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| Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard |
| If you’ve got bulbs, you might also have some animals trying to get to them. Whether it’s the family dog or pesky rodents, you can protect your flower show with a few handy gardening tricks and some protective bulb cages. |
If you’ve got bulbs in your garden, there’s probably an animal lurking around that’s secretly (or not so secretly) nibbling on them. The fact is, once mammals develop a taste for bulbs, getting rid of them can require persistence, effort and ingenuity. Whether its mice, moles, voles, opossums, raccoons, woodchucks, birds, deer or the family cat or dog, your bulbs can end up eaten, uprooted or trampled. And that can ruin any bloom show that you so carefully planned and planted.
But there are several things you can do to keep those pests out of your garden. First, avoid enticing unwanted animals by skipping applications of strong-scented fertilizers like fish emulsion and bonemeal. Instead, use unscented organic fertilizers like composted or other well-rotted manure, organic compost or natural mineral phosphate. Another deterrent is to plant bulbs that animal pests typically don’t like to eat. Daffodil, hyacinth, narcissus and ornamental onion are some good spring-blooming bulb selections that animals tend to avoid. When it comes to summer bloomers, think anemone, begonia, calla lily, canna, dahlia and meadow saffron. Of course, creating barriers above and below the ground around your garden’s perimeter is another way to keep the pests at bay – but you have to be sure to block both tunneling and jumping animals. Mature deer regularly leap fences as tall as 8 feet, though two lower fences spaced about 4 feet apart (especially if electrified) seem to deter them. Gophers, moles, voles and woodchucks will dig burrows and tunnels as deep as 2 feet, so a wire fabric of at least a half-inch buried no less than 2 feet should help secure your garden. Of course, that’s a lot of work if it’s just mostly bulbs that you’re trying to protect. If that’s the case, the best bulb-protecting defense is to build and bury wire-mesh cages for your bulbs. The plants will simply grow through the cage’s wire cells, remaining protected until they divide beyond the boundaries of the cage. These wire cages aren’t difficult to make. Simply gather a few supplies – an old box to use as a pattern, wire cutters, some chicken wire (or wire cloth that’s a half-inch gauge), a straight-edged board and a measuring tape – and you’ll be on your way. Just follow the easy steps shown in the pictures and described in their captions to build and install a cage to protect your bulb plantings for a beautiful display that’s sure to keep the pests at bay!
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| Warnings |
- Many bulbs are toxic because they naturally concentrate arsenic and other strong toxins in their roots. Keep unplanted bulbs stored in a safe location away from children or pets, and be aware if any of your planted bulbs have been dug up and tossed about the yard.
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| Tips |
- If it’s mainly burrowing pests that get at your bulbs, open-topped wire cages may be the answer (found at most garden centers). Just “plant” them as you would wire cages.
- Fertilizers with bonemeal and fish emulsion can attract animal pests with keen noses. Instead of using these products when amending your soil, select well-rotted manure and allow it to decay before planting your bulbs, or use granular synthetic fertilizers. Always read the product label before use and follow all application instructions carefully.
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| Facts |
- There are lots of products on the market that claim to make plants and bulbs less interesting to animal pests. They include decoys, noisemakers, devices that vibrate, products that move in the wind and topical ointments made of urine from wolves and dogs. Some of these products appear to work for a time. But most seem to lose effectiveness as pests become accustomed to them.
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| Faqs |
- Q: Won’t the wire cage prevent the bulbs from blooming?
A: As long as you don’t use a tightly woven wire mesh, the bulbs won’t have any problem growing up through the cage’s openings. Consider using something like chicken coop wire for your bulb cages.
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