Gardening during panhandle Florida’s spring has many positive features. As a general rule, the weather is pleasant with moderate temperatures and, aside from a few mosquitos, the insect population which eats cultivated vegetation is almost nil.
Still, there are pest species which have the potential to consume a gardener’s hard work. The terrible three of this rogues’ gallery are rabbits, deer and squirrels. The size of tooth marks, the bite pattern, and the size of the material consumed are all helpful in determining which species was snacking in the garden or on the shrubs.
Justifiable or not, much of the damage to gardens and landscapes is blamed on rabbits. In reality, vegetables, fruit and plants are consumed by a wide variety of wildlife.
Deer are one of the big three garden and landscape pests in spring. Many of their preferred foliage meals have been exhausted during winter, causing them to turn to home landscapes and vegetable gardens for sustenance.
While rabbits can easily clip tender vegetation with the sharp incisors at the front of their mouth, their relatively short height usually limits their reach beyond 15 inches above the ground. Rabbits typically clip seedlings and leaves with a clean, angled cut remaining on the stem.
Preferred stems are usually less than 1/4 inch in diameter, and tooth marks are 1/16 to 1/8 inches wide.
The native rabbits in north Florida are eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus). Their feeding habits have them eating 24 hours a day, but they are very cautious and wary of potential predators.
Such is the case with white-tailed deer, a native herbivore, which searches suburbia for leafy meals. While they tend to forage during the day, they are active many nights when the moonlight is bright.
The homeowners are usually unaware until after the shrubbery or vegetables have been eaten because the deer are so silent and stealthy. Barriers to their entry must be at least eight feet tall as they are capable of dramatic leaps in pursuit of nourishment. They often browse and will eat the tops of plants in a random pattern.
Deer have preferences and will consume their top choice, based on the season. When the preferred choice is exhausted, they move to the next selection.
Odocoileus virginianus osceolais is the scientific name of the white-tailed deer sub-species living in much of panhandle Florida.
Squirrels are opportunists and will pursue anything they view as a likely source of food. In the wild, squirrels survive primarily on nuts, seeds and berries.
Human inhabitation offers squirrels a much wider menu from which to select and makes it far easier for these rodents to prosper, and to reproduce. Bird feeders, pet food, fruit trees and vegetable gardens are all easy picking.
Pecan trees are particularly attractive to a squirrel and its extended family. Hybrid trees with high yields and excellent quality nuts may be stripped clean when infested with a hungry horde of squirrels.
It can be especially frustrating for the homeowner or gardener when a squirrel samples a piece of fruit or cuts a vegetable plant and leaves it lying on the ground, wasted and unusable. They will also chew through tree and shrub barks, opening the plants to the possibility of disease and, potentially, death.
Like all rodents, the front teeth of squirrels grow throughout their life. This mandates chewing on hard substances to constantly grind the incisors to a manageable length.
Squirrels have also been known to chew garden hoses and PVC irrigation pipes to satisfy their thirst. Again, the results are wasted and destroyed resources, along with serious inconvenience for the property owner.
Control methods vary, but it will be a constant challenge when there is a population of the three spring foragers. Barriers are the most effective, but also the most expensive.
Rabbits, deer and squirrels are just part of the challenge of spring gardening.
Leave a Reply