Wildlife and Gardens - Part 7
>discourage behavior that you don't want. You will be successful some of the time and some of the time, you won't. Look on it as a creative challenge.
I'm not allergic to bee stings and my policy is to leave them alone. The only time I have had to take action is when a nest of Yellowjackets is located somewhere I have to dig. These are pretty aggressive critters and the only solution is to destroy the nest - not an action I like to take, but sometimes necessary. Most bees are not aggressive and will not sting unless severely threatened, trod upon or grabbed. Wasps are a bit more aggressive, but will also leave you alone if you are not threatening them or their nest. If you have very small children or allergies, you will need to remove nests too close to the house or play areas for safety. If this is not an issue, you can encourage wild bees, who are quite beneficial. If you've got children, making nesting boxes for them is a great activity that will keep them busy and teach them about the many kinds of bees that exist.
My solution to squirrels raiding bird feeders is to have several feeding stations and put out enough seed for all. I have noticed that birds and squirrels will feed together amicably when there's enough space for all of them - the same with chipmunks.
Keeping rodents from eating bulbs is a bit more of a challenge. None of them will touch any member of the Narcissus family, so I have planted lily bulbs in the center of a group of daffodils with good results. I also grow lilies in half barrels instead of the ground, which works as well. You can lay wire mesh over new bulb plantings until they start to sprout - not too decorative, but it keeps them from being dug up. You can also plant extra special bulbs in hardware cloth cylinders to foil the underground munchers or line the planting area with wire mesh and then plant your bulbs. Surrounding your bulbs with sharp gravel also helps discourage the tunnellers.
There are rodent repellents, like Ropel, available in most garden centers and via mailorder. I find them pretty expensive and I'm not so sure they really work. Bloodmeal will repel rodents, but it will attract your
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