Woodchucks – are they a Pest or Pet?

This year we have more to contend with in our home garden.  Not only do we have a woodchuck,  but it has an entire family with babies.  The babies are so cute and my children seem to think we can keep them as pets. They’ve eaten our squash, cucumbers and parsley. The babies also seem to be enjoying my Phlox panicualata (summer phlox) and Echinacea (coneflower).

 Luckily the warm weather has just begun and all of these plants grow fast.  We will just replace the vegetables and make it so they don’t want to visit our garden.  There are many organic controls for woodchucks – fences, bloodmeal , hot pepper spray, garlic spray and the product Plantskydd.   

I just went out to the gardens and applied Plantskydd last night.  I have successfully used this product for many years to deter little critters from the garden.  You can apply using different methods – around the whole perimeter of the garden or around the plants they tend to eat.  Either way seems to be just as effective.

There are some plants in particular that woodchucks seem to enjoy. These plants include squash, cucumber, parsley, Achillea (yarrow), Aster, Echinacea (coneflower), Dahlia, Phlox paniculata (summer phlox), Helianthus (sunflower), Papaver( poppy), Ipomoea (sweet potato vine) and Chrysanthemums (mum).  These are plants that you want to be sure you protect.

You can fill your gardens with plants that woodchucks don’t tend to eat.  Lucky for us this list is very long.  You can add plants like Daylily, Veronica, Dianthus, Hosta, Anemone, Artemesia, Amsonia, Asclepias(milkweed, butterfly weed), Agastache (hyssop), Aruncus (goatsbeard), Cimicifuga, Campanula(bellflower),  Astilbe, Coreopsis, Centaurea (bachelor’s button), Crambe, Eupatorium (Joe pye weed), Platycodon (balloon flower), Cranesbill (geranium), Euphorbia (spurge), Gypsophilia (baby’s breath) and there are so many more.

Personally I wouldn’t limit my garden to plants that don’t eat because once you apply a deterrent they stay away and find something else to eat.  What do you use to keep woodchucks away from your garden?