Are Garden Pests Bugging You Out?

Having a garden can be a wonderful and rewarding experience, offering a peaceful retreat and a chance to grow your own flowers, fruits, and vegetables. However, it’s not without its challenges, particularly when it comes to dealing with garden pests. These unwelcome visitors, from tiny aphids to larger invaders like rabbits, can wreak havoc on your carefully nurtured plants. Maintaining a garden often requires a vigilant eye and an understanding of natural pest control methods to keep your plants healthy and thriving without resorting to harmful chemicals. So here’s a list to help you out this summer or next summer.

Deer

You’ll find that managing deer damage effectively can make your garden thrive, especially in the fall during rutting season when deer are active. These beautiful creatures are particularly drawn to young, pliable trees like oaks, with around an inch calliper. Thankfully, protecting your trees is simple and rewarding. Experts recommend using corrugated plastic pipe around the trunk. These flexible tubes are easy to split lengthwise and wrap around the tree. Creating a physical barrier with stakes and/or hardware cloth (similar to chicken wire but with finer mesh) is another excellent option.

In winter, preventing deer from nibbling on buds is easy by installing blockers around your trees. Using 2×2 stakes, about 4-6 feet tall, staked around your tree, can effectively deter deer, sometimes even without the cloth. By bumping into the stakes, deer are encouraged to find food elsewhere. Another clever strategy is sacrificial planting, where you place more desirable plants further back or behind less valuable ones. With these proactive measures, your garden will flourish and remain a haven for all.

Chipmunks

Yes, they’re garden pests but still cute ones. Chipmunks munching on your tomatoes can be as exasperating as being stuck in traffic on a Friday evening. These little rascals love to take a single bite and then scamper off, leaving you with a very unsatisfying fruit salad. To thwart these furry bandits, try draping a fine mesh insect or bird netting over your vegetable garden. Make sure it’s snug, so those tiny burglars can’t wiggle their way under.

Chipmunks are also keen diggers, often tearing up your container plantings like annuals. A bit of hardware cloth around your precious green babies should deter their digging escapades. They might not burrow from underneath, but if they hit that metal, they might think twice about continuing their banquet. These sly critters can even slither under your garage door, so keep the rubber gasket intact and birdseed locked up tight.

You’ll find smell-based repellents out there, but honestly, those are like putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign for a teenager—they mostly ignore it. Use them alongside other methods since rain will just wash them away, requiring endless reapplications.

Moles

Moles, those elusive little earth engineers, spend their lives on a never-ending treasure hunt for insects underground. So, no, you probably won’t get to see their tiny miner hats, but you’ll definitely spot their tunnelling masterpieces ruining your turfgrass. The best way to manage these subterranean squatters is by calling in the pros—think of it as hiring a mole eviction squad. It’s no wonder the game is called Whack-a-Mole; you’ll find that they’re masters of the underground hide-and-seek.

According to the ecology wizards at the University of Wisconsin, traps are both effective and humane. If you’re up for some dirty work, mole traps are your go-to—but remember, placement is key! Forget about poisons; moles can sniff out danger like seasoned detectives and will simply dodge the toxic treats. Lastly, try an indirect approach: since these critters are always looking for a gourmet bug buffet, control the grub population under your lawn to encourage them to dine and dash elsewhere.

Squirrels

Cute, clever squirrels are like the freeloading roommates of the animal kingdom, perfectly adapted to mooch off humans. Basically, with these garden pests, you’ll have to accept their bushy-tailed shenanigans. They’ve hacked the system and thrived in the urban jungle we’ve built. To save your garden from becoming their buffet, use physical barriers like fine-mesh hardware cloth, just like you do for those sneaky chipmunks.

When it comes to trees, squirrels are the annoying neighbours who trim your trees without asking, leaving small branch remnants as evidence. If you spot two teeth marks on a branch, that’s their calling card. They also nibble on woody plants and munch on mature tree bark. Seal up your home tight to prevent them from turning your attic into a nut storage.

Feeding them peanuts is like inviting the whole squirrel gang to a party. In the end, a dog’s still a dog, and a squirrel’s still a squirrel if you catch my drift. The best strategy? Have some sacrificial plants or just resign yourself to picking up their branchy leftovers.

Rabbits

Rabbits will munch on just about anything. Flowering plants, veggies, you name it, they’ll gnaw it down to the dirt. You’ll be left wondering if tiny lumberjacks came through because all you’ll find are stumps or stem skeletons. In larger gardens, some folks resort to “sacrificial lambs”—i.e., planting stuff you know will become rabbit chow. I’ve got this one hosta that they adore, so I strategically plant it around the edges and tell the rabbits, “Bon appétit!”

