So you have spent your whole summer putting together an absolutely amazing garden. You have great vegetables and other plants growing, and they look absolutely beautiful.
Sadly, someone else thinks they look good to. You notice that an opossum is entering into your garden area and making him or herself at home eating your food that you labored to make sure that they were amazing. That will just not do. But how do you stop it?
That is a good question. Because these animals have strong, sharp claws, they can burrow into many areas, so you have to take extra precautions to make it so that they do not have access. Here are some things that you can do to help you keep them out.
First, you must have a fence around your garden. Many people have one up, but the mistake that they make is that they do not dig down deep enough with their fence. Keep in mind that the opossum is a digger. If it wants to get into something it simply digs down to do so. However, it is not going to dig forever. What this means is that you have to build your fence so that it is at least 12 inches below the ground. Bury that fence area in and, for added measure, put a lot of rocks over the area where you put the dirt. The harder you make it to climb under the fence the better off you will be.
Along the fence line it is a good idea to put some form of repellant. You may even want to include this in the dirt that you bury the fence with. There are homemade things you can use that will have some effect. Many like the idea of using such things as hot sauce or jalapeno peppers. These are very irritating to the possum, and can be highly effective.
There are also commercial brands that you can buy. These work well but, whether you are using commercial or homemade repellants, be aware that you will need to replace it quite frequently. Rain and erosion will cause it to lose its potency, so you will need to keep it fresh.
An idea that can be quite effective is the flood light. The opossum is afraid of the light, and so if a light comes on really bright it will scare it away. Putting a motion sensor or two out that will turn on the light is sure to have an effect in keeping the animal away. This is one way to really add some protection to your garden so that the animal will stop making a meal out of your amazing cucumbers, lettuce, and watermelon.
Read more:
Opossum Control,
How to Get Rid of Opossums,
Opossum Feces.
