18October 24, 2012

The weather may be mild but the calendar is telling us that November is coming and that means that cold weather will be on its way. With the coming of the cold weather means that there are various creatures that will want to eat your trees and shrubs.

There are various animals that can damage your plants. This is especially true in the winter months. Deer eat all kinds of trees and shrubs. Mice will eat the bark on many types of trees and shrubs. Voles and moles will tunnel through your lawn and gardens damaging the roots of your plants. You need to set up a plan now to protect your plants.

Deer have begun to be a major problem in this area. Once the snow begins to fall, they begin eating many plants. The plants that we commonly set out around ours yards are unfortunately ideal food for hungry deer. You should begin applying deer repellent now to your plants. This is usually a liquid that is sprayed onto the plants. The scent of the deer repellents keeps the deer from eating your plants. If you begin applying the deer repellent before the deer begin eating your plants, you have a better chance of stopping the deer before the deer decide that your plants will be good food for the winter.

Mice are particularly fond of eating the bark of fruit trees and many of our ornamental flowering trees. If you wrap the trunk of the trees with a tree wrap, the mice will not eat the bark off the trees. This product comes in many styles and sizes. Remember that if the mice or rabbits eat the bark all the way around the trunk of the tree, the tree will not be able to take up food and water in the spring. This will cause the tree to die. By applying a tree wrap now, you can save your trees from costly damage.

Moles and voles have been a major problem in lawns and flowerbeds the past two winters. The tunneling leads to root damage in the lawn. The roots of perennials make a great winter food for voles.
There are granular mole and vole repellents that you can apply to your lawn and perennial gardens. These repellents create a scent in the soil that moles and voles do not like. This scent will keep them from spending the winter destroying your yard.

Now is the time to begin to put into place steps to prevent damage to your plants and your lawn. Once the snow begins to fly, the damage will begin. By starting now, you can break animals of visiting your yard and turning it into a salad bar for their winter diet.

Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.