Finally got a picture of the villain who has been vandalizing my herb garden

[Siwsan]

I thought he was cute, too, until I caught him chomping on my cilantro!! I have spread liberal amounts of ground cayenne pepper and used cat litter, in the vicinity, and strategically placed small dishes of ammonia around my garden. Tomorrow I will stock up on boxes of mothballs.

[img][/img]

[redwitch]

1. Aw jeez he's adorable!

Just plant extra for him!

[Tree-Hugger]

2. Massive quantities of cuteness! nt

[Alice11111]

28. !!! Good handle.

[Blanks]

3. I was expecting to see Sean Spicer. eom

[Siwsan]

5. HAH!

Well, Sean peeing in the bushes might be a good deterrent to this little monsters!

[Ohioblue22]

4. what kind of little critter is that?

[Siwsan]

6. It is a ground hog

We are plagued with them, every summer. I have to constantly check my veg garden fence for any weak spots. I let the garlic grow as thick and high as it wants, around the fencing, so that they aren't as likely to try and burrow under the fence.

[Ohioblue22]

10. look like a baby g.h. ... very cute

[Siwsan]

12. I think it's the runt of the litter

The other sibling I've seen is about half again larger. I haven't seen an adult one in a while, so maybe these are orphans. Doesn't make me feel the least bit of pity for them!!

[Warpy]

29. Not so cute when they're going through your garden like a bunch

of little hairy lawnmowers. About the best thing you can do is put up a fence and bury it a foot deep so they can't dig under it. Until the fence is up, you can spray the plants with water, a little dish soap, and cayenne.

I got rid of a den of them by encouraging them to move elsewhere, stuffed a few dirty disposable diapers from a friend with a new baby down one entrance. They moved and presumably found a good source of their normal food.

[TeapotInATempest]

7. I swear, the cutest ones do the most damage

in the garden. And in the house, too, if my pets are any indication.

[Siwsan]

8. The big ones can be down right dangerous

Sometimes they can get aggressive. Our neighbor's dog encountered one, once, chased it through a hole in the fence, and got stuck. The ground hog turned around and tore the poor dogs face up. Rusty never chased another ground hog.

[lunatica]

9. Well you did grow a salad bar out there

[Siwsan]

11. Funny thing is, he just went after the potted cilantro

Lots of other stuff is planted in the soil, but he went after the scrawniest potted plant. I might have to put up a 'decorative' barrier!

[elleng]

13. 'Mine' are much bigger than that.

Neighbor with herb+ garden has a lightly electrified fence. I'll check on 'our' herbs shortly!

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Skip the mothballs. Very unhealthy to have around!

[hibbing]

15. He/she looks like they are smirking n/t

[Siwsan]

16. Ever since I put down my home made repellent, it's been sneering at me

From beneath the tree that covers the burrow.

Where is the neighborhood red tail hawk, when I need it!! Circle of life suits me just fine.

[Coventina]

17. Squee! I can't help it. I love the little furries!!

[Siwsan]

18. Me too, until they chomp at my veg and herbs!!

I've never had one so bold as to walk up to my front porch, and then give me the stink eye, when I object to its behavior!

[Coventina]

19. *chuckle* I can understand. I don't have a garden, myself, so I'd probably feel differently

if I were in your shoes.

My husband, as the caretaker of our yard, is in constant warfare with a ground squirrel that has lived here for YEARS (raises a litter of kittens under our shed each spring).

I find it adorable, he finds it infuriating.

[GreydeeThos]

20. Just say the little critter is eating your Arugula

and taterguy will be right over to take it out.

[OregonBlue]

21. He's so darn cute maybe you need to find out what his favorite is and plant some just for him.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. Or buy extra from the store and put it out.

[Yavin4]

23. This reminds me of....

Oh yeah, this:

[Dem_4_Life]

24. OMG so cute!!!

Reminds me of the cute baby armadillos I usually get in my yard haha

[TeamPooka]

25. Surrender puny human. You don't stand a chance unless you are going to get lethal and who wants to

kill such a cute face?

[teezy]

26. That IS a cute little critter.

I was considering buying coyote or fox urine to spray around where I park my car (to keep mice out of it). Apparently this is an awesome antidote to rodent pests. But if you have pets like I do, you want to make sure you're not in area coyotes frequent. That's the only reason I haven't tried it. But you can pick it up at an outdoor sporting goods store like Cabela's.

[58Sunliner]

27. He/she looks contrite.Every year I get squirrels "tasting" the tomatoes.

Slugs actually cost me the most damage.

[applegrove]

30. Baby groundhogs are so cute.

[KT2000]

31. no mothballs please

they are so dangerous and leave their poison on the ground and air wherever they are placed. They are dangerous for humans and all living creatures.

Mothballs are nearly 100% active ingredient, and the active ingredient may be either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene. Each active ingredient can cause different health effects if the exposure is high enough. Mothballs slowly turn from solids to toxic vapor. When you smell mothballs, you are inhaling the insecticide. Mothballs can also be dangerous if they are chewed or eaten. Children, pets and wildlife may mistake them for food or candy and eat them. One mothball can cause serious harm if eaten by a small child.

http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/mothball/health.html

[luvMIdog]

32. try a natural peppermint spray if you like . Rodents hate it and you won't be poisoning things

Here's some you can order from Amazon called 'Rodent Sheriff"

https://www.amazon.com/RODENT-SHERIFF-RDS002DR-Rodent-Sheriff/dp/B01HEHE28W/ref=sr_1_3?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1495614577&sr=1-3&keywords=mint+spray+for+rodents+and+gardens

[Siwsan]

35. I grow peppermint - maybe I can brew something up, with it

I have another recipe that calls for boiling onions and hot peppers and straining into a broth that can be sprayed.

