What's YOUR least favorite VARMINT?

[bob in CT]

My vote today is the whitetail deer. Early in the season they chomped down my pumpkins and squash to nubs. When I got back from Japan Saturday night I ran out with a flashlight to find all my sunflowers were gone. About 1/3 acre. Weeds were there, of course. I guess I'll stagger my cultivating over by a 1/2 row and keep the weeds down and plant a rye cover crop. I need an electric fence. Can't do anything but bow hunt in this town and the deer pour into the yard like a jailbreak after my cousin gets down from the stand and packs up.

Woodchucks take a close second- they nailed my cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. 100% loss. dug under the fence into the garden, but at least I can control that by burying some of the fence wire. When I get the time, that is. Makes it difficult to get the tractor in there if I need to spread compost so I will probably bury a short piece and hook my above ground section to that so I can still roll it back to drive in when I need to. I read that it is good to bend it away from the garden for 6 inches or so about 6-8 inches down, that way they hit the corner if they try to dig under the buried section.

And of course the bird love the blueberries. I have not been able to justify 100 feet of cage. I still have 15 gallons of berries in the freezer from last year's bumper crop so I guess I have enough to share.

At least they did not get into the corn. One of the farms nearby just stopped growing sweet corn (he is retired) and converted the fields to hay after raccoons came in and destroyed the entire field in a couple of nights. My mother told me a local farmer was on the news and his cornfield was raided by birds. He can't sell a single ear as they were all damaged. She said he was in tears.

here is a picture of my very first corn crop. I planted 3 kinds to stagger the picking but I can see i will be overwhelmed with corn soon. I think some of the corn has grown a foot since this was taken Monday. Silver Queen is a good 7 feet tall at the end of these rows. What an awesome plant.

[delawhere]

Without any doubt. It has to be the mole. I live in Delaware and I will guarentee you that every mole in this state lives on my property. Some years they take over my flower beds, garden and lawn. I have tried everything from horse hair to chewing gum and so many different chemicals that the list is a mile long. The only good weapon i got is my beagle. She has got 4 so far this year. It is something to see her wait and wait around a tunnel and then jump and start digging. They must either feel the movement in their feet or hear them. Either way, she don't do bad. Then all I got to do is fill up the deep hole she leaves.

[Joe Malinowski]

Wow Bob nice corn hope the Racoons don't find it. My least favorite is definately the woodchuck, they are all over up here and the coy dogs have not wiped them out. Luckily they make for good target practice but I also have a assortment of box traps. The deer don't bother my garden I think it may be the dogs. I do know there are some repellents that I have heard work well.

[Virginia Mike]

Deer #1, Racoons a close second.

[Don McCombs]

Bob,

Definitely deer. Liquid Fence works very well for small areas, but would not be practical or affordable to use on the scale you need it. My suggestion would be electric fence. Here's a resource. http://www.kencove.com

[Barnyard]

Anything that gets in the garden is my least favorite. We have several hundred acres of county park land that abuts our property and everything imaginable lives there. When we bought our house four years ago BOB was infested with coons. Every night you could see numerous deer near the fence. The four foot chain link naturally was nothing to them. Two years ago we added the two Border Collies to the barnyard. Haven't seen a coon or deer since, Well except for the one deer that broke it's neck when it hit the fence while it was running from the dogs. The garden only gets invaded by insects now and I think Flash even chases those.

[Bob McCarty]

PRAIRIE DOGS!!! Even though I might consider myself somewhat of a tree hugger, I can't stand prairie dogs.

Bob

[ellen]

This may not qualify as a rodent but it is a pest to me. Fire Ants. I hate them. You can't do anything in the yard w/o being bit, and boy do they hurt. Washed my car last week and had a dozen bites on my feet.

[Bill E Bob]

Armadillos #1 Crayfish #2 Armadillos root up the lawn as bad as a hog, and the crayfish contribute
to soil erosion and leave holes all over the yard

[ScottyD'sdad]

Woodchucks get my vote. Nobody is even close to them, for my #2 vote. Ed

[beaconlight]

Evidently none of you guys have had beavers to do a number on your stuff. Yes coons and deer can be bad but beavers will drive you to distraction. Since I found the president of the NY Trappers Assn. is a neighbor the problem has been cured with out breaking a law. I try to be law abiding but beavers could change my view.

[H. L. Chauvin]

HI,

Politicians -- they rob all working people's hard eared dollars with taxes so they can give freebees to buy votes from the non-working people.

Mosquitoes, close second, very similar, suck our blood to go out & make more blood sucking mosquitoes.

H. L. Chauvin

[Jim Roy]

HI,

Politicians -- they rob all working people's hard eared dollars with taxes so they can give freebees to buy votes from the non-working people.

Mosquitoes, close second, very similar, suck our blood to go out & make more blood sucking mosquitoes.

H. L. Chauvin

[Dennis]

Not a varmint, but a current nuisance are mud dauber's. They get in just about every little spot they can find on my equipment. I knock them down, and they just build in another place that is always a surprise...

[Festus]

Moles first, coyotes second, mice third. Because the coyotes love to eat cats, I have a hard time keeping cats at the barn to keep the mice down.

Festus