When I polled our listener community about your top requests for outdoor garden-related episodes, the number one request surprised me: it wasn’t managing fertilizer, succession planting, or garden design. It was how to manage pesky animals getting into your gardens! Today, I have the answer to your prayers: Brie from briegrows.com walks us through such a comprehensive list of practices and solutions for managing pests and other critters in the garden. This conversation really helps us rethink the way we approach animals in the garden and I’m excited for you to learn from Brie as I did!

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In this episode we learn:

• [00:06:05] How Brie became Brie The Plant Lady
• [00:08:59] Brie shares her greatest achievement in plant propagation
• [00:11:29] Maria’s experience with squirrels and deer in the garden
• [00:14:15] Do we call them ‘pests’ or ‘animals’? Brie shares an important reminder about animals in nature
• [00:18:29] Maria shares a totally honest story about critters #nofilter
• [00:19:02] How to identify chipmunks from squirrels, and what their usual behaviors are in the garden
• [00:21:03] How to use hot peppers as animal repellent
• [00:24:18] Different and easy ways to use peppermint oil as animal repellent (hint: seashells!)
• [00:26:49] How to prevent squirrels and chipmunks from digging holes in your garden beds
• [00:29:07] Using vole king bags to protect your bulbs from animals
• [00:30:20] Vole king bags vs chicken wire planters
• [00:31:11] Shrews vs voles vs moles
• [00:32:47] How to deal with moles in the garden
• [00:33:21] Why you should use less mulch in the garden
• [00:35:12] Where and how to plant garlic as vole repellent (and hit two birds with one stone!)
• [00:39:16] Do you need to worry about burrowing animals if you have raised beds?
• [00:40:40] What are groundhogs and how to keep them away from the garden
• [00:43:14] Squirrel damage vs groundhog damage
• [00:45:29] Setting up a wildlife camera for better animal surveillance in the garden
• [00:47:02] Where to get the best eco planters (with gorgeous color selections!)
• [00:49:24] The best and easiest deer fence kits for your garden
• [00:51:16] The idea behind trap crops and how to apply them in the garden
• [00:54:25] The different plants that help repel rabbits 
• [00:57:26] How often should you apply repellents to your plants?
• [00:58:54] Using animal scats to identify pests in the garden
• [01:00:00] Why deer is a serious gardening problem and how understanding their behavior can help you keep them away
• [01:01:50] How to install hedges and streamers that keep deer away
• [01:06:29] Deer-proof plants, are there such things?
• [01:09:05] When to use deer sprays and how to best use mammal-specific repellents
• [01:11:35] Brie shares her own recipe of animal repellent using common household items!
• [01:13:33] The rookie mistakes gardeners make when trying to keep animals from the garden
• [01:15:56] Brie reminds us how to be mindful gardeners and have respect for the animals that we don’t want in our gardens
• [01:17:11] What Brie’s garden looks like! It is envy-worthy!

Mentioned in our conversation:

• The Foodscape Revolution by Brie Arthur
• Gardening with Grains by Brie Arthur
• The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife by Nancy Lawson
• Deer‑Resistant Design: Fence‑free Gardens that Thrive Despite the Deer by Karen Chapman

These links are BAGR amazon affiliate links

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

WallyGro

Wallygro has just launched new Spring Colors in both their Eco and Loop planters! The Eco planter model makes installing your own greenwall a breeze and their Loop planter model is the answer to drip-free tabletop or hanging plants, and they are made from recycled plastic! WallyGro is offering a limited-time 15% discount to our community from May 11 to May 18th. Snag them while they are available at wallygro.com and use code BAGR15 for 15% off at checkout.

DeerBusters

If you’ve got wildlife looking at your veggie garden, DeerBusters is here to help! DeerBusters strives to protect the gardens of companies and individuals through high-quality, easy-to-install, wildlife fencing kits that come in several different materials and sizes. No fancy hardware needed. Visit https://www.deerbusters.com/ today to protect your plants tomorrow and use code BLOOM at checkout for 10% off.

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