True Dirt

too wildlife-friendly gardens

The lament is too familiar. My friend Sylvia told me about her attempt to produce a colorful spring tulip bed--the bulbs laid in the ground and the long wait for spindly stems to arise from the foliage and, finally, the green buds of promise swelling to the bloom point. One morning when she was sure the flowers would be open she went into the garden with great expectation. Here is what she found: neat rows of headless stems, "as if someone had come by with scissors and snipped off every tulip bud at the same height." Only one creature could be responsible for the exquisite delicacy of such beheadings. Deer.

Other garden visitors are not so dainty. This morning I went into the garden, as usual, to remove the lid on the barrel fountain and refill the bowls of water, emptied the night before. This summer routine is necessary to put a damper on my raccoon visitors who would otherwise use the aquatic facilities and leave the yard looking like the morning after an Animal House toga party.

But this morning they found a new delight: ripping apart the pumpkin and squash vines and strewing pieces of the plants around the yard. Plus, a piece of twine staking a lily plant to a stick was untied and the lily stems lay, detached from their roots, on the dirt. Of course, there were the usual divots and holes dug about, including a largish excavation at the roots of the tomato plant. The sole surviving pumpkin, green and battle-scarred, sits divested of its vine in the clover.

Besides the feelings of helplessness and aggravation I couldn't understand why the raccoons went to such extremes this time. So I tried to find out whatever I could about urban raccoon behavior. This is what I found....

Like the rest of us, they prefer to live in cities: In urban areas, exceptional numbers of raccoons, as high as 100 per square kilometre, have been recorded.

Their family geneaology, 100% American, is venerable: The name raccoon is derived from the Algonquian Indian word arakun, meaning "he scratches with his hand."

They have eclectic palates and are enthusiastic omnivores: While they prefer crayfish, raccoons also consume muskrats, squirrels, rabbits, waterfowl eggs, and freshwater clams. In the summer, plant material, including fruits and nuts, becomes more important. Wild cherries, gooseberries, elderberries, wild grapes, strawberries, and garden items such as potatoes and sweet corn are relished. As is garbage and pet food.

They are quite social and the males bond over shared activities (do they have cable, we wonder?): “We have found that raccoons are fairly tolerant of each other. Even if they don’t live in packs, they live in close proximity to each other, even sharing dens. Their home ranges usually overlap: they share ranges, dens and feeding spaces. So when you cut hunting and trapping, as is the case in the city, raccoons have even more chances for contact and reproduction. Cubs spend a long time with the mother in the family unit, and adult males seem to spend a lot of time together, too. This is a very unique social behavior.” Ohio State University Extension wildlife specialist Stan Gehrt.

Much useless advice has been promulgated on raccoon deterence: "home gardeners have resorted to a wide variety of anti-raccoon tactics, from planting vining winter squash around sweet corn to putting flashing lights or blaring radios in the garden, sprinkling unpleasant substances on the ground around the garden. The best way to keep raccoons out of the garden is to fence them out. Two- or three-wire electric fencing, a floppy, C-shaped chicken wire fence or a barrier of sturdy cloth may be effective. Raccoons may ignore a garden they cannot see if it is enclosed in cloth or plastic."

If I enclose the entire garden in cloth they won't notice it? Christo, I have a project for you!!

the remains of the day before...

Posted by briggs at August 1, 2005 10:27 AM