For the past 3 or so years we have planted melons in our garden. We plant them right next to a retaining wall in a nice long stretch of space. The area gets great sun... which the melons love. Normally we have the crows to contend with. They attack our watermelons and eat a few of them before we can get to them. The best way that we have found to deter them is using water scarecrows. These are motion sensored and spray a nice stream of water at them. Mwah ha ha.
This year we have another critter attacking our garden. However, he isn't attacking the watermelons...noooo....he's attacking the cantaloupes. We couldn't figure out what was eating all of the leaves and fruit. We literally had stems. We finally figured it out. We had a groundhog living in the retaining wall. Yep, IN the wall. The wall is made of bricks and he lived in the spaces. Each day he just went out there for a nibble and went back in his hole. We even caught him sunbathing on the bricks. Grrrrrrr
We borrowed a trap and lured him into it with apples and cabbage. SUCCESS!!! Adam released him a few miles away.
Now, you would think that was it, right? NOPE! A few weeks later we had ANOTHER groundhog. Apparently he was strolling by and saw the new cantaloupe growth that we were finally starting to get again. He decided that the wall was INDEED a mighty nice home and settled right in. This guy was more active though. He was constantly out, sunbathing on the wall. Adam pointed the scarecrows in his direction and caught him playing soldier with it. He saw them getting set off by his movement and he literally acted like he was in the trenches. He ducked under the watermelon leaves when he moved and popped his head up every once in a while. He kept doing that so that he could move along the wall. SO....we trapped him and released him too.
Wonder when we'll have another one move in....
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