Countryfile: Elle Harrison SCARES wild badgers away
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Gardens are attractive places for local pets and wildlife to explore, but they can be a nuisance for gardeners when it comes to looking after the lawn, plants and crops. Wild mammals like foxes and badgers are problematic for growing vegetable patches, while cats can be frustrating to clean up after. Keeping unwanted visitors out of your garden is easy to do with a few simple tricks, and these are the best hacks to try yourself.
How to keep pests out of your garden
Garden pests can come in all shapes and sizes, with everything from insects and aphids to larger mammals heading straight for your plants.
While cats can appear in the garden at any time of day, nocturnal creatures like foxes and badgers prefer to come out at night – making them harder to spot.
Taking the right steps to keep pests away from your plants will protect your garden both day and night, but what do you need to be successful?
How to get rid of badgers
Badgers will make short work of your lawn or flower bed overnight, leaving you to pick up the pieces the following morning.
This nocturnal mammal is protected in the UK, making it an offence to interfere with badgers or their setts under the revised version of the Protection of Badgers Act (1992).
If you are dealing with a few harmless visitors rather than a settled group of badgers in your garden, there are a few ways to make your plants, lawn and crops less enticing.
Lay wire mesh
Chicken wire can be laid over flower beds before the first shoots of spring in order to protect tasty flower bulbs from foxes, badgers and other hungry pests.
Natural scents
While badgers may have poor eyesight, their sense of smell is one of the most impressive characteristics of this night-loving mammal.
Scotch bonnet spray is one of the best natural scents you can use to throw badgers off the smell of flavoursome bulbs, root vegetables and grubs in your garden.
Motion sensor light
Badgers and other nocturnal animals such as foxes will scurry in the face of a bright light, so keep sensor lights around your crops to pick up on any night-time activity.
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How to get rid of foxes
Foxes will bee-line for livestock and food scraps and are known to leave unpleasant piles of excrement on garden lawns.
Similarly to badgers, most foxes will come out at night and can be deterred through motion sensor lights or chicken wire barriers over flower beds and vegetable patches – but there are a few other methods that will also work.
Prickle strips
These cheap, plastic coverings are the perfect solution to lawn-loving foxes and will keep your border free from hungry pests.
Lay prickle strip coverings over your lawn edging, pots, flowerbeds and vegetable patches to stop foxes from digging for food.
You can also pin them to tree trunks, fencing and other vertical surfaces to stop foxes from entering your garden in the first place.
Secure rubbish bins and compost
Food scraps and rubbish should always be secured at night to prevent foxes from making a mess.
Waste bin locks and bricks are perfect for securing loose lids and removing the enticing scent from your garden.
How to keep cats out of your garden
Cats are legally protected under the Animal Welfare Act (2006), so it is crucial that you always observe humane methods of deterrence for neighbourhood cats.
Shooing them away or clapping is one way to banish these feline visitors, but what can you use to keep them out while you’re not home?
Install an electric wire on your fence
Cats are known for their impressive ability to climb up high spaces, so protecting your fence is the obvious way to stop them from entering your garden in the first place.
Adding an electric wire on top of a solid garden fence triggers a mini shock on contact, without causing any harm to the animal.
This is one of the most effective ways to put a stop to plant damage and excrement being left on your garden lawn.
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