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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] cougar growler update

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  • From: Willie McKemie <mf AT austinfarm.org>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] cougar growler update
  • Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 07:00:27 -0500

On Tue, Jul 11, 2006 at 04:00:20AM -0700, david purpura wrote:
> Hi All. I know several of you have gotten the cougar for deer control -
> what's the decision on it's effectiveness? Can someone repost the link?
> These critters are really starting to annoy me....

I bought a total of five: 1 small, 2 large with two sounds, 2 large
with one sound.

I'm still not sure of their effectiveness in my situation, though I've
had no deer depredation in the areas where the noise makers are
installed. I do see some deer tracks; I HOPE the deer are wandering
in, finding the environment uncomfortable, and leaving. The real test
will occur in a few weeks when we start getting peas set in the
protected area.

I've had a failure with them protecting watermelon from coons. So far,
"scare crows" have worked on the coons. The "scare crows" are just
white plastic fertilizer bags hanging on sections of pvc pipe stuck in
the ground.

Some history: The deer have gotten worse with each year; a few years
ago, the deer ate ALL the peas in a very nice looking 1 acre planting.
At that time, I decided I had to do SOMETHING. Maybe give up growing
legumes. I put in about 1500' of double electric deer fence around one
growing area. At a cost of about $1.50/ft. That was 100% effective in
controlling deer. But coons, coyotes, and squirrels continued to come
and go at will. This past year, the deer depredation in the un-fenced
area was even worse than previous years. They ate things with which I
had not previously had trouble: tomatoes, okra, squash, broccoli. The
ONLY crop they have not molested is arugula. I am now attempting to
protect that troublesome area with the noise makers.




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