Q&A for How to Keep Animals Out of Your Vegetable Garden

One of the best ways is the use of ammonia sprays, such as Windex. The strong scent scares animals off.

Some of the best herbs to use to keep animals away are catnip, garlic, and sage, among others.

One of the best ways is to use chicken wire or any wire with a 1-inch or less mesh.

Some of the options are scented soap, animal repellent, and predator urine.

The most effective solution will be to put in an electric fence and add bait. Once the animal comes into contact with the fence, it will learn to stay away, so the barrier is both psychological and physical.

Try planting mint leaves around your plants. You can also add holly or kitty litter to the soil.

No. Try using chicken wire instead. String it tightly around metal garden stakes, and bury the base 3 to 4 inches into the ground. It should discourage burrowing from rabbits and other small mammals/rodents.

Surround the garden with marigold plants. The marigolds also keep some bugs away.

Put some protective bird netting over your fruit and vegetables. You can buy it from a home improvement store. You can also try other bird deterring methods, such as using a spray or getting a cat or dog. Even if the cat or dog does not hunt the birds, its presence should be enough to frighten them.

Chipmunks are difficult to keep out of the garden with fences. Foul smelling repellents are usually the best choice when keeping chipmunks away.

If you have potted plants as part of your garden, make sure they are kept within the main garden fence. You can also buy covers for individual plants to help keep squirrels or other pests from eating your vegetables.

I had a terrible problem with woodchucks, so I finally set up Havahart traps with fresh celery (with the leaves attached) right next to my garden opening and these worked great. I tried other vegetables first, but the celery works best because it is very fragrant.

Squirrels can be kept away with spray based repellents or fences that cover a plant completely. Raccoons won't be stopped by most repellents or standard fences. However, electric fences will likely deter raccoons.

What materials do you have available? You may be able to fashion an obstruction out of another material.

Make tasty salads into a "ball" and suspend them with string over the area that trips the trap. That way they have to struggle with the bait a bit and that trips the trap.

Birds can be kept out of a garden by adding things that they find scary. Some bird deterrents will be made from shiny or reflective material that scares birds away. Other deterrents will emit a sound that frightens birds off. If you can't seem to scare the birds away, you may consider covering your plants in bird netting.

You could put metal or wood posts around the plants, but make sure they're a little wide, as tomato plants tend to grow. Put garden fabric surrounding the top of the plant and down the sides, or put chicken wire around it.

Purchase No Trespassing signs and place them around the perimeter of your property. If your neighbors ignore the signs, call the police. You might also consider building a fence.

You will need a very well secured skirting to keep animals out. Your skirting may need to be completely redone, starting 6-12 inches underground, and well secured and sealed to the edge of your mobile home. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it. You may need to do some continual repairs and maintenance to keep them out. Some animals are very persistent, and will keep coming back.