keeping critters out of the garden

what would be a good way to keep critters out of the garden? There is a rabbit hole somewhere in my yard, and my husband and I may not be able to put up a fence this year.

I'm in Fl but we use Fox or coyote usrine to help control rabbits. there is also a liquid fence product its a spray barrier that's very good. And I've heard several times that using milorganite will work on deer and sometimes rabbits. It's made from human poop so it has a human smell on it that acts like a deterrent.

Best I have used for rabbits and deer is bloodmeal. Just a little sprinkled around after each rain.

This may or may not work on the bunnies. It works brilliantly on deer, foxes, and coyotes though.

At the end of a good hard working day, when you have a shirt and/or handkerchief full of sweat, post it in the garden on the corners. We used to do this, and change out the shirts and handkerchiefs every couple of days so that we could then wash them.

The scent of human will keep many wary animals away from the garden, and posting on the corners will mean that they get the scent from most any angle. Keeping the shirts/handkerchiefs changed periodically means that there is always a human smell in the garden and anything that lives by scent will stay away. That and the flapping of the shirt/handkerchief in the wind is an added deterrent.

I'm wondering if this might work on low posts, so that the bunnies will smell the people and go away.

I heard that if you put human hair in something like a woman's stocking (or knee highs) and hung it nearby, that would deter Deer.

FarmerDill, where would one find bloodmeal?

I see as many as eight grazing in my yard or the pasture/garden behind the house.

Just about any garden center. Lots of organic folks use it as fertilizer. It is fairly expensive ( like a dollar+ per pound) but used just as a herbivore deterrent it goes a long ways. I get the 15 lb sacks, but most will have 4 lbs bags on the same shelf with bone meal and other organic fertilizers.

k. It's probably right next to the bonemeal I just bought. =)

thanks!

Hi,
I am lucky with furry critters, bugs is another story...
I use bloodmeal as a preventative measure, but a regular garden show on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.-- you can listen on line or satellite, its called Ontario today and has a fabulous hour long show weekly with a guy named Ed Lawrence) recently suggested a bar of soap staked in your veggie garden. Apparently the critters don't like the smell, and it has the added advantage of not being washed away like bloodmeal after a rainfall, in fact rain increases its potency.
Worth a try

I employ a cat to keep the rabbit population down.

i like to go out in the dark, and pee around my garden.

OMG......(cackling) I am not squatting down that low to let some snake bite my bottom =)

uggh...my cat just left a de-gutted rabbit on the back porch for me. it's head was about 5" away. Wanna borrow her?

if we don't get rain soon, the rabbits and deer aren't going to want it anyhow.

The one thing us guys have over you gals:-)) Quite a jump for any snake!

We always pee in the garden, it does help but dont do it in the same area all the time, human hair does help as does hanging up rags soaked in paraffin, so does moth balls hug around the area, but you need to constantly change the places you hang them up or they stop working as the deer etc get used to the smell, you could try to cover the rabbit holes with chicken wire held down with heavy stones so they eventually get the message that it is too hard to exit or enter their burrows, these things all work if you want to spend more time altering the position and spending a fortune on moth balls, well in a huge garden thats the cost, or sit back and enjoy the wildlife. good luck to you all, I know the damage these things can do in a single night. WeeNel.

Good I'm not the only one:-) We also dump the dog poo at the back of our property. i'll try the hair and paraffin rags.

Thanks

I also heard collecting hair from your local barber or hairdresser is good if you'll hang it in knee highs or pantyhose.

I think WeeNell is right....moving it often is the key.

My Dad tried serenading the deer one night by running an extension cord out to the garden to play a clock radio all night. The next day we all teased him about whether he was adding candlelight and tablecloths the next night for them also.
Phyllis

ps. it didnt work.

Our dogs marking our Bantams enclosure and around the Yarden, keeps the critters away. I had no idea the silly mutts were good for anything, wink, wink...