So fustrsting. I feel your pain . Grrrrrr!

Do you need some recipes?

bk

If there is recipe, I need it bad :)

On the bright side, they are likely looking for slugs. The downside is their damage is worse than slugs.

They are easy to trap by making a cone of chicken wire with corn leading into it. Once inside, their feathers prevent them from backing out.

tj

I thought that they are after slugs and I have tolerated them messing with soil, mulch and name tags. But now I must do something, my tiny hostas don't survive without leaves.

What would I do with captured pheasant? They are protected in nest season.

All advice is welcome.

Saija

Relocate it. Personally, I'd relocate it to my freezer and then contact bk for recipes, but that's just me.

tj

Ou, it was food recipe what Bkay was offering. I thought recipe for banish pheasants. Silly me :)

Saija

I can sympathize. We have the same problem with turkeys. We finally fenced the biggest hosta bed, but it looks like yours are along the road.

I put a temporary fence of heavy fishing line around a daylily bed, and it kept out both deer and turkeys. It was almost invisible, too. The trick is finding posts that will keep the line tight. I used tomato cages, but you'd probably want something more attractive.

When I have issues with critters messing with small plants, I push sharp sticks into the ground surrounding the plant so that the critters can't get too close without getting speared. I have a constant supply of sticks in my yard - would this work for you?

What a shame to have your plants ripped apart!!! Sticks and fishing line sound like good ideas.

The following is taken from the this link:

www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/f/905/p/15790/114176.aspx

"We get Pheasants too.
I’ve fenced my vegetable garden which keeps them and the pigeons out. In
my flower garden where I have sown seeds or have newly planted areas I
stick loads of short canes in the ground, they only need to stick out of
the ground a few inches but need to be firm, it prevents Pheasants from
making dust baths. They don’t have to look unsightly, you can arrange
them in patterns. Have you got a small area you can leave bare for them
to make a dust bath? This might stop them from creating one where ever
they please."

"This may be a stupid idea but could you set aside a small area and
always put some food there that they really enjoy? Mine love porridge
oats, they eat the heap I put out and then leave. I can see several
flaws in this argument but thought it may be worth a try. All the
other deterrents I have read about seem to involve shooting or using
bird scarers which are not an option."

"The masses of short canes certainly seemed to work well and our
pheasant then 'adopted' of his own accord the spot that I had in mind as
'his area' so all was well over the rest of the summer."

Hope this helps!

Saija, I was actually yelling out loud viewing the damage. Aaaarrrrgghh!

Bkay, tsugajunkie, almosthooked, thanks for the laughs!

Madplanter: Yes, I think fence would be little difficult. I might try fishing line in the wood border where I think they come in my garden. In that border they also digs one of the bed, it's their bathing area, arg.

Connie: I think I try those little sharp sticks. I have sticks which are for grilling, those would be cheap and fast.

Newhostalady: In the bed where they rip all leaves, I think they are just after slugs. Or they just don't like hostas, LOL. They bath in another bed where is not mulch. So they have place to bath. I can't understand why they abuse hostas.

Almosthooked: Delicious looking :)

Hostatakeover: Thanks for yelling, It comforts me.

Saija

A motion-activated automatic sprinkler system is often recommended in these forums for neighborhood cats that destroy gardens. This would obviously be for your gardens that are closer to your house as you have to attach a garden hose. There seem to be various brands available at various price ranges. Motion activates the spray & a cat, for example, gets a shot of water sprayed on it & goes away. Don't know if this would work for you. Just a thought.

ScareCrow Motion Activated Animal Repellent

The allaboutbirds.org site says that ring-necked Pheasants eat "seeds—especially grain from farm fields—as well as grasses, leaves, roots, wild fruits and nuts, and insects. Their spring and summer diet is similar, but with a greater emphasis on animal prey and fresh greenery." Maybe the pheasants are ripping the leaves because they wanted to eat them, but then didn't like the taste? Or they are looking for insects and trying to get some of the root? The previous site I mentioned suggests feeding them in a different area with oats so they are not attracted to your garden. They also suggest the sticks as ConnieMay did. The sticks sound like the easiest method to try. Hope you let us know how they worked out.

Today pictures. I got them in action and thought you would like to see them also. Now they are digging in new bed.

Saija

And they had abused last night my hostas under appletree. They were first time also in this bed. I did put there sticks, funny looking, but I hope it works. Luckily they just ripped one leaf out of my Great Expectations , June and Krossa Regal. Wide Brim and Stiletto were ripped quite bad.

Saija

They look plump and tasty! How are they protected in your area? I had a neighbor who was trying to grow free range chickens by letting them wander in her field. She lost thirty five birds to a golden eagle over the course of a few weeks. The eagle would just sit in a tree until it decided which chicken looked good then swoop down and take it. Raptors are legally protected, it's a felony to shoot one. She said she wondered how much she could annoy the bird and have it still be a misdemeanor!

They are protected 1. march to last day of august. And I don't see pheasants at that time when they are not protected, they go elsewhere in winter. Maybe I have to get an eagle, LOL.

In the neightborhood is dogs and cats, but they doesn't help. So I try those sharp sticks and hope it helps. Just have to hope that children won't hurt themselves. Fortunately my youngest is already 10 years.

Saija

Handy looking dog Jon.

I would love a dog, but all my 4 children and I are so allergic to everything so can't get a dog. Maybe I must borrow my sister dog, they have turkey hatchery and their dog is quite fond of turkeys. LOL.

Would it be possible to dig a small dirt bath area for them and possibly put some grains there for them so they may stay away from your flowerbeds. Maybe a sling shot would help control their action . What a terrible problem to have such damage. Sorry to hear. Maybe electric fence foe a few days and they will leave the area

Shasta would definitely be eating pheasant. She likes nothing better than a good hunt.

Perhaps I'm not understanding you properly but the way I understood this was you were saying that during the day,you're regularly finding pheasants in your garden,taking dust baths&such but you don't see them causing any damage.. the vandalism(<—lol! Criminal creatures!) is taking place during the night? If that is correct, then I can almost guarantee that you have the wrong critter..pheasants are not nocturnal..they do not operate on any level during the night time hours,unless spooked &forced to evade the area in which they are roosting...which typically way high up at the top of a tree. They are def NOT foraging around on the ground..it sounds to me like you're dealing with a rat, raccoon, or possum. I suggest investing in a camera that you can remote access from your phone.. You can get great quality ones off eBay or Amazon for less than $20.. The cool thing is you can set it up to alert you any time theres movement &a lot of them have 2 way audio capabilities (some only have 1, like a baby monitor, so be sure to read&make sure it says its 2 way) that way once you get alerted you can then use the audio capabilities and make noise to [hopefully] scare them off. Another option is spraying/applying a deterrent..but they're a hassle. They can't be applied directly to foilage you have to apply it to a cotton ball and somehow attach it to the plant or near the plant if its small enough AND it has to be applied everyday..not ideal. If you'd like me to link you to the camera model I purchased or a few other good ones just let me know I'd be more than happy to. I think that's going to be the first step in resolving your criminal critter issue! Best of luck!