Making cages to keep animals away from plants

[kilacaLIbud]

Great thread ! I've been having problems with rats and rabbits going after my non" weed " plants. I have corn and squash and tomatoes and orange tree that the rats just can't seem to stop comming so I got a BB gun and a bright flash light and take them out in the tree at night. It's pretty easy as the rats are pretty big and there stomachs are white so u can see them easly ☠

 

[tree dawg]

I use weled wire can cut a gate to get close

 

[badmf]

Deadfall traps can kill people too and it's not necessary! You will bring the wrath down on you, better to use passive ways than kill.

 

[Swamp Thang]

Deadfalls designed to kill small game animals present zero danger to humans, and bring food, not wrath, to the trap setter.

That said, I have never used a deadfall because they are too labor intensive to construct. I have used other means of trapping small game for food, with great success, and have no regrets whatsoever about using such methods, when they were necessary to protect crops while bringing home the bacon, as it were.

It might be helpful to bear in mind that the only real difference, between any non-vegan individual and a hunter, is the degree of removal from the killing of animals, be they wild or domesticated.

 

[SheltonThompson]

I would say this definitely does seem like an ideal way to keep animals and other pests out of the way from eating up your plants. I think the best part about this is the fact that it would be rather inexpensive. I personally think it would be neat to just simply have a little mini outdoor greenhouse for all the plants, but this works too!

 

[Gizmo]

question : what is best for guerilla growing, regular chicken wire or green chicken wire ?

 

[Swamp Thang]

Unless that is a trick question, Gizmo, I would go with green or even camo colored chicken wire, so improve stealth at the location.

 

[St. Phatty]

question : what is best for guerilla growing, regular chicken wire or green chicken wire ?

I would say it's whatever blends in best, according to your eye.

A man-made pattern (like chicken wire mesh) stands out differently than a plant.


Also I think the stake (what ties it to the ground) matters.

E.g. gray weathered looking ones vs. new pine.

I think the weathered looking ones are much better stealth wise.

 

[ladyfarmer]

For the coming 2017 outdoor season up here in Quebec, I'm thinking of going with the usual chicken wire ( 4' plus ) attached to wooden posts fixed around each plant as well as spreading some sort of predator animal urine that I should find at a local hunting supply store.
In the past, I've used moth balls and even javel around the garden perimeter to discourage small animals like ground hogs, muskrats and the like but I'm not sure it works all that well, so now thinking predatory animal urine might work better.

 

[hamstring]

Of course it all depends on the location i.e. critters and enviroment but what I find is nothing is going to stop hungry critters if they really are hungry and there are no other food sources around.

I start all my seeds in the bush and put a small 24inch x 10inch diameter cage just to protect small seedlings . After they are 3 ft tall they can take a some abuse but I keep the small cage around them because in the fall even a 10 ft tree can be easily taken down by small rodents chewing on the base of the stem because there normal foods sources are dying back.

 

[Stinkymutt]

I know this is not good for us but we used to throw a roll of chicken wire into a fire to burn off the galvanized coating. It rusts up quick and matches in to the sorroundings better than shiny new metal
Peace
Mutt

 

[HIMALAYAN GANJA]

plastic netting instead of chicken wire

plastic netting instead of chicken wire

has nyone tride putting in stable posts dug down deep around the plant, then wraping some plastic netting rather then chicken wire i will be doing exactly this this coming season

 

[MJPassion]

Most plastics will photo degrade fairly quickly.

If what you plan to use is UV resistant it might work but I'm unaware of any animals that will be stopped by plastic netting. Especially the burrowing type.

 

[HIMALAYAN GANJA]

thanks for that reply yeah yesterday i was at my site doing some digging and what not and tried a test cage with the plastic netting i was talking about and came to the conclusion that it wont work. my biggest problem is not deer but wild boar..... these guys are huge and REALY strong adn their nature is more rugged and messy they would tear down that net where a deer might get discouraged and go on its way. the thing with boars is that as soon as they smell freshly tilled soil they are all over it digging through iot trying to find grubs ad bugs. i think that for places where there ar bors rather than deer we would have to put the cage arond the entire hole not just around the plant


QUOTE=MJPassion;8114854]Most plastics will photo degrade fairly quickly.

If what you plan to use is UV resistant it might work but I'm unaware of any animals that will be stopped by plastic netting. Especially the burrowing type.[/QUOTE]

 

[HIMALAYAN GANJA]

if someone would like to share their thoughts about using sticks and branches to construct a fenc/wall/enclosure around their plants. i have done this with success but would love to hear other peoples experience using this idea

 

[Rory Borealis]

I am currently using sticks as a deterrent. They are poking out of the ground around the cage, acting as a secondary barrier.

 

[HIMALAYAN GANJA]

at all my sites i have deer not far away but they dont seem to ever touch my girls. one morning as i approached to water i saw a deer bolt off from right in the middle of my patch. it didnt touch a leaf. but in my are there is a beast far more dangerouse then deer....... these mudda pakking wild boars! they are savage, robust, like to make a mess for fun, are expert at digging up plants to find that tasty horse poop i put underneeth. and the worst is that if they want to get something, they are capable of taking down genuine real fencing. they are extremely powerful. so i just have to hope they dont find my project sites to be to interesting. does anyone use real barbed wire? going to use chicen wire cages with atleast 4 posts per cage to anchore them best as possible. then pile,up sticks and branches woven together to make a secondary line of defenece.
In my humble opinion we must diligently apply stakes and some form of keeping the cage fixed tightly in place. happy digging and hauling everyone

 

[Rory Borealis]

Dig 2 feet below the surface, your chicken wire should go down that far to prevent vermin from digging up all soil and fertilizing that you carefully planted and nature carefully baked to the right living state.

 

[Anne_Fetamine]

Rabbit Cage + Seven Dust

Rabbit Cage + Seven Dust

Glad I discovered this thread before attempting my outdoor project. Think I'll start my Lowryder yungins off in a rabbit cage to keep critters out. By the time they start flowering hopefully they'll be less appealing to rabbits, possums, armadillos & other small creatures in the area.

For insects I have Seven Dust, but will only use that EARLY in the grow if there's an acute insect infestation. Not too keen about using that on my plants but I hear it works so I can always just do a thorough flush before harvesting. Other natural repellent ideas I can use as a first-line of defense: human hair, human urine, soap shavings, aluminum foil around stalk (for slugs), garlic, sharp spikes & various essential oils. (This is not a guerilla grow in some forest but we do have a plethora of bugs & small critters like rabbits & gophers).

No deer, thank goodness, and no wild boars this close to where I'll be planting! Some of y'all have it ROUGH!

 

[MJPassion]

if someone would like to share their thoughts about using sticks and branches to construct a fenc/wall/enclosure around their plants. i have done this with success but would love to hear other peoples experience using this idea

I’ve been piling sticks up to make walls for years!
I cut wood for heat so have lots of branches to pile up and build nearly completely enclosed areas w 1 trail in/out. Rabbits & squirrels love the piles & if not caged, my plants that are in them.