Animal control

My vege garden is under attack from rabbits and possibly raccoons.

I have 1" chicken wire fence and the bottom is tied to 4x4 in some places and 2x2 in some . The problem seems to be in areas where there are 2x2. While I will be replacing those, that need to wait till next season.

for this season, I am thinking of following ..

Get more chicken wire fence, tie about 2" to the existing fence and staple the rest to the ground (outside fence) . Will this help preventing those critters either digging under the fence or using small gaps to reach inside ?

 

Yes, anything you do will probably help. Will it be 100% successful depends on what you do and how bad the animals want in. The problem is made worse once an animal knows it can get food by going under a fence. Once they learn that trick they will work harder to dig or squeeze their way in than an animal that has not been educated.

If you think the animals are lifting the 2x2 or 4x4 you can try anchoring them to the ground. Normally the bottom of the fence is buried so when animals try to dig they keep hitting a barrier and give up. With the fence flared out they may just start burrowing at the edge of your addition but it can't hurt to try. They might give up before they get all the way into the garden. Just make sure you check the garden daily and repair any diggings.

Raccoon, opossum and groundhogs (all animals that love gardens) are very good climbers. If they aren't going under your fence they could be climbing over. An electric fence is good at preventing that. Rabbits are a bit easier as they don't climb but they do know how to dig, and can dig quite a lot in just one evening. Once they learn they can't get in a certain way they usually don't keep trying.

 

Thanks. I have found a way to beat the climbing

I have used plastic/vinyl fence for top 2 feet and left half of it hanging outside . So, if it climbs, the weight pulls it back before it reaches top. Helping till now