I agree, there is nothing that really works like a good fence. Some of the other things out there may work for a little while but for a vegetable garden it is not reliable enough over a season. A basic 3 or 4 foot high fence, made with cheap fencing and drive-in stakes, while not perfect, would be better than anything else IMHO.

I agree with the others. Over the years I have tried all sorts of repellents and motion gimmicks - including both your links above - and their effect is limited and very inconsistent. The pests get to used to them if noise or motion or water is the repellent and soon ignore them and the sprays wash and wear off and have to be continuously applied. Even then eventually the animals ignore them.

Plus to find one such thing that would work for all varmints is nigh on to impossible - except for fencing - and IME the smaller the openings and the higher the fencing, the better. You can keep out deer, rabbits, groundhogs, armadillos, skunks, possums, even raccoons. But even the best fencing won't keep out squirrels. Ask me how I know that. :(

Dave

Thank you so much. I too am convinced that fencing is the only thing that will work, if anything. I get that this animal is aggressive, kind of dumb and single minded. I am trying to get to the fencing this weekend and hoping the stuff I bought will hold this animal at bay for awhile.

K.

There are other and more 'permanent' ways that I would employ if local ordinances allowed it. I have a particular hatred for the groundhogs in my yard. I am like Bill Murray in Caddyshack with them. I had the FBI here a month ago for my son's classification clearance interview and in the middle of the talk one of those evil satanic beasts came out of the woods. I ask if they could do me a favor and send it to groundhog heaven.

Where I live we have a family of deer that we have seen grow for about ten years and we can almost walk up to them and hand feed them. They have fortunately done nothing to my property other than eat the bottom four feet of my arbors. We throw the bad produce and plants in a far corner that seems to keep the raccoon happy. The fox/es when they are around seem to be on a hunt for meat.

If you have the time and money, cage the entire garden, especially the ground. Those burrow pests wouldn't notice a 100' fence.

Good luck!

K... if you do go with the fence (and yes, it's the best choice/investment,) do yourself a favor and do not forget to bury it about 6-8 inches or so to keep out the borrowers.

Then, depending on the fence chosen, make sure that at least the bottom foot or so is made up a smaller spaces, like chicken wire. Rabbits, especially babies (there are always babies lol,) can get through very small spaces.

For the top, the pricier way is an electric fence wire around the perimeter of the fence, about 6" - 12" from the ground. A cheaper, but less guaranteed-to-work method is to let the top part 'flop' forward, or attach a flimsy fencing material to do the flopping. Some critters are quite good at climbing. When the top flops (it can be bent forward, outward away from the garden, and unattached) it is more difficult for them to climb. It works on the same principle as some of those 'squirrel-proof' bird feeders.

Other people may offer ideas, as Jim's does above, but those are a few that I know. And, if you are going to invest your time and energy, as long as your finances allow, do it right the first time.

Katya, to be more specific as to how I did my own.

I put this on the ground and covered it completely and thenput this on top of the hexagon fence 4" deep. Sunk posts 24" deep in cement and then wrapped the entire perimeter with this kind of fencing. I took single strand wire and tied the ground wire to the fence wire every 8" or so. I then took the single strand wire and on and angle went up and down the poles on the perimeter at three different levels. Where I have berries and fruit I put bird netting around it. Lastly, I wrapped the entire perimeter fencing with this kind of fence and I have not have even a mole or vole get into the garden. I have a fair amount of property for here and the entire perimeter is wooded, so I just take some of the healthy clippings and plants that I remove and place it in one spot and that seems to keep the animals satisfied.

It was a lot of work and time, but I have had no intrusions from any animals that do not have wings. Fortunately, they have not create much havoc other than to my berries prior to the netting. If you are not covering the ground, too, then do as rgreen advises by sinking the fence below ground as much as you can. Good luck, it is very disheartening to put in all the time and effort only to be thwarted by wildlife.

K, the only scare device that works is a motion-activated sprinkler. It is good only in the area it covers, but it's your only hope if you can't fence. I would return the products you bought and spend the money on this: Motion activated sprinkler

Agree with bcompix, I tried fencing and it was a major PITA, grass grew in it and if you left it high enough to "weedeat" under it, all the critters went under it also. I bought two scarecrow sprinklers and they keep critters out. It's a bit of a pain to connect and unconnect the hoses every day or whatever your routine will be. remember, if you don't have good hose's and they're in the sun under full water pressure....:-( That being said, they're still the best deterrent and you're not trying to mow or weed or whatever around fences. When did scarecrow's become so expensive? I paid about half that a couple years ago. You might try ebay, I've noticed that ebay prices beat Amazon on a few items recently.

You need to mulch the base of the fence.

Any one have experience with the portable electric fences like used for poultry or goats?

Dear friends, thank you so much for your continued, kind and thoughtful support. Still giving thought to the fence idea, my husband does not want to make such a fast decision on this. But he does see my plight. We are kind of helpless if these animals keep coming mercilessly by night and by day. I was going into a panic buying mode and thanks to your differing and experienced input I am going about it more circumspectly. One of the areas I am growing will not be fence-ble and I will have to find an alternate method for that zone.

bcomplx and exmar: Thank you! I looked up the sprinkler system. It looks like a very good idea. Some say it is a little flimsy and a lot of additional plumbing (washers, gaskets) is necessary to secure leaks. Did you find this to be true? Would I need to do that? There is another brand, orbit : http://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62100-Enforcer-Activated-Sprinkler/dp/B009F1R0GC/ref=pd_sim_86_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1KH10HRMMNPYZMFQ6493

Some say the orbit is a little sturdier and comes with a built in timer. This should work too right? And at what height would you stand it for skunks and raccoons? I wouldn't want water to miss them.

I will return the above gizmos, I think they won't work. Thanks for that advice.

Lot of you are trapping the animals. I wouldn't know how to that. And even if I learned, what would I do if I caught any???? We are not allowed to kill anything other than mice and rats where I am.

And this morning I see squirrels have started going for the eggplants and few remaining peppers. WHAT do I DO??

Thanks,

K.

hi jnjfarm... I've lived on farms and worked with cattle and horses inside electric fences. I'm not sure about 'portable' though. Do you mean the solar powered models?

Many people, especially in places like I live - where they already have the system in place for their animals - string a pest deterrent wire around their gardens.

You pretty much have to use it in conjunction with another, more solid fence though. Usually it's just a suspended wire. If it's suspended too low, big critters step right over, too high, and under they go. You can't let the wire touch the ground, so burrowers do what burrowers do... and they get in.

You could string a few wires at different levels, but the power base has an effective-distance limit.

Katya, forbthrbarea that is not able to put up a standard fence you might want to try a raised bed with fencing underneath. You can then cage around and on top of the bed making a small gate to enter and take care of it. I am doing just that right now to separate my strawberries.

The Orbit product looks good, worth a try. I wouldn't go changing anything until you see how well it works in your yard, as designed.

With animals after targeted plants, this poly poultry netting is great. I have to fence my chickens out of the tomatoes, and they won't breach it. Some people use driveway reflectors on a stick to install it, but bamboo stakes are fine. plastic poultry netting