If you are keen to grow your food, a backyard kitchen garden is an opportunity you will love to explore. Nothing matches the delicious taste of homegrown cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, but it takes a lot of labor and cares to make them thrive. At the same time, you need to ensure safety from pesky rodents. Once they arrive, they can easily waste all your effort and ruin your place before you know. Rats and mice are the biggest culprits because they love the greens and seek shelter in these areas. It makes sense to go the extra mile to make your green space rodent-free before the worst happens. Here are some simple measures that you can adopt to keep garden rodents at bay.
Eliminate hiding and nesting spaces
First things first, you need to assess the area and identify the spots that may be attractive for these pesky intruders. Tallgrass, low bushes, woodpiles, gaps under the deck, and openings in the home’s crawl space are some of the areas that offer them warm, safe, and cozy shelter. Rats and mice prefer such spaces to build their nests. Once you eliminate the potential hiding and nesting spaces from your garden, there are good chances that they wouldn’t come.
Secure your compost and birdseed
Compost and birdseed are perhaps the most attractive things for the rodents in your vegetable garden. Those who practice composting need to ensure that the material is stored in a metal or plastic compost bin. Also, avoid leading your birdseed in the open. Mice and rats can easily gnaw through bags and even plastic containers. So keep it locked in a safe place to save it from these intruders.
Invest in periodic inspection
When it comes to safeguarding your greens from pesky rodents, periodic professional inspection of your garden is a good idea. You cannot be sure about prevention because these are stubborn creatures so regular Rodent Control can make all the difference. Even if it costs a bit, the expense is worthwhile considering that it helps you secure your much-loved vegetables and herbs. Apart from regular inspection, call a professional at the first sign of the presence of rodents.
Seal off entry points
Creating a barrier to keep rodents out is another effective measure to prevent them from entering your garden. Unfortunately, rats and mice can easily squeeze through tiny holes, so typical fencing would not be enough to keep rodents at bay. Consider the installation of garden netting to reinforce the garden-fencing. Also, be watchful about the signs of rodents burrowing under your fence. If that is the case, sealing off burrows with copper mesh wire or steel wool will help.
A more aggressive move for eliminating rodents from your garden is by having self-resetting traps in place. The measure is meant to eradicate rodents if you already have an infestation in the garden. While you can try this method, getting a professional extermination service is the best way to get rid of garden rodents.
