Rabbit fence protects a small bean patch. Dead branches strategically placed keep the deer from jumping the backyard fence and floating row cover fends off bugs. Bug spray is tincture of snooze. I have killed for a tomato, but I wouldn't kill a chipmunk unless it was him or me..

We have gophers, which don't go after the veggies directly but make the HELL of a mess and can kill roots in the process of their habitat development.

We asked an old timer, who noted that juicyfruit gum is almost irresistable to rodental types. Leaving uwrapped sticks near the entrances to their burrows entices them to nom on it, and they get discombobulated, and eventually they leave.

I have NO idea whether the theory behind this is sound.

What I DO know is that after trying flooding them out, putting used cat litter around burrow areas/entrances-- none of which worked-- my esposo finally went out and got a big pack of juicyfruit gum and sacrificed to the Rodental Beings.

They're gone now.

Go figure.

bemusedly,
Bright

it's interesting what people have tried.

Blood meal around the edge of the garden, good to keep rabbits who love your cabbage. I used to have a lot of trouble with the squirrels getting my tomatoes. It add insult to injury, they'd put up on a tree branch where I could see them. My best things was empty aluminum pie pans ties to a tall stick, that would blow in the wind. Had a problem with raccoons and birds stealing my chili peppers too, I just tried to get to the chilies before they did.

get to the stuff before the critters do.

We used to have a family living in a rotted old railroad tie we used as a bed border, but over time the $^%^& feral cats in the neighbourhood killed them all. Ditto the albino squirrel that used to visit my birdfeeder.

many squirrels, chipmunks, possums and raccoons there are around here. The yards are large with old landscaping so I guess they still have some place to hang out.

We're about 300-400 yards away, at a guess, from a university campus that has a nice large chunk of surrounding woodlands. Not really enough that I expect to see deer there, but plenty of space for possum, fox, raccoons, and similar smaller mammals, so they do occasionally wander out into the neighbourhoods. I've tried to keep critters in mind with my own landscaping choices. Sadly, the holly bushes I planted last year didn't make it, so no holly berries for the birds in late winter.

Just read in today's garden section of the Dallas Morning News about the water scare crow. It is a motion activated sprinkler that clatters and sprays a 180 degree squirt of water. It hooks to a garden hose and uses a small battery. The writer had installed one to keep the egrets and herons from eating the fish in her backyard pond. Sounds like something worth trying.

she said she was going to check it out. Thanks!

A mini-beagle/pom cross and a JRT. They discourage other critters during growing season, and I have a big fence to keep them in. Of course then you have to deal with problems the dogs themselves cause, but they're minor compared to other critters. Can't get 'em to do a thing about insects, though; and since I don't use pesticides, there's a certain amount of loss there. But it's worthwhile anyway. Something eats the cabbage leaves. I go out every morning checking for worms, but they must have figured out my schedule because I never see anything.

I picked two cucumbers (with permission) and she's got beautiful squash coming out. She's two doors down from the chipmunk killer, lol.

We are down to one dog now. The lab would jump in the garden when she could but my big bear doesn't mess with it. I wonder if the chipmunks know he could come out at any time!?

when I go out because one neighbor who's the police chief's buddy likes to call in noise complaints, so I have to take that measure to foil his false complaints about 'persistent barking'. This is partly payback because the old coot wants a girlfriend and I'm unwilling. No, I'd never kill a chipmunk if I could help it, but HE would in a heartbeat. When my chows were alive, after he first moved in next door I caught him leaning over the fence, waving his arms and swearing to rile them up. Then of course he'd run inside and call in a noise complaint. Which led to a stirring town council meeting when I registered a furious public response which pretty much stopped that little game. This is a tiny backwater town where everybody knows everything that happens five minutes later, and the police chief knows the loss of a single vote could unseat him. So I've found my best protection against the worst abuses is to make a scene at those meetings, and then people tend to stop it. I don't care what they say about me, but the rest of them really hate being outted in public. It punctures that false screen of piety and superiority they like to wear. They'll commit all sorts of devilry but the MAJOR SIN is publicly exposing them.

Would chipmunks learn your schedule? Quite possibly. They're rodents after all, and rodents tend to be very smart. But they have to live too, so I leave most critters alone or at least try not to harm them. I actually had more 'visitors' before the JRT came along. She's far more aggressive than the beagle/pom. Too large for AKC registration, too. They naturally have a wide height range, being so closely related to fox terriers. Since they were bred to run foxes to ground and kill them in their dens, they're not the least bit afraid of anything that moves.