Protecting Garden from Canyon Animals

I live on a canyon in San Diego; I am told by a local nursery that I need to put hardware cloth under my SFG and make a cage above to keep out rats, skunks and all the other assorted criters in SD. I have a neighbor that says I should forget gardening because of the canyon. What do others do about this?

Well, we also live in/near a canyon; we're about a mile from the entrance to the Angeles National Forest and Big Tujunga Canyon. Our back yard backs up to a short slope that borders a wash that runs along an undeveloped hillside. A few weeks ago there was a bobcat in my next door neighbor's back yard and we are regularly woken by coyotes howling and partying on the hillside. That should give you an idea of what I'm dealing with.

I didn't put hardware cloth under my beds last year (for better or worse) and didn't have any problems with things coming up under them. I did have a problem with ground squirrels and had to trap them into at least a temporary truce (we did not see any after the first 8 ). We also have skunks, raccoons, and rabbits 'round here as well as rats and mice, so I put an 18" plastic hardware cloth barrier fence around the garden and electrified it with 2 wires (one about 2" across the ground and the other about 5"), powered by a battery operated charger.

I use tulle to keep the bugs and birds out on my raised beds and bird netting over my strawberry tub and, eventually, my tomatoes in buckets (which will be moved into the perimeter of the garden soon). I have a lot of stuff that's not inside the garden fence because most of my back yard is patio so there's only so much dirt - but I'm just going to have to cross my fingers and hope for the best with that stuff. Honestly the squirrels were the worst, they were destroying everything. Once they were gone everything was fairly unmolested, perhaps because the back yard smells so strongly of dog wherever there is not garden.

It CAN be done - don't let anyone tell you it can't. Just be prepared for some setbacks as you learn what fauna are going to cause you problems, and figure out what you need. I can't recommend an electric fence highly enough, though!

i don't live by a canyon, but do live out in the 'country'. I have deer, raccoons, opossum, armadillo,squirrels, birds, bobcats,and , bear have been seen but not by me. I have 2 dogs, but must let them in the house at night, they bark all night, while leaning on the front door. They are wimps.
Don't have any trouble from underneath the beds, but a rabbit wire fence works fine. Will install electric if garden is messed with too much.
Jo

Same problem here with canyon critters and had to have a lot of sacrificial crops. The main havoc was caused by the ground squirrels. Can you tell us how you trap the culprits and I am very interested in finding out about your battery operated electric fencing. Thanks in advance!

Okoboji Gardner & outcastren

There several threads on this subject (use the search function on the top left)

Here is one:

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t12724-squirrels?highlight=ground+squirrels

Ground squirrels & gophers are the main problems I have here in the Inland Empire area which is not that far from you. Wire on the bottoms of the beds solves the gopher issue but the squirresl are harder to deal with.

There are lots of ideas all over this forum on building critter cages if you need to.
Here is one that I like:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t10928-brand-new-to-sfg-my-first-efforts

Please be aware that squirrels & bunnies can go right thru chain link fence. I just lined my chain link fence along the perimeter outside of my garden with some of the cheap plastic fencing with small holes from Home Depot to help keep the little bunnies out.

outcastren wrote:Same problem here with canyon critters and had to have a lot of sacrificial crops. The main havoc was caused by the ground squirrels. Can you tell us how you trap the culprits and I am very interested in finding out about your battery operated electric fencing. Thanks in advance!

At Lindacol's suggestion, I bought a Squirrelinator trap at a local feed store (it's also available on Amazon). Be warned though that it's a live trap, not a kill trap. It was very effective. I have it outside and baited for the past few days but have yet to see a squirrel this year... we'll see!

I just made a video about the irrigation system in my garden and at the very beginning, you can see how the fence around the garden is set up, including the charger:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArxCtcCbQdA

Hope that helps and good luck!

We have the gamut of wildlife thanks to acres and acres of woods behind us and across the street.

Coyotes
Bobcats
1 Coy-Wolf
Deer
Armadillos
Skunks
Possums
Snakes
Squirrels (many)
Rabbits (many)
Racoons (too many)
Birds including hawks, eagles, owls, and buzzards/vultures
as well as neighbors' cats and dogs that sometime escape and come for a visit.

Of all these creatures, the raccoons are the only real nuisance. We do not even attempt to grow corn, which is fine since we hold little regard for its nutritive makeup.

By adding bloodmeal to our compost, we may have deterred the little critters so far, because the rabbits and squirrels are leaving our stuff alone. We have rose bush prunings on top of the perimeter in our brick SFG, and it is working.

Actually, our worst problem with animals in the past was with the bipeds. Our former lawn service slices a lot of our containers and even some in the ground veggies with their weedeaters. We solved that problem by switching to a lawn service owned by a farmer.

I have had tried hot pepper sprays (both purchased and homemade), but I have had poor results with that. Neem seems to work as does essential oils, but those are expensive options if you have a lot of footage.

One other cheap method that has worked for us in the past is to take broken terra cota pots and place them in the ground near your veggies, sharp-side up. Larger animals do not like to step on those things.

As for your bears, that is another story altogether. We had a bear in Colorado, and she was rather infamous (The Wendy's Bear). The State had a two-strikes law, where they were supposed to kill a bear that had invaded neighborhoods for the second time, but this bear never was caught for that decisive second time. It always escaped in a very low-speed chase. The bear never ate our veggies in our containers, but she did knock some of them over walking through the courtyard. It really just wanted to dumpster dive at Wendy's.

If you can afford it, a large fenced-in area with a fenced ceiling (like a zoo exhibit) is the most successful way to go, as long as you put a smaller mesh at the bottom to keep out the little critters that can crawl through chain-link fencing. If I had enough spare change, I would do this.

Well, what about the small walk in green houses made of plastic to keep out critters? Big Lots has one for not too much.

Okoboji Gardner wrote:Well, what about the small walk in green houses made of plastic to keep out critters? Big Lots has one for not too much.

I recommend avoiding the greenhouse sold by Big Lots, as well as similar ones sold by Lowe's or one seen at Sam's.

They are quite affordable, but you will have to replace the plastic every other year or maybe every year. The zipper tears away from the plastic, and then the plastic continues to tear and dry rot.

Here is an idea for a better greenhouse that does not cost much more.

Go to a place like Dick's Sporting Goods and purchase one of those tents that outdoor vendors use at farmer's markets and craft shows. Buy some 4 or 6 mil clear plastic and some duct tape.

Tape the plastic all around the tent and on the top and then cut a slit down the middle of one side. Glue some Velcro strips, and voila, you have a rather nice-sized greenhouse, much larger than the greenhouse from Big Lots.