Ok, what gives . .

The smell of the garlic dissipates quickly, as far as OUR sense of smell is concerned. But it persists for a while for them. Remember, they are also pushing their noses right in it. I have many fragrant plants as well. The garlic trick will not interfere unless you're planting itty-bitties right near the fragrant plants WHILE they are in bloom. What are the odds? As for me, garlic is fragrant. Practically an aphrodisiac.

Schicken - I don't know, with a different hairstyle and a switch to contacts...

Now that's what I mean about a scarecrow! I think it might work! Your better half likes garlic as well, I presume, Victor :-)

She or it is albino. :-)

Thank you, Dave and Victor, for making me laugh so hard.
Sorry, Michaela. Squirrels are a nuisance for me too, and I don't have any solutions to offer. But I hardly notice them because I also have deer, moles, voles, feral cats, possum, rabbits, caterpillars, grass hoppers, aphids, Japanese beetles, and assorted other varmits. Oh, and a gazillion weeds.

Kassia and I think Japanese beetles are really orcs.

Me too Loretta. Next time we build an ark, I'm leaving certain animals OFF! Schicken, I'm not too particular.

Great Scarecrow, Schickenlady! Scarepeople, too.

Is that Janet Reno under that scarf? Aww I guess that was sort of mean. Well, it is a rather unappealing mannequin. It is bound to scare off something. Wish it would scare the raccoons out of my yard. They are now coming up during the day time to raid the birdfeeders and leave little nasty packages on my newly painted deck.

assuming Seandor is still reading this thread. I was in MA this weekend and the weather was pretty cold and wet! I hope it dries out for you so you can get some planting done.

Thanks alyrics. today is supposed to be the beginning of a warming trend - with Friday hitting 86 degrees!

You have my sympathies with the racoons. I could keep the squirrels out of the yard with a Jack Russel - but of course, the gardens would be destroyed by such a cute, but hyeractive little dog - but I doubt a Jack Russel could take on a grumpy racoon.

The bad raccoons are the yearlings that got kicked out of mama's lair this spring. They don't quite know how to fend for themselves yet so bugging us is easy. They are up at our house starting at about 1 pm prowling around and trying to get in the bird feeders. Some years they tear up the deck containers over and over till I finaly started spraying with the really stinky stuff. sigh!

The University of British Columbia is situated on the Endowment Lands on the far western tip of Vancouver. It is surrounded by ocean on three sides and contains a huge forest (the Endowment Lands are thousands of acres - it is the size of a city!).

Anyway, UBC is an outstanding research university, and attracts students from all over the world - in particular students from Asia.

Unfortunately, too many of these students have watched too many Disney films. They think racoons are like nice pussy cats. Local students are constantly having to warn foreign students not to touch, not to even approach the raccoons - unless they want serious damage to their faces. Don't even want to get into the risk of rabies.... And there are LOTS of raccoons

As I remember, Disney taught people to like that deer too!

True - but the Endowment Lands are not overrun by deer. And I don't think Lyme disease has hit the BC mainland yet.

Bambi - the deer kind - is public enemy number one here. Bambi, the blond, is always welcome.

Wrong again, Victor! Enemy number one is Japanese Beetles (the orcs!) LOL

Wait! Maybe you're right . . .it could happen! After all the deer eat the plants AND spread disease. The Japanese Beetles merely destroy lawns and eat plants.

I don't want to get into Yoko Ono again. Not that I've every been into her.

Seandor you are so right about the coons carrying disease and people being unaware of how dirty they are. There is a parasite that is in their feces that actually jumps when it is in that stage of development and can land on other mammals. In coons it goes to the intestinal tract and becomes a parasitic worm but in humans it encysts in places like heart, brain and lung tissue. There are documented cases of people dying from it, and suspected that others died undiagnosed. In our county there were 43 cases of raccoon rabies reported by the Wildlife Mgmt people last year and we are really not that rural. That is a huge problem. I talked to the animal warden a couple times because we have so many of them around and he said they passed a law that I was unaware of; you are allowed to exterminate the raccoons in any way you choose, but there is a $250 fine for trap and release elsewhere. Apparently they tracked some of these cases of rabies down to people from PA trapping and releasing over in Ohio - which has led to a rapid growth of rabies in our area over the last 2 years.

All I know is last night I left the back door standing open about 5 inches because the cat was coming back in - and I heard a rustling in the kitchen that got my attention. When I came in, there was the backside of one big coon hightailing out my kitchen door. I can just imagine the scene if he had gotten spooked and started running around the house.

Wildlife in the kitchen - and not the sort you might want LOL.

I'll tell you a funny story from British Columbia. As a young man, my husband worked for the Provincial Parks Branch. A construction crew was staying at a trapper's shack on the far side of the Bowron Lake Chain (e.g. middle of nowhere - only access by helicopter - if you swath out a landing pad in the middle of the forest - or access by boat, or by water plane). Anyway, there were three men staying in the cabin, sleeping in sleeping bags on bunk beds. They were all kept away by a pack rat scurrying across the roof - only a few feet above the top bunk. The fellow on the top bunk kept banking on the roof, hoping to scare away the pack rat. Instead the shingle exploded into shrappnel and a very annoyed bear dropped through the roof!

The fellow on the top bunk bailed out by simply rolling off the bunk still in his sleeping bag, then all three men dashed out of the shack - only one of the fools closed the door!

Now there is a VERY ANGRY bear shut in the cabin - with all their supplies and equipment - including the radio that would allow them to notify headquarters that all their supplies were being destroyed (Supplies were air-lifted in once a year at the beginning of spring - everything else would have to be portaged by the men through a series of wilderness trails connecting to lakes and boats that would take them to the next portage until they arrive at their cabin. The packs the men used were Trapper Nelsons, and often would weigh close to 70 pounds each when fully packed)

Anyway, I understand the men drew staws (well, actually grass blades) to see which would open the door and make a dash for it before the bear destroyed everything.

They all lived to tell the tale, but the cabin was a real wreck. The men had to return to park headquarters early to replace food supplies, sleeping bags, etc.

Lesson learned: NEVER shut wildlife IN your abode :-)

I have a deer story - a Southern California deer story. A friend had a deer crash through a large window into her living room. She paniced (of course) and eventually the deer ran through and out of the house through the patio door screen. When I asked her why she didn't open the front door for the deer to escape - her answer was "because I was afraid there were more waiting to get in."

I had a skunk enter my family room, then our aggressive cat returned home. We thought we were doomed. We distracted the cat and the skunk went out before confrontation or spraying.

I think I would have been the one that sprayed.

Victor, Did you know that Naples is the pun capitol of Italy?

I did a semester there at Wassamatta U.

Can I get a rim shot!

Badda bing!