North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>]

Michele,
   I hate little dogs that go "Yap, yap, yap," but I've got one.  She has 
the run of my one acre garden/orchard.  I keep her confined to the yard when 
garden plants are small and turn her loose after the plants have achieved 
some height.  Between the dog, my 'junkyard cat and the 30" high fencing, I 
haven't had a raccoon problem since I stopped raising sweet corn.  I once 
had a rabbit that climbed, in and out, over the woven wire fence - He made 
nightly raids, dining on my peach seedlings until one of the cats finally 
got him.  Baby rabbits can crawl through the fence.   The fence effectively 
thwarts skunks and wood chucks, so far anyway.
   Chipmunks are a problem.  There is a new immigration every year and one 
chipmunk will empty a full birdfeeder in just a few hours.  I wouldn't mind 
so much if the chipmunk ate the seeds but, no, he buries them all over the 
garden, they sprout and I've got to yank them out.  The yap-yap dog pesters 
the heck out of the chippies.  I don't know if one of the cats finally 
catches them or if they get tired of being hassled by the dog and just leave 
because chipmunk problems rarely last more than a week or two.  Squirrels? 
My cat will chase them onto all but the tiniest tree limbs.  Those that 
don't become an alternative to dry cat food just don't come back.
   Now if I could just figure out a way to get my wife to stop bringing the 
dogs into the house overnight, the last of my other critter problems might 
vanish.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
www.bberryfarm.com
(218)568-8483 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]

I'd love to hear other creative solutions for deterring wildlife.
What works to keep raccoons, rabbits, groundhogs, squirrels, chipmunks at
bay?
(Deer are another chapter altogether).

Do you have any "tried and true" methods for those of us living in suburbia
where critters are increasing and legal options are not?
Michele Stanton