Lawn Problems From Foraging Animals
Lawn problems from foraging animals are on the rise. As more habitat is converted to development, wildlife are left with fewer places to find food. The beautiful hostas you planted in the garden are no longer ornamental, but a tasty treat for a foraging rabbit. Likewise, the expensive shrubbery you bought is now forage for passing deer. The eradication of predators like wolves and coyotes removes a natural means of animal control. Does this Spark an idea?
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Woodchucks
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Woodchucks or groundhogs damage lawns by foraging on vegetable gardens and gnawing on fruit trees, but can be discouraged by methods such as sprinkling Epsom salt on plants to make them taste foul.
Geese
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The large size of migrating groups of geese compounds lawn problems by causing extensive plant and lawn damage. They can be deterred with visual harassment, including hand-held windmills.
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Rabbits
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Rabbit damage is readily identified by the angled cuts on plants, with fences or removing productive cover such as brush piles, being the best forms of deterrent.
Deer
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Deer can be especially destructive to lawns and gardens, including rutting bucks that can permanently damage ornamental trees by stripping bark, and extensive grazing from which plants cannot recover.
Moles
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One way to control moles, which dig extensive surface tunnels and disfigure lawns, is by packing down the soil with a roller, making the habitat less desirable.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Tony
