Never fear! The experts are here. First, you need to locate where the bat is in the house.
When trying to locate the bat make sure to use thick, preferably leather, gloves and a flashlight, and NEVER put your hand …
I am looking for ground cover plants to conceal bird droppings under a bird feeder. Can you help?
There aren’t many plants where bird droppings will drop completely through the leaves and flowers so that there is no sign of it. There are many, however, that camouflage the spots, some better than others. Plants with white spots, white …
Will placing a backyard birdbath in the shade versus in the sun make a difference in how quickly bacteria grow?
Only a controlled lab study could establish the types of bacteria growing in a birdbath and the rate with which they increase/decrease depending on the degree of exposure to sunlight (and specific temperatures). However, in a totally unscientific way, i.e., …
How can I keep deer from eating my shrubs over the winter?
Fence to prevent deer browse. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
The only sure way to protect your plants them from foraging eer is to surround them with hardware cloth or other types of fencing. You can find rolls of hardware …
How do I control red squirrels?
Controlling Red Squirrels. What not to do!!
Don’t bother with those silly ultrasonic devices. There is no scientific evidence that they work in the real world. Repellents also have limited use in infestation situations, including mothballs. Consider, would you leave …
How do I stop crows from feeding in my nut trees?
You describe a major problem in the pecan industry—predation by birds. A major legal concern for management efforts is the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 that protects most bird species, including crows. There are similar state laws that …
Squirrels are digging up newly planted crocus, hyacinth, and tulip bulbs. How can I prevent this?
Protecting Plants from Squirrels
Some gardeners have placed wire baskets over a small planting of crocus corms and tulip and hyacinth bulbs, while others have covered larger areas with chicken wire or hardware cloth. Others have given up on this …
We have too many destructive chipmunks around! What can we do? They get in the garage, they chew on the landscape edging and they have chewed into electrical cords.
First, do you have a bird feeder? Typically, chipmunk populations explode due to the availability of non-natural food sources, such as a bird feeder that spills seed. See below for information on managing your bird feeder. Trapping is still the …
Is there a humane way to discourage pocket gophers from setting up residence in a yard and garden area? I do not want to use traps or poison.
Less-lethal Ways to Control Pocket Gophers
Mounds of the Plains pocket gopher. Photo by Dallas Virchow.
Only three options exist for keeping pocket gophers out of your property without using traps or toxicants.
- The first is to remove all the
Do poisoned peanuts, windmills, etc. sold to kill or repel moles really work?
Killing moles with poisoned peanuts or repelling them with windmills or certain chemical products are among the least effective means of controlling moles. Moles don’t eat vegetable matter, so there is nothing in a grain-based toxicant that would attract them …