A native plant nursery is a great addition to your garden— it can add a pop of color to your landscape, preserve animals like birds, and even supply food for your family. Your nursery may be prone to attacks from deer and rabbits when their natural food sources dry up. You can protect your plants from these animals by implementing these four tips.
1. Use Repellents
Rabbit and deer repellents fall into two groups—direct and indirect repellents. Direct repellents keep the animals away by leaving a bitter taste on plants. Rabbits and deer are unlikely to eat plants with a bad taste, so such repellents may be enough to protect your nursery. Read the labels on direct repellents before using them to confirm they don’t contain dangerous chemicals. This is key if your nursery contains edible plants or if you have kids and pets running around your garden.
Indirect repellents keep the animals away by targeting their sense of smell. You can buy commercially sold repellents or make your own at home. If you’re a DIY enthusiast, try using the slivers of fragrant soap you’d normally throw away. You can spread the slivers of soap around your plants, tie them together on a string, and hang them high on the plants that deer like in your garden.
Another option would be to set an air freshener on a dowel and place it near your nursery. Deers and rabbits are sensitive to smell, so strong scents can keep them away from your plants.
2. Put Up a Garden Fence
You can keep deer and rabbits out of your nursery by fencing them out. Install a tall fence to keep deer out, as they can jump over the barrier if it’s too short. To keep rabbits away, find a fence with small-inch gaps since some rabbits can pass through your fence if the gaps are too large.
A stockade fence is an excellent option as it doesn’t have gaps. It also prevents animals from seeing what’s on the other side—deer are reluctant to jump over barriers they can’t see through.Sometimes, not only rabbits and deer are the problems. Noise coming from the outside is also disturbing so you can shop sound barrier fencing for sale online. It greatly helps in minimizing noise.
You can also double fence your nursery to deter the animals. Surround your nursery with a tall fence, and install another fence made of chicken wire or box wires a few feet from the first one. This offers multi-level protection for animals of varying sizes.
Some property owners use electric fences to keep the animals away. Check local zoning laws before installing an electric fence, as some areas don’t allow them. The fences are quite powerful, so they’re best installed in areas without kids or pets to limit their risk of injury.
3. Get Garden Guards
Deer and rabbits are afraid of dogs and cats. Consider letting your pets run around your garden sometimes to scare the animals away. Sometimes, all you need is dog or cat urine to scare them. Deers and rabbits have a strong sense of smell that allows them to detect when there’s a predator around.
If you don’t have pets, get some dog or cat hair from your local groomer and place them around your garden. Like the urine, the hair smells can trick deer and rabbits into thinking there’s a dangerous predator. If you go this route, replace the hairs often, more so if it rains, as the smell can fade over time.
4. Use Rabbit and Deer Deterring Plants
You can stop rabbits by planting plants they don’t like around your nursery. Strong-smelling plants like onions, garlic, mint, and hot pepper are worth trying. These plants are best used for a short while, as rabbits can get accustomed to their smells. You can switch them up or use them as temporary solutions as you install your fence or get a garden guard.
Use prickly plants like cacti and shrubs on the outer edges of your nursery to stop deer, as they’ll likely be too uncomfortable to reach through the barrier. You can also use scented plants like marigolds since deer are sensitive to smell.
Protect Your Native Plant Nursery
You can keep deer and rabbits from entering your native plant nursery by investing in repellants or other protective measures. You don’t have to worry about a deer or rabbit menace if you implement these tips!
