Badgers

[maggie01]

Sometimes I dont see it for a few days then it comes back with avengeance.
I heard it last night so I came downstairs but it must have bn next door.. When I got up this morning my grass was like a minefield.
Why does it disappear for days making you think it has moved on and then come back doing a lot more damage?

[andy-hughes]

Because that what badgers do.

You must content yourself with the fact that it is not personal - badgers are not known for their seige mentality.

[hc4361]

I think it's holidaying in my garden when it's away from yours, maggie.

Have you tried pouring human urine around the places he comes in, tying up dirty old socks and hanging them from an old pair of tights, soaking old rags in the smelliest fabric conditioner and hanging them up - anything that will smell of humans may deter the badger.

[andy-hughes]

hc, I have checked on a couple of sites, and it appears that badgers are not especially frightened of humans, so the scent of them is unlikely to deter the badgers from coming into a garden.

Badgers are timid creatures, and will be scared by noise and movement, but not by scent, which, it appears, they will simply ignore.

Why not try bright external lights with motion sensers on them? We live very near to a rural area and see no wild animals in the garden at night - the only things that set off the lights are the neighbour's cats, which have learned to ignore the lights completely.

[hc4361]

Ha! I have motion sensors that trigger a bright light which doesn't bother the badger at all, and shouting from the bedroom window has no effect.

Timid my harris. I have a video of it standing on top of my fence in bright light, trying to get the peanuts out of the peanut holder (for the birds). It got up okay, danced about on top for at least 40 seconds before falling off.

[Brinjal]

How lucky to have wildlife in your garden. I have a mole or more precisely a mked mole rat in my garden and he throws up heaps of dirt everywhere. It's fun trying to guess where he will pop up next.

[maggie01]

Brinjal. it was interesting at first to watch it roaming around especially when there were two of them playing but I try hard to get my garden looking half decent so it is getting a bit annoying now.
Also I look after my grandson and I worry that he is crawling on grass where the badger has been.

andy-hughes. It's good to have a sense of humour. .

I really don't mind the few small holes but last night was more than small holes and also the noise it makes scratching away at something wakes me up. My neighbours and myself have left the holes for it to come and go to minimise any damage so you would think it would be a bit grateful that it doesn't have to work too hard to get to where it is going.

[hc4361]

Problem is badgers go mad for soft fruits, and of course all my fruit plants are ripening.