Wildlife and Gardens - Part 7

href="http://www.deerbusters.com/otherproducts..." >repellents on the market will work, but most need to be re-applied after rains.

Speaking of deterrents, keep in mind that unless your local deer consider man, coyotes, wolves or lions as a known predator, using their urine won't scare the deer at all, they may even think it makes your plants taste better. Also, it's better to apply your deterrent material before the deer start munching. They are creatures of habit and once they put your borders on their nightly rounds, you are more likely to sustain damage no matter what you spray or fling on them.

Fencing is the only fool-proof method of protecting your plantings unless you are in a position to allow a large, active and hunting inclined dog to run free on your property - something most of us in suburban areas cannot do. Fencing my entire property is out of the question, but I had good success last winter by erecting heavy plastic mesh fencing around groups of yews and azaleas (a favorite winter food). Interestingly enough, when deprived of these plants, the deer ate the leaves from all the Ajuga and Lunaria they could find - plants they have never touched before. This is not a decorative solution (my husband said the garden looked like a concentration camp), but my yews are recovering and I had azalea blooming this spring!

This article ends the series on wildlife and gardens. Next week we'll consider planting in the dry shade under trees. See ya' later.

More Information

• Planting a Bee Garden by Stephen Buchmann not only tells you how to encourage wild bees but how to build three different kinds of nests for them.

• U-Spray, Inc. is interested in selling you their products, but they do have a good fact page about carpenter bees .

• The Official Pacific Northwest Slug Page is the place to go to find out anything you need to know about slugs. There are links to both fun and serious pages dealing with slugs. Where else can you go to order a nice can of slug chowder? One of their links takes you to http://www.ghorganics.com/page13.html Ugh...Slugs! which lists about every method of dealing with these slimy critters I've ever heard of as well as listing their preferred drowning beverages.

• The copyright of the article Wildlife and Gardens - Part 7 in Shade Gardening is owned by Marge Talt. Permission to republish Wildlife and Gardens - Part 7 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.