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Chipmunks
What can we do about the chipmunks? They are all over our yard and there are holes everywhere.
Cute little demons to some and monsters to others. Are you feeding birds? If so, that's why you have so many. They just love birdseed and there isn't a feeder that doesn't spill some contents onto the ground when in use. Dry pet food and bulbs are a treat also.

The problem is catching them. You can use rat traps, but you may end up killing the wrong animal. The burrows that are running all around beneath the lawn can be 30 feet or more in length and usually have an escape tunnel or two connected. There are also various side tunnels for food storage and nurseries. Some experts say to flood the tunnels, but my experience is that it hasn't worked. Chipmunks don't scare very easily either unless chased by a cat or dog. There is no registered toxin to rid your yard of chipmunks. Continue to worry them by placing large stones over all the holes, remove all food supplies, and if they are destroying your plants rely on strong smelling repellents.
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Deer
How can I stop the deer from eating everything in my garden?
With a little persistence you can outwit them. If you have a vegetable garden, install a fence that is at least 7 feet high. You can also use two fences about 5 to 6 feet apart and have the outer one at an angle. Deer are high jumpers but not distance jumpers. The idea of leaping over two fences, especially if one is angled outward making the distance wider, frightens them.

Each group or herd of deer reacts differently to deterrents just as their tastes differ. In some areas, the deer devour juniper trees (red cedar), as high as they can reach while in other locations they won't touch them unless they are starving. All deer eat hostas! Early in the spring, almost any tender emerging growth is fair game, especially to pregnant does, and the tips of plants disappear as soon as they emerge.

There are many repellants on the market today that can be applied to shrubs and plants that are not fenced. However, most of them have to be reapplied after it rains. There are predator urines available as deterrents but some attract those same predator animals.

The use of lights, radios, barking dogs, water jets, etc. have all been recommended, some work, others don't. A tip from a Virginia gardener works well with my herd - pin dryer sheets with clothes pins to branches on the shrubs and trees the deer like. For me, the damage has been almost non-existent for the past three years. Dryer sheets can stay through a couple of good rainstorms before having to be replaced since the scent doesn't wash away quickly. I think too that the flapping of these sheets spooks the deer.

Another trick that seems to work is planting strong smelling herbs around your gardens. Deer can't stand basil, catnip, and sages, at least in some places. Nor will they nibble on fuzzy leaved plants. Did you ever notice that they don't eat daffodils or hyacinths, but they love tulips?

Place fencing around single trees that become victims of antler rubbing. Put it high on posts, away from growing branches; however, leave enough room to push a mower underneath. Be careful here as fawns and yearlings have been known to kneel and even creep underneath the wire and nibble away.
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Opossum
We have a possum hanging around and we're afraid it might be living in our garden shed, eating the birdseed we stored there. Will it damage our gardens if it stays?
If you have squirrels, birds, and rabbits in your yard, chances are you are going to have a possum also if you live in the country. The Virginia opossum doesn't hibernate; it finds a sheltered spot to hunker down in during cold spells. In our area they start mating in February, so your critter may move on afterwards.

From experience, I have generally not found possums to be a big problem. They have terrible eyesight but a super sense of smell and their hearing is superb even when their poor ears get frostbite during the winter. If it intends to stay awhile, a nest of leaves or, if in the shed, shredded paper or cardboard will be constructed. Possums use their tails for carrying materials around.

Possums eat everything! Carrion, berries, corn, small birds and eggs, insects, and small rodents are all on the menu. The birdseed is attracting this one. Move it to a different location. It might climb feeders at night to feast so you may want to pull them down and replace them in the morning. The possum is really a very funny critter: it will hiss, grow, and show you that it has 50 teeth - but will 'play dead' when touched. They really go into a state of suspension at this point and nothing will make them move.

As for the garden, they may snack on seedlings, especially lettuces, but are more interested in bugs, rodents, or snakes. Chances are that by the end of next month you won't see this creature around.
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Rabbits, Chipmunks, Squirrels
How do you keep the critters from digging up bulbs?
If you are establishing a new bed, use some landscape timber as a frame and lay down a piece of rabbit wire inside, on the bottom. Place soil on top and then put in your bulbs - the proper planting depth will be different for each type of bulb. Top this off with a second piece of wire and cover with mulch. This should keep those pesky rodents at bay.

For established beds, try placing pea gravel in the holes below and above your bulbs as you plant new ones. The gravel irritates the critters' feet and it discourages them from digging further. Make sure you put some soil on top of the gravel at the bottom of the hole so the bulb sits solidly. Critters do not usually disturb bulbs that have been in the ground for a couple of years - unless a chipmunk or squirrel is trying to bury a nut and finds some shallow bulbs.

If you have oak or nut trees in your yard, expect some problems. Freshly dug soil and loose mulch are very inviting. If you have large birds around beware when the smaller bulbs start to emerge. Fresh tender shoots are food for geese, wild turkeys, and crows and there is nothing more disturbing than to see your scilla or fritillaries lying atop the ground.
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Skunks
There's a skunk in my yard every night…help!
I have one too. It has moved under my porch and will probably stay there until spring. Skunks stay close to a food source and will hang around where there are bird feeders, trash cans, compost piles, and outside pet food containers. For example, where I live there is a field full of grubs - one of their favorite foods - abutting the lawns and large compost piles.

