reek havoc to the liver me
thinks.

I left a half bag in the barn over this past winter and it has a chewed hole probably from
field mice...it seems most organic ferts are irresistible to critters.

This years i just added to the top 6-8 inches of soil, raked in, ahead of planting, after a
few good rain storms.

Even keeping organic can get out of balance some seasons but in the long run, accepting
some crop failure here and there, it is best for overall soil health.
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Old June 17, 2017   #28
swamper
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Ok, I have learned the lesson that fish emulsion appears to be attractive to racoons. In my case the abundant earthworms below the mulch are also attractants.

Is there an equal and opposite racoon repellent that is not toxic. I was thinking of putting bowls of habanero vinegar out between the rows.
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Old June 17, 2017   #29
dmforcier
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Rowdy dogs will do it.

Unsure of side effects on plants.
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Old May 15, 2019   #30
greenthumbomaha
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DejaVu. I searched under " raccoon " and ended up on my own post. The photo was from my rural garden. The raccoon in my first post may gave been a possum according to the neighbor. He trapped one later in the season.


New scenario :


I spotted a very large racoon on the deck here in the burb's towards evening, and it was not very dark yet. A neighbor said a family of raccoons is living near the sewer down the street. I typically don't fence much here. An occasional rabbit will take a bite and move on. Oh, the neighbor said not to provoke the raccoon, it can turn aggressive towards people.


Will they eat anything in the garden, or is something vegetarian that is not tasty to them? I have two foot rolls of chicken wire, none higher. Have you seen them climb in and out, or are they afraid to get tangled up in wire?


I watched the racoon investigate a tray of tomato seedlings on the deck floor, but fortunately there was no interest. It didn't jump on the table to get to the pepper seedlings either. Maybe it is smart and waiting for the peppers to grow up for a tasty meal.


- Lisa

Last edited by greenthumbomaha; May 15, 2019 at 11:25 PM.
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