There are slugs, aphids, squirrels, birds, cabbage moths and
a dozen other pests that we try to keep out of our gardens. And then there are
the pests that aren't really pests. They are your pets...and yet they can
become pests.
This spring as I have been trying to outsmart the slugs and
aphids at their game, I have also been waging a battle with my own pets as
pests. They can look so cute and unassuming while they sleep in the sun or pose for a picture. But then
when you catch them a couple hours staring at you from the middle of your
vegetable bed, they are not such cute little furballs.
Because of our pets' naughty behavior, this has become my
gardening reality. Fencing whipped up out of odds and ends found around our
yard. It's not pretty. I want to look out at my veggie beds and see all of the
seedlings cropping up. I do not want to see a mini vegetable jail. Because I
refused to spend money on fencing to keep the cats out, I ended up utilizing
the three different types of fencing that I had stashed in my shed. This will
never be a cover photo of Sunset magazine, but it has worked.
Mostly. Now the pup has discovered that she can gently pull
the snap peas from the trellis and nip them off one by one. Does your dog like
to eat snap peas as well? I think I have lost my entire crop to her. Pests are
part of any garden. We just don't like to look out and see our pets playing the
role of pest. But it is the reality at times. Isn't it?
How do you deal with your lovable pets wrecking havoc on
your vegetable garden? Have you found a foolproof way to grow your veggies and
keep all of the furry critters out?
Happy Gardening (with your pets),
Bekah