Rats, mice, rabbits, squirrels, and other furry rodents can cause instant and massive damage in a garden. So what’s a nature-loving homeowner to do when these critters gnaw stems, cripple roots, or make bulbs vanish? You’ve manicured your yard extensively, and if you spent some good money on a Marietta, GA landscaping service, you certainly don’t want furry little mammals ruining it. Here are some viable and more peaceful alternatives to grabbing your rifle and blowing them to smithereens.
Step 1: Make your yard less enticing to wildlife
Evaluate your yard. Are you unknowingly inviting pests by leaving food out such as pet or bird food? Do your trees yield fruits? If you have food sources, be sure to minimize them. Get rid of possible hiding or nesting areas such as tall grass, brush piles, and other overgrown plants. Remove fallen fruits and protect exposed vegetables in the landscape. Seal off crawlspaces to discourage animals from entering them. Use rodent-proof feeders for your birds.
Step 2: Identify the perpetrators
Know the type of creature or creatures dealing damage to your yard and learn about their habits, what they like, what deters them, etc. Knowing what you’re dealing with is essential to creating an effective plan of attack.
Step 3: Use rodent repellent
Repellents such as garlic clips, predator urine, or ultrasonic devices can be effective solutions, but you need to monitor these to ensure their continued effectiveness. Or you can incorporate certain types of plants into your yard that deter rodents, such as castor bean and fritillaria. If you plan to use rodent poison, use these with caution, as they can be harmful to pets and children.
Step 4: Encourage predators
Predatory animals such as cats, owls, foxes, and hawks love to eat rodents. Though they may not be able to completely eliminate your pest problem, these animals can help keep their population under control.
Step 5: Employ traps
You can use either mouse traps or humane live traps to catch pests. Bait your traps with peanut butter for enhanced effectiveness. Alternative baits include nuts, fruits, and tiny bits of meat. Don’t skimp on your traps—use ten or more and place them no further than six feet apart because mice don’t tend to forage far from their nest.
Step 6: Practice exclusion
Fences can be an effective long-term solution against rodents. These can be permanent or temporary, meaning you can choose to put them up only as long as they’re needed. Use mesh fencing for easy set up and to isolate spaces from one another. Albeit more expensive, electrical fences are a highly effective solution, as it can deter not just rodents, but also larger animals such as dogs and cats.
Step 7: Consider eradication
Pest control services may be the most effective solution to your rodent situation. Certain rodents can populate very quickly once they have settled, and simply deterring them or repelling them won’t do. Signs that you need pest control include:
- Widespread infestation
- Invading rodent species pose a danger to you and your family’s health
- Invading rodent species is destroying the home structure
- All other basic methods of rodent removal have failed
Working with a Marietta, GA landscaping service
Partnering with a Marietta, GA landscaping service such as Lawn Frogs Landscapes can help you design an effective plan to control your rodent problem in your yard. Their regular lawn mowing services remove possible hiding places for these critters, and they can also install fences on your yard to keep animals at bay. With years of experience in the industry, these landscape technicians are knowledgeable in the proper maintenance of your lawn to ensure it looks neat, clean and beautiful for the long-term.
Sources:
How to Get Rid of Field Mice Naturally, SFGate.com
Tips on keeping rodents out of home, garden, MercuryNews.com
