Potted Plant Protection Tips On Protecting Container Plants From Animals

Cover potted plants with a cage made from chicken wire, plastic bird netting, or hardware cloth – especially during the offseason when squirrels are more prone to “planting” their stash, which they normally come back for later, digging up precious bulbs in the process.

What can I put in my plants to keep animals away?

A homemade hot pepper mixture sprayed on your plants will make them taste bad to potential pests and keep animals out of garden. Mix 1 ounce of hot pepper sauce (the hotter the better), 4 drops of natural dish soap and 1 cup of aromatic leaves from plants that rabbits avoid (such as marigolds).

How do I keep raccoons out of my potted plants?

Put the potted plants inside or behind a temporary fence, such as one made of chicken wire. Cover the top of the fence enclosure as well to prevent the raccoon from climbing over the top. Don't leave food -- yours or a pet's -- outside overnight, and tie the lids of outdoor garbage cans so a raccoon can't open them.

How do I protect my potted plants from rabbits?

For raised beds, make a crop cage using hardware cloth, zip ties and PVC pipe. In winter, protect woody plants from gnawing rabbits by surrounding stems with a cylinder of hardware cloth or mesh fencing. Keep the fence at least two inches away from vulnerable stems so rabbits can't press against it to reach a stem.

How do I keep squirrels from digging in my flower pots?

Hot pepper spray for plants, Keeping squirrels out of plant pots, Shake Away Fox Urine Granules'.

Do coffee grounds attract animals?

You may enjoy waking up to the smell of coffee, but pets (especially cats) don't find the odor so great. Simply sprinkle some coffee grounds around where you don't want pets to tread. If slugs and snails are your garden pests, sprinkle coffee grounds as a barrier.

How do you keep critters from eating your plants?

Here is a look at the options.

Put in a barrier fence. Among the most foolproof deterrents are physical barriers like fences. ...
Spray Them Away. ...
Scare them off. ...
Plant their least-favorite foods. ...
Plants Deer Dislike. ...
Spring-blooming perennials. ...
Summer-blooming perennials. ...
Groundcovers.

What animal would dig up potted plants?

Rodents, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, and household pets can be digging up your potted plants at night. They might be attracted to the plants or the bugs crawling around in the potting soil. You can add a physical barrier, repellent herbs, bonemeal, or cayenne pepper to keep them away.

What smells do raccoons hate or avoid?

Raccoons have a strong sense of smell, which they use to find accessible food sources. You can take advantage of this trait by using scents they dislike, such as hot pepper, onion, garlic, peppermint oil and Epsom salt to repel them.

How do you make homemade raccoon repellent?

One homemade “taste” raccoon repellent recipe uses 1 bottle hot pepper sauce or 1 bottle cayenne pepper powder and mixes it with a gallon of water and a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid. The soap helps the liquid to adhere to what you're spraying, and should be sprayed on the entire area that you would like to protect.

Will coffee grounds keep rabbits away?

Coffee is an environmentally friendly way to repel unwanted insects and animals in the garden. ... The smell of the coffee repels snails, slugs and ants. You may also have success using coffee grounds to repel mammals, including cats, rabbits and deer.

How do I keep animals out of my potted plants?

Cover potted plants with a cage made from chicken wire, plastic bird netting, or hardware cloth – especially during the offseason when squirrels are more prone to “planting” their stash, which they normally come back for later, digging up precious bulbs in the process.

What smells do rabbits hate?

There are several scents that will help keep rabbits away from your home. Most commercially available rabbit repellents replicate the scent of predator musk or urine. Rabbits also hate the smell of blood, crushed red peppers, ammonia, vinegar, and garlic.

Do coffee grounds keep squirrels away?

Place fresh coffee grounds together with plant bulbs to keep squirrels from digging up potted bulbs. Plant the bulbs as directed and place discarded bedding from rabbits on top of the soil. The combination of odors from the coffee grounds and the rabbit bedding can be an effective squirrel repellent.

What do squirrels hate the most?

Scents like white pepper, black pepper, and garlic are naturally unpleasant to a squirrel. The same goes for sweet smells such as peppermint. Try spraying your plants and flowers with water and then sprinkling on pepper or peppermint oil to deter squirrels.

Will Epsom salt deter squirrels?

Sprinkle a generous amount of Epsom salt over your plants, including the mature plants and any recently planted bulbs. The Epsom salt will not only keep away ground hogs and other pests, including rabbits and squirrels, it is will help your plants grow.

What bugs do coffee grounds deter?

According to the EPA, coffee grounds are a safe and effective way to keep pests away. Not only do they repel mosquitos, but also other insects such as wasps and bees. Coffee grounds are the bee's knees when it comes to staying bug bite free.

What plants do not like coffee grounds?

In most cases, the grounds are too acidic to be used directly on soil, even for acid-loving plants like blueberries, azaleas and hollies. Coffee grounds inhibit the growth of some plants, including geranium, asparagus fern, Chinese mustard and Italian ryegrass.

Do coffee grounds repel mice?

Unfortunately the mouse's home is most likely inside the walls of your home. ... Sprinkling coffee grounds, or putting a small bowl of them near the wall that seems to be the source of the smell will help to diffuse the odor, a far superior idea than cutting open the wall to remove the dead pest.

What animal is eating my plants at night?

Many caterpillars, beetles, and especially earwigs and slugs, feed at night and hide during the day. Handpicking caterpillars, beetles and slugs and dropping them into soapy water can be effective in home vegetable gardens.

What stops deer from eating my plants?

6 Ways to Stop Deer from Eating Your Outdoor Plants

No. 1: Choose Deer-Resistant Outdoor Plants. ...
No. 2: Place Bar Soap Near Outdoor Plants. ...
No. 3: Scatter Human Hair Around Outdoor Plants. ...
No. 4: Apply a Deer-Repellant Spray to the Outdoor Plants. ...
No. 5: Add a Motion Sensor Near the Outdoor Plants. ...
No. 6: Physically Protect Your Garden Plants Against Deer.

Why do my plants leaves have holes?

Slugs are the most common cause of holes in leaves, but they often remain unseen because they feed at night. Sometimes larger slugs eat leaves from the edge inward, but small slugs make irregular holes inside leaves, as shown in the chard leaf on the right in the above photo. Slug holes always have smooth green edges.