Making cages to keep animals away from plants

[St. Phatty]

Animals diggign under my cages have really fucked me up this year.

I don't like the idea of burying cages, but I might have to next year.

The other option is laying some wire down flat on the ground around the cage to prevent digging.

Almost every one of those raccoons is like a Miniature Schwarzenegger.

It's a mistake to under-estimate the strength they bring to their goal of finding food for themselves & their family.

Time management wise ... just bury the wire mesh & completely enclose the plants.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

Almost every one of those raccoons is like a Miniature Schwarzenegger.

It's a mistake to under-estimate the strength they bring to their goal of finding food for themselves & their family.

Time management wise ... just bury the wire mesh & completely enclose the plants.

Those little bastards will dig under my chicken wire cages and eat a foot tall or 2 ft plant whole. Plus I've had deer nibbling on/topping plants 2 and 3 feet tall this year...

Next year I'm stacking two 2ft cages on top of each other... 4 ft of cage.

How deep do you bury the chicken wire? 6 inches good enough?

It'll make chopping my cover crop a pain in the ass since I won't be able to remove the wire at any point, but fuck it. Not letting these varmits get my plants anymore.

 

[Rory Borealis]

The extra work of digging and burying chicken wire/cages means the plants will be safe. I have noticed a difference this year, especially with smaller young plants. Fuck them raccoons. It's not my job to feed them.

 

[St. Phatty]

How deep do you bury the chicken wire? 6 inches good enough?

1 foot for garden plants.

2 feet for Cannabis plants.

If you really care about the plants, use stainless mesh instead of galvanized.

 

[F2F]

Learning from this year thought I’d share.

Previous years, add organic ferts (fish meal, bone meal, kelp meal, yada yada) to my outdoor troughs. Blend well. Throw mothballs around to encircle my plot.
Return two weeks later, usually find a few spots where animals dug for the nutes.
Plant my 1-2ft plants, place simple chicken wire cage with minimal stakes.
New mothballs every trip.

NO plants lost.

This year added ferts at same time I placed plants. Everything else the same. 50% loss of plants at first return. Cages toppled plants mostly destroyed or gone.

Give ‘em the nutes couple weeks prior so they investigate and move on.

Peace
F2F

 

[Capt.Ahab]

Man I see you guys rattling off all sorts of critters. Where I live there are no coons, possums skunks gophers etc. The only mammals I need to worry about are rabbits and the damned deer .
Thats pretty much all we have for mammals other than mice, rats and shrews and feral cats. I did have deer get through fencing back in the days when we had to plant in the woods but they seemed to leave the plants alone once the plants started to flower and smell. Now I just grow on the back deck . Much easier. Still need to fence the heck out of the veggie garden though.

 

[DuskrayTroubador]

1 foot for garden plants.

2 feet for Cannabis plants.

If you really care about the plants, use stainless mesh instead of galvanized.

Damn! 2 feet is deep!

I currently run a no-till setup, I was hoping to be able to bury the fencing without digging everything up.

I think I'm just going to have to find a spade with a long blade and take what it gives me just driving it into the ground without picking anything up or turning anything over.

@F2F Sounds about right. I can do this early on in the season, but these fucking critters STILL dig plants up mid-season when I feed with fish emulsion. Gonna have to have some physical barrier.

 

[St. Phatty]

Damn! 2 feet is deep!

It's easier to dig when the ground is wet.

I pay a fair amount of attention to "Time Management".

If I'm beating my head trying to dig deeper and it's hard going, I go work on something else.

Or find a different spot to dig.

I need to make room in my veg closet, got some re-gens in bigger buckets and I need room for 1 gallon pots.

But before I move the bigger plants into the house, I have to bring in a wire mesh shield from outdoors, because the pets molest the plants. The cat tries to poop in it, then the birds team up with the cat. The price I pay for giving animals extremely healthy food.

 

[F2F]

Damn! 2 feet is deep!

I currently run a no-till setup, I was hoping to be able to bury the fencing without digging everything up.

I think I'm just going to have to find a spade with a long blade and take what it gives me just driving it into the ground without picking anything up or turning anything over.

@F2F Sounds about right. I can do this early on in the season, but these fucking critters STILL dig plants up mid-season when I feed with fish emulsion. Gonna have to have some physical barrier.

Maybe skip that fish emulsion?

I’m using slow release dry ferts - marine cuisine to be exact - I don’t feed again until flower time. So plants feed from Jun - mid Aug on this first and only application. Could they grow better/bigger? Sure, maybe…but I’m fine with 9-12ft plants.

Mid-Aug I come back and move wood chip mulch to the side, top dress with Cavern Culture and EWC, replace the mulch. Done.

Peace,
F2F

 

[Old Piney]

what works for me in my location is just chicken wire to keep bunnies out .I secure it to with ground staples or just sticks . Rabbits will chew through plastic mesh in seconds The cages are only needed early on. I have plenty of other critters around this is how I deal with them .So something likes to dig up plants especially newly planted ones,,I think it raccoons. Prepare your holes a week or two ahead of planting .I plant my transplants Disturbing the ground as little as possible. Don't use fish emulsion, bone or blood meal .I mix in a little lime and collected worm castings and fertilize once or twice with weak chicken manure tea. The deer eat every thing but my plants including the weeds around them .The groundhogs if present must be eliminated

 

[Artistick Seeds]

My only problem on this spot was kangaroos. I tried the fishing line, and it worked. I stretched it between the trees around the spot, on several levels, and the plants remained alive, while the kangaroos came to eat in front of my house my flowers and vegetables...

 

[MCGold]

Almost every one of those raccoons is like a Miniature Schwarzenegger.

It's a mistake to under-estimate the strength they bring to their goal of finding food for themselves & their family.

Time management wise ... just bury the wire mesh & completely enclose the plants.

I was wondering when I was going to see someone mention burying your screen/fencing. Moles and Groundhogs and other critters will destroy your plants from underneath. Its bad enough birds and squirrels will destroy your plants, but then moles and voles and burrowing creatures will as well.

 

[CaffeineAI]

I was wondering when I was going to see someone mention burying your screen/fencing. Moles and Groundhogs and other critters will destroy your plants from underneath. Its bad enough birds and squirrels will destroy your plants, but then moles and voles and burrowing creatures will as well.

additionally, the standard diy insecticide recipes as well as neem oil also deter most burrowers.. but for this to be effective on them, need an underground delivery system or locate the openings to their tunnels and spray heavily.. of course, could just place a couple compost heaps, especially if you dig an open pit for it, not too far/too close to your grow site. they're more likely to head there..

also having a parameter of catnip or mint can be helpful. (albeit, not too close given their invasive nature). Closer by, hot peppers make a decent companion plant (closest parameter without invading your grow space (though, some do plant them together). also among the potential non toxic companions that will deter some of them... leaks, garlic, shallots, african merigolds, chrysanthemums.

 

[CaffeineAI]

oh, and urinating around your grow sites... that will deter a lot of wildlife. don't want to do it too close to your plants. Although, it can be beneficial for a few strains if you significantly dilute your urine with water. . . but dilute it and it won't deter the wildlife as much. It's particularly good deterrent for more the above ground wildlife, especially deers and the like. And well, after a particularly hot, humid day of swamp crotch.. hanging up your drawers at the edge of your property can also be effective. (really, any place you over produce pungent sweat) or convince your partner you need to get jiggy with it along the property's edge.. for the garden, yeah, just for the garden.