Zyclone
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Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 2:29 am
Location: San Diego, CA

How do you garden with pests around??

Hi everyone,

To start off, I live in Southern California, San Diego area with 1 acre of land. There are a lot of bunnies, rats, crows and maybe a few other nocturnal pests I don't see around here.

Last year I had a few potted tomatoes, and cucumbers with some eggplants and herbs in my garden beds and everything grew fine for the most part.

This year, the temperatures are higher, it's raining less and my crops are getting destroyed by pests. Specifically the potted tomatoes, strawberries and cucumbers are being picked off before they are even fully developed.

I have tried setting mouse traps, conibear 110 traps for the bunnies (got a few, but the strawberries are still getting picked off by them) and old CDs hanging on a fishing line to keep the crows away.

I am not sure what else to do to keep these guys out. The sure proof way is to only plant inside a fully enclosed garden bed using chicken wire and lots of PVC. However that is not a cheap solution. I did that on two garden beds by creating a 4 foot tall chicken wire lid to cover them.

I have seen gardens on YouTube that are not fully enclosed, and they are full of produce. I'm sure there are pests there.. rats, bunnies, raccoons, and crows are basically everywhere. How is this done? I don't want to use chemicals. Do I have to sit here and watch my crop with a pellet rifle (legal in my town, I've checked with the Sheriff)? With this extensive drought we have, I'd rather not waste my water on plants that will only feed the pests.

All solutions and suggestions welcome!

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jal_ut
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Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

I put a radio in my corn patch and let it run on the local talk station. It keeps the night time marauders out. Can you shoot there? A pellet gun or 22, or 20 ga. shotgun? A couple of booms and the crows get wise quick. Scarecrow? You take a couple of sticks , one about 7 feet long and the other about 4 feet . Dig the long one in about a foot deep and plant it like a post, then lash the other on about a foot down from the top. Now just Dress him up in some old clothes.

imafan26
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Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I pick the tomatoes just at first blush, sometimes I have to pick them green because if the birds can't find anything else they will take green ones too. I have to get to the figs first. My birds are smart,they go under the bird netting and eventually the tomato grows through the netting anyway.
Strawberries birds, slugs, snails all go after them. I put them in hanging baskets I can move.

The dog would probably work as long as it doesn't like to tear up plants.

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jal_ut
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Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

When I was on that lot out on the river, I staked down a cable on the ground that ran the full length of the garden, then I put a pulley on the cable and a short chain for the dog. He had the run of the full length of the garden. He pretty well kept out all the deer and most of the skunks and raccoons.



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