Coexisting with city wildlife in the garden

Lauren Bethke

City gardening is a unique blend of nurturing plants while coexisting with a surprising variety of urban wildlife. From playful squirrels to curious raccoons, and even baby bunnies nestled among your vegetables, sharing your garden with city critters can be both delightful and challenging. With a thoughtful approach, you can cultivate a thriving garden that reduces damage from animals without harming our urban wildlife.
Have you ever found baby bunnies in your garden bed? It happened to me this year! When I went to prep my raised beds for planting this spring, I discovered a nest of six tiny bunnies, with their eyes not even open yet. Although they were adorable, I had to quickly change my garden plan to avoid disturbing them. You may find baby rabbits tucked into a shallow nest lined with grass and fur. Don’t touch or move them – in most cases, their mother is nearby and only returns briefly to feed them a couple of times per day. Keep pets and children away until the rabbits leave the nest, which is usually within about three weeks. My nest of bunnies grew up quickly and has left my garden bed, although I still see them in the yard. Luckily, they’re mostly eating grass and clover, and not my lovingly planted crops.
While baby bunnies are a temporary and relatively harmless presence, adult rabbits can quickly become a gardener’s nemesis, munching their way through veggies and flowers. To deter them, physical barriers are your best bet. Install a low fence, with mesh no larger than 1 inch, and be sure to bury the bottom 6 to 12 inches underground to prevent digging. Or, to protect individual plants without fencing in the whole garden, you can try using wire mesh cloches or small rings of chicken wire.
Squirrels are notorious for digging holes, eating out of bird feeders, and sampling garden produce. A few years ago, I planted 100 bulbs in the fall, only to discover in the spring that squirrels had eaten about 80 of them, making my spring flower display much less impressive than I had hoped! To minimize their mischief, my top tip is to place chicken wire or any type of metal mesh over the soil after planting bulbs or seeds. This prevents squirrels from digging up your freshly planted veggies and flowers. If you have bird feeders, avoid placing them too close to the garden. You can also try planting strong-smelling plants to deter squirrels, such as garlic, mint, or marigolds. I’ve never had great luck with this strategy, but I know others swear by it, so it may work for you (and be aware that mint spreads extremely quickly, so keep it confined to a pot!). There are also commercially available products with these scents that can help. These products will need to be reapplied every few weeks or after a heavy rain.
For both rabbits and squirrels, I always recommend using metal mesh rather than plastic. Although plastic mesh is a lot lighter and easier to work with, animals can chew through it pretty easily. Additionally, birds can get trapped in lightweight plastic mesh.
Raccoons and opossums are common nocturnal visitors that may dig through your compost bins or snack on fruits and vegetables in the garden. To discourage them, secure trash and compost bins with tight-fitting lids. It can also be helpful to harvest ripe produce promptly and clean up fallen produce. You can even harvest most fruits and vegetables a day or two early, and let them finish ripening indoors.
Interestingly, both opossums and raccoons can actually be beneficial, since they eat slugs, insects, and even small rodents. Rather than viewing them as pests, think of them as natural pest control.
One important note is that if you have produce that’s mostly untouched but has a few nibbles from an animal, it’s safest to still compost the whole item and not eat around the damaged part. Although it is very sad to have to toss a whole beautifully ripe tomato, it’s not worth the risk of pathogens that a squirrel or raccoon may carry.
Ultimately, urban wildlife is part of the ecosystem. By finding a balance between protection and coexistence, your city garden can become a haven for both plants and the creatures that wander through. And hey, at least in the city we don’t have to worry about deer!
For more information, check out the University of Minnesota Extension Yard and Garden website. Extension resources are written by experts and contain the latest and most reliable research-based information. Happy gardening!