I put mine on the deck on a rack and have netting over the rack. That has kept the animals off of them so far. Probably just jinxed myself.

Damn stinkin coons!

oh no. I'd be both angry and sick!!! I have trees, so mine hang. Probably wouldn't protect them from a determined coon though. The coons get into hubby's watermelons and cantaloupes. He traps them and off they go! Problem is they're soon replaced by more!

Have you tried a bit of cayenne pepper sprinkled on top of the bark?

tj

OMG! That's happened to me in NY. I wound up using window screens leaning against the deck railing, over the orchids which worked! It provided some shade from the afternoon sun and seemed to scare them. Of course, whenever we had some high winds the screens went flying!

My husband had a fit because I used our screens on the deck instead of the windows. I told him my orchids were more important than fresh air.

Sheilia, I hang mine in Florida but have had a rat jump out of one and I almost had a heart attack! Then the birds, oh my goodness, the birds! They love sphag for their nests and coco liner. They pull out the bark to get to the sphag.

Suza, if you have some screens you're not using, give it a try.

Jane

The joys of living with nature. I have quite a few terrestrial orchids in the ground. The herbivores don't usually touch them, they have other targets. But the Jungle Fowl come through and really dig up the gardens uprooting plants. If you don't get to the plants quick enough the roots get cooked and that's the end of them. I look at the epiphytes and think at least they're pretty safe. It's a bit depressing to see damage like you've copped.

sorry to see this, you're not alone, for a while I had possum's come into my greenhouses and eat all the flowers

Thanks for your sympathies! I caught one in the act the other night and my husband decided to help me create a solution. We are going away for 3 weeks and have no one local who's willing to learn how to take care of my plants while we're away, so....

I present to you: Orchid Island

He has covered our kids climbing dome with bird netting and plastic fencing and secured it with stakes in the ground and wire ties. It gets shade from our trees and water from the sprinkler system. I'm hoping it will be critter-proof enough for the time we are away for everything to survive. Wish me luck!

We have lots of critters and state law prohibits relocation, so this will have to do!

They can be a problem here, too. Relocation is aloud here and should be anywhere the apex predators are thin or gone. There are no predators locally. True in most locations in Florida. Some coons have been rabid also. Best of luck!