About two months ago, I started noticing large indentations in my vegetable beds and knew something was marching around my beds at night, but I wasn’t sure what it was. There are also some footprints on the sides of the beds.
It wasn’t until Brian, the guy who built my vegetable beds, came by and solved the mystery for me. Raccoons! They are supposedly going after the worms in the beds, as there is nothing else in my beds to eat right now. My beds are dormant. Poor worms!
Today I decided to take on the raccoons. I bought some Havahart brand Critter Ridder from Van Wynden’s – a supposed repellent for unwanted pests that won’t hurt my vizslas (very important!). I sprinkled a little more of the granules in my beds than recommended, put in my metal loops and blanketed my beds with deer netting. I’m so curious to see if this will work. If not, there are other options like trapping and relocation. But we’re starting with this option first.
The instructions on Critter Ridder say to reapply in 30 days. We will certainly know if its been successful by then. I planted my cover crop – red clover – at the same time and I’m hoping that doesn’t counteract my efforts by attracting the raccoons. We’ll see…