[JustAnotherGen]

33. Get a monster!!!

I have one and thus far this spring no :
Skunks
Moles
Bunnies


The Fox aren't even harassing the feral and homeless kitty shelter.

My 10 month old Maltese male is territorial and seems to be a bit protective of that pregnant stray who took up shelter - in the shelter.

[pansypoo53219]

34. a few years ago, we had a drought in WI. rabbits ate EVERYTHING. even the pepper

plants. i had to cage my pole beans. had some black beans coming. ate those. gota move my beans.

[packman]

36. Let me tell you about my experience with a ground hog

I retired back to my hometown area in Pennsylvania a few years back. Had a nice house in a development of older homes and I had a shed on my back yard for tools, garden equipment and such.

One day I noticed a movement under the shed and it was a groundhog. An elderly, big one and he was in bad shape. Looked beaten up, and bloody perhaps from an encounter with a dog. It was suffering and obviously in pain.

Not being used to what should be done, I called over my older neighbor and asked for his advice. He took one look at it and said, "shoot it". and offered his gun. My bleeding heart wouldn't hear of it. There had to be an alternative.

I called my wife who was working at a vet's office and she asked the vet who suggested, "shoot it".

Then I called the country wildlife people, hopefully they would trap it-treat it and release it to the wild. No, they considered ground hog a nuisance and varmints. The advice, "Shoot it"

At this point, it was late in the afternoon. I decided to take matters in my own hands. Got a blanket, some spray on medication, a bowl of water and went back to the shed. I was not about to shoot it. But, nature done its thing and the poor beast was dead. I got a shovel out of the shed and buried it in the backyard.

[Siwsan]

37. My brother has a 'live trap'. I might have him bring it over.

Hopefully I won't trap a skunk. There is a vast open area, not all that far, and not all that close, to my house. It is an ideal place to relocate these beasts.

Alternatively, I'm thinking about getting a hawk calling whistle. There are a couple of nice red tails living in the area. I could cue them into a potential buffet.

Meanwhile, I'm working on reinforcing my garden fence, and putting up something to block their view, along the vulnerable side. The fence usually keeps them at bay, but I have to check for anywhere they might still be able to tunnel.

[B Stieg]

53. You make the best cat gifs. Thanks! (nt)

[BlancheSplanchnik]

38. Awwwww! Little stinker!! So cute!!!

Just adorable ❤️

I have a deer problem, I'm using deer repellent spray. It's got rotten eggs, which smell like a "Warning Alarm" odor for deer. It's working nicely.

I wonder if it would work on your little stinker too?

[Siwsan]

39. I did read that rotten eggs are a good solution

I've also been told that groundhogs don't like peppermint so I might brew up some sort of peppermint concoction. Meanwhile, when I scoop out the litter boxes, I simply transfer the contents to beneath the bushes, or anywhere else they might try to hide. And my herb garden is covered with a generous coat of cayenne and chili powder. I have to buy some more, tomorrow.

[Rebl2]

40. So cute!

We gave up on growing any kind of veggies because of deer. Like your peppermint tea idea-much more natural than moth balls.

[Phentex]

41. For us, it's the squirrels...

ate the tomato plants down to the dirt. We are able to manage a few herbs but that's it.

[Siwsan]

42. I think I'm just going to start spraying everything with a hot pepper mixture

Of course, I'll have to remember to wash everything off, instead of popping things like beans and grape tomatoes into my mouth, while gardening.

I'm also thinking about planting ghost peppers right next to where they usually try to tunnel into the garden.

[Phentex]

43. But, but...

it's so CUTE!!!

I have dogs now and they eat the herbs so I can't plant anything too awful.

[thesquanderer]

44. Hate to say it, but I think you built your garden on his land. (n/t)

[Siwsan]

45. They live under a big evergreen in my neighbor's yard - they are trespassers, on mine!!

I expect a few of them will get picked off by the neighborhood raptors. Hopefully soon. And a few of my neighbors usually take more drastic steps to control the population, than my live trapping and transporting.

This is the first time I've ever seen them in my front flower beds. My big concern is keeping them out of the vegetable garden and now I'll probably have to come up with some sort of decorative fence to protect the herbs.

[kimbutgar]

46. I have a deck herb garden and cilantro is one of those I can't plant because of a Squirrel who

Visits my deck enjoys it.

I tried to plant some marijuana seeds and the squirrel has dug up and ate every seed!

[dem in texas]

47. Blood Meal

Sprinkled around the perimeter of the garden kept the rabbits out. Heard it was good to keep the deer out, too.

Now let's talk about the nasty monsters - Slugs!

[steve2470]

48. "Sean, get outta there right this minute!"

[radical noodle]

49. When we were in the country

I used blood meal. You should be able to find it at garden centers and also places like Lowes.

[jmowreader]

50. Is there any way to attract a bobcat to your yard?

[Siwsan]

55. That made me smile - my high mascot was a Bobcat.

Which, by default, makes me one, too. However, that fails to intimidate these furry little bastards!

[BlueCaliDem]

51. I do feel for you and your herb garden but DANG. He's so ADOR-A-BLE eom

[manicraven]

52. Adorable! He's just hungry and not meaning to upset you...

[TuxedoKat]

54. The Cayenne Pepper may kill him

I put some on some birdseed once and found a dead ground squirrel. So I've never used it since, just buy more birdseed.

[Siwsan]

56. Everything I've read said that peppers are a deterrent/repellant

I'm thinking about planting a row of ghost peppers along my fence line.