13 Tips for Protecting Your Garden from Urban Pests

By: Sarah Hieta-aho

A garden is a valuable and tasty commodity in an urban setting, and soon starts to look very inviting to the local wildlife. Neighborhood stray cats may want to use your garden as a litter box or roll around among your plants. Birds may eat unprotected starts and seedlings. Raccoons, rats, or other rodents may start sniffing around your compost pile or fresh fruit and veggies. You may have to deal with slugs, earwigs, or caterpillars. You may wonder what has been leaving half eaten squash or tomatoes around your balcony. Hint: It might be some squirrels!

When you start a garden, a container garden, or a compost pile, be prepared to see a new cornucopia of pests that you may not have had issues with before. So, what are some steps you can implement to protect your hard work and bounty?

1. Use fencing and cages to keep most pests out of your garden or away from your plants. This creates a physical barrier between them and your prize-winning cucumbers, carrots, or strawberries. If you have deer in your area, make sure the fence is at least 6-feet high to deter them from jumping it. Make sure there is no gap under the fence for small creatures to sneak through.
   
   
2. Consider planting in raised beds to deter rabbits from getting into your lettuce, beans, and broccoli.
   
   
3. Water in the morning. When you water in the morning, it gives the garden time to dry during the day. Many pests like a moist garden at night, so if you water in the evening you are creating an environment where slugs, snails, and bugs will thrive.
   
   
4. If you have a dog or a cat that goes outside, let it scare off or catch small animals that make it into your garden. The scent or sound of your pet may even deter animals from entering.
   
   
5. If you cut your own hair or that of your family, sprinkle the clippings around your garden as the scent may deter some animals. If you go to a salon or barbershop, they might think you’re strange for asking, but ask to take the clippings home for your garden.
   
   
6. The scent of urine can also deter some animals like deer, raccoons, etc. One recommendation for getting rid of raccoons is to leave urine soaked rags or pads around the area they are interested in as raccoons like things to be clean and tidy. (If you have a baby in diapers, put a few urine soaked ones around the perimeter of the garden. Just make sure to change them out every 3-5 days or when it rains.)
   
   
7. Shiny noise makers also work to deter skittish animals and birds. String up some aluminum pie pans, soda cans, or wind chimes that will move and make noise when the breeze blows through. Bonus if they also reflect light when they move!
   
   
8. Scarecrows and owl statues may work for a little bit, but soon animals and birds become wise to their non-moving antics. They now make scarecrows with motion sensors that shoot water. So fancy!
   
   
9. If under attack from a slug invasion, set out saucers of cheap beer. The slugs are attracted to it and will drown in the dish.
   
   
10. Earwigs have a more sophisticated pallet. You will need a container filled with oil and soy sauce to bury in your garden–where the lip of the container is level with the top of the soil.
    
    
11. You can reuse old strawberry baskets to protect your seedlings from birds (especially the house finch). These birds like to bite off the top of the seedlings. Usually the seedlings are safe when they grow big enough to have 4-5 large leaves and look like they are going to outgrow the strawberry basket.
    
    
12. If you have old window screens or wire shelves laying around, use them to cover patches of seedlings to keep birds from getting to the starts. You can also use mesh cloth or netting.
    
    
13. Other natural and organic deterrents for insect pests are diatomaceous earth, chili or cayenne pepper spray, neem oil, or dish soap spray.​