Hares in the gardenare troublesome pests. They like to gnaw the bark of fruit trees, causing considerable damage. The problem is exacerbated in winter, when hares lack food in their natural habitat. In order toavoid damage caused by hares , the garden should be properly protected against these clever animals. Seehow to scare hares from the gardenand, if the deterrence did not work,how to save a tree bitten by hares
Brown hare in the garden
Fig. depositphotos.com
Why are the hares destroying the garden?
In the following article, we will suggest how to deter hares and discourage them from visiting the garden. However, before we discuss the ways to protect the garden from hares, I would like to point out thatthe appearance of hares on our plots in winter usually means that they lack food in the natural environmentSometimes what they find in our garden in winter, he saves their lives.
Thereforeapart from securing the garden against hares, it is also worth considering how you can help the haresand whether it would of the pasture so that they would eat there and not wander to our gardens.Hares can be fed from the end of November to the turn of February and MarchIt is worth doing it especially if there is a thick snow cover, because then it is hardest for hares to find food.
The hares will be helpful :
- oat sheaves,
- clover, seradella and alfalfa hay,
- vegetables such as cabbage, kale, carrots, beets.
Never feed hares in the garden , as they do a lot of damage to crops. There is no point in luring hares to the garden, because they are very hard to get rid of afterwards. We feed the hares only in places of their natural occurrence.
Hares cause the most damage to gardens in winter
Fig. pixabay.com
How to scare the hares from the garden?
1. Proper garden fencing
In orderto protect the garden against haresa suitable fence is required. It should be sufficiently high, at least 1.2 - 1.6 m. It should also be underpinned. We dig the foundation at least 30 cm deep into the ground so that the hares cannot dig into the fence.It can also dig just the mesh underground, to the same depth.
A fence that will effectively protect the garden from hare visitsmust be made of a metal mesh with small meshes so that the animals cannot chew through it or squeeze between the wires. You can use, for example, a forest net, popularly used to protect garden plantations, or an ordinary fence mesh with small meshes.
2. Electric Shepherd
Hare garden can be secured with an electric shepherd.It is a low (45 cm high) wire fence that emits electrical impulses. After hares come into contact with such a fence, they learn very quickly that touching the cord causes unpleasant sensations and they begin to avoid it. Such a fence is not harmful to the he alth and life of animals.
The electric shepherd consists of 4 horizontal wires stretched on posts. The lowest wire should be no higher than 7.5 cm above the ground. The shepherd's electric power source can be an electric battery or an electric network.
3. Repellents
Anotherway to deter hares is to use scented repellants , i.e. repellants. Such products can be purchased at larger garden centers or ordered from online stores.In order to scare away hares,is applied in autumn to the trunks of young (2-3 years old) trees with preparations that repel. They should be applied to dry bark, on rainless days and at a positive temperature. Grease the trees up to the height of about 80-100 cm, which is as high as the hares can reach. Covering the trees with the preparation should be repeated every year.
Hare in the garden
Fig. pixabay.com
Among preparations for lubricating or painting tree trunks, we especially recommend HANTUS . It is a tree paint that has 2 functions at the same time:
- prevents animals from gnawing trees and seedlings,
- protects trees against bark cracking as a result of frost.
Painting trees with HANTUS can therefore replace the traditional whitewashing of fruit trees with lime, and at the same timewill protect trees from being bitten by deer, deer, hares and rodentsAgainst rodents and hares, paint trees up to the height 80-100 cm, but if it is also to protect against deer and deer, it is worth painting the trunks of trees higher - up to 1.8 m.
Importantly, HANTUS does not contain any chemical poison. It issafe for people and the environment
Some gardeners use a more homemade hare approach, namelyusually toilet soaps . They hang the soaps on the trees (in packages). The smell of soap, which animals associate with the smell of humans, helps keep the hares at bay.
4. Deterrent with sound
Hares are by nature skittish animals, reacting by fleeing to sudden movements and unexpected sounds. Using this feature, we can hang rustling plastic bags or cans on fences, trees or shrubs, whichwill make noise and scare away hares as a result of wind gustsThere are more professional devices available in stores that emit such sounds as human steps or the crackle of broken twigs. You can also use bang traps. Such devices react to movement and are activated when the animal is nearby.
5. Tree covers
Despite the appropriate safeguards, hungry hares can find their way to the garden and destroy the trees growing in them. In order to prevent such a situation, the trunks of young trees can be protected by using tree trunks covers. Such a cover can be a plastic tube, metal or plastic mesh, thick, perforated foil, or a straw mulch. Whenhares cannot get into food , they will give up and leave the garden.
Cover protecting the trunk against being bitten
Fig. depositphotos.com
6. Bite plots
"In order todraw the attention of hares to fruit treesyou can set up the so-called bite plots. They are created, for example, from cut branches of fruit trees. The branches are spread out on the ground, at a considerable distance from the trees. They act as a feeder for the hares to use. You can also create such a plot by planting kale around the fence.Hares, having a choice of green leaves and kale stalks, will give up tree barkIt is best to choose kale varieties with long and thick stems, then the food for hares will last longer. "
How to save a tree bitten by hares?
A tree damaged by hares can be saved , provided that we start it as soon as possible.If the wounds on the trunk are small, it is enough to clean them thoroughly by removing the dead tissue with a knife, and then decontaminate the wound. Cleaned wounds are painted over with Topsin M 500 SC paint. You can also add a repellent to the paint. For the treatment of wounds on the bark, we can use more professional agents available in garden stores, such as Dendromal-2 paste, which protects wounds against the penetration of pathogens and accelerates healing. Another wound-protecting agent is Tervanol S - Wundbalsam, which creates the so-called artificial bark. Apply the preparations with a brush on a dry, clean and smoothed place.
Shoots strongly bitten by harescut obliquely just below the debarking site and smear the cutting wound with garden ointment. If the damage site is above the budding site, we remove the entire damaged part of the trunk. From the reflective momentum we form a new conductor and crown. In fact, we lose the yield for two seasons, but there is a good chance of recovering a valuable variety.
If the wounds on the trunk are very extensive,bridge grafting can be used to save the tree . It involves the implantation of one or more one-year-old shoots above and below the wound. For this we can use outgrowths that grow from the lower part of the trunk or slips.
The top of the regrowth is trimmed obliquely to approximately 3 centimeters. Just above the wound, we make a T-shaped incision and we graft the top of the regrowth into it. Protect the vaccination site with raffia or grafting foil and smear it with garden ointment.
"In the case of scion, the shoot on both sides is cut off in the same way as for the grafting by application method.We graft the cut on the bark in a different way, depending on the date.Before starting the vegetation, cut the bark so that it fits exactly to the cuts on the scion. During the growing season, cut the bark in a T-shape. Attach the scarf tightly to the trunk on both sides of the wound, tie it with raffia and coat it with orchard ointment.In this way, a bridge is created, through which the sap will flow freely after fusing, avoiding the diseased part of the trunk, and the tree will completely regenerate over time. Thoroughly clean the wound under the vaccination site and apply a protective agent. "
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