However, skunks are not going to spray everything in site, it is usually a last resort. If you see one, speak to the critter in a normal voice from a window or distant location and it normally will amble away. Nighttime activity is the norm for skunks, so if you see one during the day, call the local animal control officer for assistance as it could be diseased or even rabid.

If the skunk is just visiting your property, keep your pets inside until it has moved down the street. If the skunk has decided that your garden shed or porch will make nice winter quarters, don't panic. First, make sure there is no food supply at hand in your yard and block all holes around the shed or porch except the one being used. Second, sprinkle some cornstarch or flour around that entry point. Later in the evening check to see if tracks lead away from this area, if so, block the entry. Plan this step ahead so it can be done with the minimum of noise and activity. With a forced eviction and poor food supply the skunk will eventually move on.

Skunks give signals before they spray: they arch their back and shuffle backwards while stamping their feet. Then, with its tail raised the skunk will twist itself into a U-shape and spray. Skunk odor from the musk – a sulfur-alcohol compound – that is released persists for long periods, and it is difficult to neutralize. If it gets in your eyes, rinse them immediately to reduce the burning. Household products that help remove skunk odor include ammonia, bleach, vinegar, and canned tomatoes or juice. A mixture of liquid soap (1 teaspoon), baking soda (1/4 cup), and hydrogen peroxide (1 quart) is a very effective deodorizer. Commercial deodorants – which are the most effective in treating skunk odor – are available from some pest control operations.
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Toads
I have toads in my garden and would like to keep them. What should I do?
Toads are a necessity as they eat their weight in insects and other garden residents, especially those that other predators won’t eat. Slugs are one of their favorite meals!

Your best bet is to go one hundred percent organic. Don’t use any pesticides at all as the poison is absorbed through their skin. Keep water around at ground level and make very shallow ponds for them from pot saucers placed in the ground. Toads need dark and damp spots to hide in, so take flowerpots and bury them into the soil halfway on their sides, preferably beneath a shrub or shade tree. Adding some damp leaf debris makes this a very cozy and inviting spot. Use lots of compost as mulch and they will be even happier.

Trees for Birds
What kind of trees can we plant to attract birds?
Besides trees that offer lots of cover, such as evergreens, there are many trees that offer food. Some that you may want to consider are: serviceberry (Amelanchier canadesis), dogwood (Cornus), mountain ash (Sorbus), holly (Ilex), crabapple (Malus), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum), plums and cherries (Prunus), hawthorn (Crataegus), Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and oak (Quercus). All offer berries or, in the case of oaks, acorns as a source of nourishment, especially during the winter months.

Though classified as shrubs, include the cranberry bush (Viburnum opulus) and elderberry (Sambucus canadensis). Both of these plants grow to a good height - around ten feet or better - and have abundant fruit.

Do a little research on the individual birds you wish to attract and use the results as a guideline. Enjoy your visitors!
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Voles
As the recent snow melted away I noticed depressions running along the ground and the bark was eaten on one of the new crabapple trees. Is this from chipmunks?
No, chipmunks are in hibernation (or in my cellar) at this time of year. Your culprits most likely are voles. Voles take every opportunity to eat vegetation and bark is choice. Voles do not burrow underground like other small pests; they make tunnels atop the grass and they lose all fear when snow covers the ground as they can run all over without being seen by predators. Mice will take advantage of vole runways for the same reason. We often miss the runways in warmer months because they are just above the soil line or the mulch.

In the fall voles prepare nests in depressions beneath mulch, under weed fabric, or anyplace else that offers security. At this time of year, trapping is the most effective way of controlling these nibblers. Use mousetraps baited with apple slices and place them facing opposite directions in a run. Follow the runway till you see it disappear and place the traps there but cover them up with some weed debris. Better yet, place hardware cloth around your trees, getting it into the ground a couple of inches if you can. The only natural predators around during the winter would be owls, hawks, and foxes. Skunks and snakes also take delight in a vole meal and will be active as soon as warm weather arrives.
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Woodpecker
There's a small woodpecker drilling holes in my apple tree. Is it trying to get sap?
That woodpecker may be doing you a favor. It's a downy woodpecker and he or she is cleaning bugs off the bark. It's probably going after the codling moth (Cydia pomonella) caterpillars. These are the worms that feed inside the apple and then tunnel out, crawl down the trunk, and hide under loose bark, where they spin a cocoon for winter cover before spring pupation. The woodpecker knows this and is pecking a hole right through the bark to extract the caterpillar.

For any caterpillars that are missed, an adult will emerge in spring around the time the apple blossoms pop out. They lay eggs on the leaves which hatch and migrate to the developing apple, entering through the flower end. They feed mostly on the seeds, then, in about 3 to 4 weeks, they tunnel out and start the whole process over again.

Of course, the woodpecker could be after some hidden seeds…such as a cache made by another bird. You can always put suet feeders out to help those birds during the winter months. They will return the favor come spring by feeding on the many unwanted insects in your garden.
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