Tricks of the trade to keep the critters at bay

Your vegetables are leafy and green. You finally have flowers that bloom in July. In a word, your garden is gorgeous.

So do you envision yourself sitting up all night with a rifle on your knee to protect your precious plants from critters - particularly deer and rabbits?

These very cute predators are more of a problem in some areas of the suburbs than others, of course.

But you can deal with them.

First, take a deep breath. You are going to lose some plants or crops. Count it as a price you pay for living in a lovely area.

And if you think it is difficult to protect plants in the summer, just wait till winter comes and anything alive looks good to hungry deer.

One bit of good news from Mike Geimer of Geimer Greenhouses in Long Grove:

In his area homeowners rarely suffer with both deer and rabbits.

In Long Grove deer run amok and coyotes keep the rabbits under control, he said, while nearby Buffalo Grove generally does not have either coyotes or deer but lots of rabbits.

Animal lovers, including the Humane Society of the United States, think the best choice is to avoid creating an attractive nuisance. That means don't plant things that deer and rabbits like to munch on.

Methods of reducing the carnage fall into three categories:

•Plant things the critters don't eat or usually don't eat.

•Hang, spray or spread deterrents - things that taste or smell bad - on or around your precious plants.

•Install barriers such as fences.

The right plants

Don't plant flowers that deer really like. The best ways to find out what you should plant is to ask your neighbors or an area garden center.

Anything in the rose family, including apples and even barberry, provides a smorgasbord for deer, says Geimer. So if you have to have roses, put them close to your house where there's a chance the deer won't wander.

Most people say hostas don't work in deer country, but one homeowner we know says hers look pretty good until July, and even though they get eaten, they always come back the next year.

Matt Kostelnick, horticulture educator for the University of Illinois in Rolling Meadows, says edibles less attractive to rabbits include corn, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and potatoes.

Trees that deer don't like as much include beech, birch, juniper, hemlock, ginkgo, honey locust and spruce. Shrubs you can try include boxwood, forsythia, lilac and spirea,

Ground covers that don't look like salad to deer include ajuga, ferns, ginger and lilies. And vines they might turn their cute noses up at include bittersweet, vining honeysuckle, trumpet creeper and wisteria. Bulbs to try are daffodils, grape hyacinth, crocus, and snowdrops.

Generally deer do not like herbs, says Geimer.

Many lists of resistant plants are available online at places like geimers.com; extension.uiuc.edu; and whiteflowerfarm.com, from White Flower Farm, the famous mail-order business.

Deterrents

Repellents are the best way to keep deer from your plants, said Geimer. Wrapping anything like mesh around young trees makes him nervous because if you don't take it off to let the tree grow it will be in trouble. And some wraps lead to insect issues, he said.

Predator urine and other scary things only work for a while, warns Geimer.

"When they don't see the predator they get smart," he said.

The brand he likes is Bobbex, Inc., which makes a variety of repellents for different types of critters. He said they might include egg solids and garlic with latex to prevent washing off the plants in rain.

A combination of things that deer don't like makes it harder for them to develop a tolerance, said Geimer.

Hot pepper wax spray, mentioned by Kostelnick, deters both rabbits and deer and supposedly even insects. However, people are divided about whether you want to put this on something you will eat, especially as the hot pepper flavor might linger.

Dried blood meal is both a fertilizer and a repellent. Thiram is a fungicide that would work, too, but Kostelnick would not use it on edibles.

Wood ash is supposed to keep rabbits away, but Kostelnick said it also makes the soil more alkaline, something many homeowners in this area fight anyway.

Hanging sachets of human hair or soaps with strong odors like Irish Spring in trees is supposed to deter deer.

Barriers

Kostelnick cuts the tops and bottoms off gallon milk jugs and sets one in the ground around each seedling as soon as it is planted.

Rabbits are going to go after tender, young plants. And when the size of the pepper or broccoli plant means the plastic must be removed, older plants can take more abuse, he said.

If you are really serious about deer, experts recommend fences. However, fences are expensive, and they are often ugly. To keep deer out they must be tall, at least 7 feet. And some people say you need two of them not far apart.

While fencing your landscaping might be expensive and counter productive because you installed the plantings to make the area look good, it might be feasible to fence your vegetable patch.

For the most vulnerable plants-the green leaves that rabbits love-Kostelnick recommends chicken wire. Start with mesh 3 feet tall. The bottom 6 inches should be bent out at a 90-degree angle and buried under a few inches of soil.

And of course young trees are in mortal danger from both deer and rabbits because the bark is so thin.

Kostelnick recommends wrapping wire or plastic mesh around the trunks. However, this has to come off as the tree grows.

Etc.

Mice and voles offer one more reason to not put mulch up against the base of a tree because these little guys see it as an invitation to nest and munch.