This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Oh Boy

August 13th, 2015

Mr Chiots has been spotting a big flock of wild turkeys down at the end of our driveway, which is about a third of a mile from the house. The day before yesterday I looked out and saw them in the grass below the house.
Wild turkeys
Yesterday morning when I got up they were all under the apple tree, about ten feet from the house. I counted 22, which is a lot of wild turkeys! This many turkeys can do a lot of damage to a garden in a hurry. I don’t worry too much about the upper garden because Tara is up there, but the potager behind the house is probably at risk. That means I’ll be out putting up the pig fences that we’re not using for pigs this year.

What pests do you have to worry about in your garden?

6 Comments to “Oh Boy”
  1. Michael LaBelle on August 13, 2015 at 9:16 am

    I personally do not consider turkeys a pest, but rather a dining opportunity, but that’s just me. ;-)

    I have a dog that keeps most of the varmints away. In fact, when he encounters one, such as an armadillo for example and has “dispatched” them, he generally buries them IN my garden. Free fertilizer. ;-)

    Reply to Michael LaBelle's comment

  2. Tonya on August 13, 2015 at 9:20 am

    Hmmmm…..pests in the garden? We live in a small town on almost one acre. Across from us is a beautiful, vacant 7 acre lot. On the other side of that is an 11 acre lot. The deer “super hi-way” runs through our front yard and diagonally across the back. We have had as many as 13 deer in our yard at once. (I think they know shot guns are not allowed inside the city limits!) I have a 6 foot deer fence around the garden with chicken wire buried along the bottom to deter the many woodchucks. Inside the fence I have several raised beds which the squirrels think are their personal playgrounds, so this year I covered each with either floating row cover or tulle from the fabric store. The bunnies found a gap in the chicken wire at the bottom of the deer fence and wiggled in and damaged or destroyed several things that weren’t in raised beds, then figured out how to get into the raised beds too! (It appears they chewed through some tulle!) I have pieces of fencing stapled loosely at the top of the wood fence posts to deter the baby woodchucks that sometimes climb over those. In addition to these critters we have seen possums, raccoons, wild turkeys, every type of squirrel and chipmunk known to man, fox and coyote (scat only on the coyote – no visual). I also have a large garden plot at my brother’s farm six miles from our town. The only trouble we have there are deer. My husband and I both grew up on farms in the country and never had this type of varmint trouble. Just goes to show that “suburban sprawl” provides perfect habitat for many potential garden pests. Oh well, that’s why I always plant plenty!

    Reply to Tonya's comment

  3. Kim Shrader on August 13, 2015 at 9:50 am

    GROUND HOGS

    Reply to Kim Shrader's comment

  4. katy on August 13, 2015 at 10:24 am

    Early in the season, the groundhogs ate ALL of our strawberries. They have continued to eat any tomatoes ripening on the vine and any melon that is not caged in. The racoons have decided to show up recently and just move the cages out of the way. We have lost about 25 melons this year and have only been able to enjoy 4 or 5. And lastly, the deer have been eating my bean and sweet potato plants down to the nub. I’ve never had such critter issues! My husband is out buying electric wire. I hope to teach some animals a few lessons. No mercy! I have 8 hungry mouths to feed!!!

    Reply to katy's comment

  5. Caroline on August 13, 2015 at 9:49 pm

    Rabbits! They eat EVERYTHING! Especially the flowers and greens!
    Squirrels can be a pest too, but nothing compared to the rabbits. Next year I’m investing in a better fence system.

    Reply to Caroline's comment

  6. Misti on August 14, 2015 at 2:03 pm

    Deer, armadillos…to name the biggest ones. haven’t had much of a problem with the armadillos in the last year, though.

    I miss seeing wild turkey. They are very prevalent in Florida.

    Reply to Misti's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Pucker Up

Sour cherries bring back memories of my childhood. My maternal grandmother had a big sour cherry tree in her back...

Close