Animal uprooting garden at historic site - Ask Extension
I work at the Johnston Farm & Indian Agency in Piqua, OH. We have had a kitchen herb garden for the 21 years I have been there and never had a pr...
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Animal uprooting garden at historic site #870427
Asked May 28, 2024, 1:24 PM EDT
I work at the Johnston Farm & Indian Agency in Piqua, OH. We have had a kitchen herb garden for the 21 years I have been there and never had a problem. This year there is a critter determined to root in the garden. it uproots plants but does not eat them, is not deterred by critter-ridder products, garlic, or any kind of peppers. It is able to lift wire baskets off plants even IF they have stone on them and even after I began to use firewood to do the anchoring, still managed to move the firewood until I figured out how to stop it. We recently stayed over night and I saw small racoons that were after the cat's food, but they are too small to have done this. We have two groundhog holes with one LARGE groundhog that has been spotted, but when we left fruit peelings out, none were eaten. The site is just beginning to revive the garden we had in front of the house and I would really appreciate any suggestions as to how to stop this or catch the critter before we get it going. Thank you, Marla Fair, lead interpreter at the Johnston Farm & Indian Agency in Piqua, OH.
Miami County Ohio
Expert Response
It sounds to me like the problem you have may be created by woodchucks. Woodchucks are very particular about what they eat and fruit scraps might not be appealing. Below is a good discussion of woodchuck behavior and how to eliminate them. If you decide to use the live trapping method it would be best to contact a licensed commercial nuisance wild animal control operator.
https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/ADM-16.pdf
All this said, where there are small raccoons there certainly are large raccoons. Both woodchucks and raccoons can be very destructive in a garden.
https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/ADM-16.pdf
All this said, where there are small raccoons there certainly are large raccoons. Both woodchucks and raccoons can be very destructive in a garden.
Thank you for your quick reply. I will pass the information on to my site director and go from there. I appreciate you taking the time to address our problem. Marla
You are most welcome.
Looking at your photos, it appears to be great habitat for woodchucks so you may have this problem again.
Good luck!
Looking at your photos, it appears to be great habitat for woodchucks so you may have this problem again.
Good luck!