But while I don’t mind feeding the furry freeloaders, I understand many people don’t have that much gardening real estate. If that’s you, your only hope is a Fort Knox-level physical barrier. Chicken wire or hardware cloth works, and if you don’t fancy the rustic look, spruce it up a bit. Paint it black so it doesn’t act like a disco ball in the sunlight.

Another trick for these garden pests: if you’ve got a dog, let them patrol the backyard. Rabbits have a sixth sense for canine danger and will relocate. I’ve let our dog Katie channel her inner Secret Service and chase off the neighbour’s rabbit a couple of times, and it seems to be doing the trick.

Woodpeckers

When woodpeckers go to town on your trees, they’re on a mission to find some tasty insects. But occasionally, their home improvement projects involve ripping off the bark and creating tree condos with large holes and cavities. Believe it or not, this DIY destruction can actually benefit other critters. Plus, woodpeckers usually strike gold nibbling on sick or diseased trees, so if they pay a visit, it might mean something else is amiss.

People come up with all sorts of wacky ideas to shoo them away, but wrapping your tree in tin foil or stuffing it with insulating foam isn’t just a bad idea—it’s like inviting trouble to your tree’s door. If your tree is terminally ill, removing it can help redirect our feathered friends elsewhere.

But here’s the kicker: one of the best ways to keep them happy (and your trees intact) is to serve up their favourite snack, suet cakes, at your bird feeding station. That’s exactly what’s happening on our front lawn cafeteria for birds.

Slugs – My Biggest Garden Pest

UGGG! These garden pests annoy me the most! Slugs adore hostas just like we crave our favourite snacks, but unfortunately, they don’t practice moderation and leave behind large, irregular holes in the leaves. These gooey garden guests prefer shady, cool, and moist hangouts, so plants basking in full sun aren’t on their menu. Unlike their snail cousins, they don’t carry portable homes and instead leave a slimy trail as if announcing “I was here!”

For a morning slug hunt, peek under leaves or in damp nooks because they love late-night munchies. To evict these freeloaders, offer them a last call with old beer in a jar or shallow dish – they’ll perish in a blissful, boozy bath. Reducing their favourite chill spots like constantly damp or shady areas can also send them packing. And if you’re the hands-on type, feel free to pluck them off with your fingers and give them their marching orders!

Voles

There are many questions about voles, which are small rodents that tunnel through your grass. (Not to be confused with moles, which tunnel underground and are not rodents.) They’re like little tiny mice. Voles are herbivores, and they’re going after things with tubers and thick root systems.

To stop them, exclusion helps. If you notice they keep eating specific plants, bury hardware cloth underneath, where you know you’re going to plant them every year. Another clever deterrent is called a “cloche,” which is a bell-jar looking contraption that goes over a plant. This will deter squirrels, chipmunks, birds and many other pests.

Japanese Beetles

These transplant garden pests aren’t exactly a menace in their homeland but bring them to North America, and they’re like the uninvited guests who can’t stop eating at the buffet — they devour leaves and can just take over your garden. Japanese beetle larvae, those chubby, white, comma-shaped grubs, are lurking underground in your turf grass, plotting their next move.

To foil their plans, you’ve got to start by managing these underground invaders. The best way to deal with them is to call in the big guns: chemical or biological agents. And for the love of all things green, steer clear of commercial traps and pheromone lures — they’re like those party invitations that attract way too many guests.

Instead, invite some beneficial nematodes to the party in late July; they’ll crash the turf and take out the grubs. That’s what we did this year, and it’s working like a charm! Or, if you prefer, go ahead and use a commercial insecticide (don’t forget to read the label, though — safety first!).

Conclusion…

And there you have it, brave garden warriors! The secret weapons to defend your green haven from the myriad of tiny (and not-so-tiny) garden pest invaders that think your garden is their personal salad bar. Remember, each of these critters comes with its own unique blend of charm and frustration, but with a little ingenuity and a lot of persistence, you can keep your plants safe and thriving. Whether it’s donning your mole eviction squad uniform or setting up a morning slug patrol, you’re now armed with the knowledge to turn the tide in the battle of the backyard!

Feel free to share your own hilarious pest encounters or secret gardening tips in the comments below. Have a foolproof method to keep chipmunks at bay? Discovered a slug repellent that doesn’t involve sacrificing a six-pack of your favourite brew? We’d love to hear all about it! Let’s swap stories, and laugh at our gardening misadventures, and together, we’ll keep those pests on their toes (or tiny little feet). Happy gardening! 🌿🚫🦌🦗

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