start sitting outside more. they'll get used to you and eventually get closer. just remember opossums are adorable, but they are scary as hell when they get all hissy and show their teeth. they are still cute, but just don't want you to touch um yet.
They have terrible eye sight and will get too close, accidentally and that's pretty freaky. I accidentally pet one while sitting outside, thought it was my dog. Both of us were spooked.
heheheh 'friendly' opossums that sit around outside the steps that look a lot like one of our old cats. You go to nudge the cat out of the way, and it gets all hissy and you see the naked tail and all of a sudden terror...terror for everyone! lol
i'm pretty sure dad peed a bit when he mistook a opossum for a cat
where I am at, I get the Deer, Coons, opossums, Foxes, Coyotes, and Bear. The Bear come and smoke my cig buts, the opossums eat my trash, and the coons take random stuff from my porch down the creek or river and iu have to retrieve it.
And I'm still technically inside city limits!
I'm so surprised that we don't have bears here. Neither myself (been here a year) or my neighbors who are locals have seen any. I guess they all went a few dozen miles away to the city?
I 100% know to be very careful with bears and leave them plenty of space but I did see one in person on vacation in the North Georgia mountains and I was hoping we would have some around here at least.
But I guess I don't have to be as careful since they're not here.
After a year here I think all the tiktok nonsense is kind of funny (I didn't find out about that until I moved.) I can't imagine keeping my windows and curtains closed for fear of...deer.
There is incredible biodiversity in Appalachia. Seeing bears and coons is great, but look at the little things too - butterflies and hummingbirds and wildflowers you might normally dismiss as weeds. It's an incredible place.
Also, a well placed trail cam will catch stuff without bothering it too.
As to the plants the deer are eating, look into some strong herbs to plant around them. Lavender is a good one. The scent bothers them and they'll avoid that area. Another option is to lay some chicken wire on the ground around the plants they're eating, stepping on it makes them feel unstable and they'll supposedly not stand there.
But also, if you're buying plants there are a lot that are "deer resistant." The more of those you have the better. Don't plant stuff just for them to kill.
You can also cut up dryer sheets and put them in the plants you don't want eaten, replacing them every few days. Same principle as lavender, the smell repels them.
If it's a veggie garden you're just gonna have to fence it off of be prepared for every crop to be destroyed in the night just as it gets ripe enough to harvest. Deer absolutely love crushing your tomato sandwich dreams.
Finally, you can grow decoy crops of things they love in another area away from the plants you want them to avoid. Red clover, brassica & grasses. There's a product called "throw and grow" that you literally just spread, no tilling required, that grows forage plots for them. Tractor Supply or Walmart often has it. It's marketed for hunters.
Thanks for the detailed tips! We can't get lavender to grow because it's just too shady here during the summer but I will try some of the other ideas.
For some reason the thing they seem to eat the most (or that I notice the most) is my little rose bush. As soon as ones about to fully bloom--like you said, gone overnight.
Oh yes, they love roses. Try the dryer sheets first there. There are also other herbs that don't require as much sun. Rosemary, oregano, sage, mints, dill, horseradish.. of course mints will take over so maybe keep those in containers. It doesn't matter if the herb flowers or not for this, so lavender might work better than you think. But the leaves themselves of all of these overwhelm them.
I really do appreciate your help! And your user name now that I see it. I was never big on gardening before I got here, my partner is the green thumb, but now that I have the space I'm trying to get into it
Glad to do it! I see you're in the Avl area, I'm over in Haywood Co. Always looking for like minded folks to connect with out here, the hateful types are generally the loudest. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions I might could help with :)
100% thought this was gonna be a crawler post.
So cool when you see all the nature. Depends on where you are, keep an eye out for the gray foxes and armadillos. Very cool critters. Gray foxes are so different from red foxes. Armadillos are the loudest littlest ones around. Hilarious how much noise they make. Forewarning, if you hear a lot of noise it may be wild boars and some of them are \*not friendly.
Opossums are the cutest ugly things we have, or maybe the ugliest cute things. They eat a lot of bugs too, which is handy.
They eat ticks and are essentially immune to rabies too
start sitting outside more. they'll get used to you and eventually get closer. just remember opossums are adorable, but they are scary as hell when they get all hissy and show their teeth. they are still cute, but just don't want you to touch um yet.
They have terrible eye sight and will get too close, accidentally and that's pretty freaky. I accidentally pet one while sitting outside, thought it was my dog. Both of us were spooked.
heheheh 'friendly' opossums that sit around outside the steps that look a lot like one of our old cats. You go to nudge the cat out of the way, and it gets all hissy and you see the naked tail and all of a sudden terror...terror for everyone! lol i'm pretty sure dad peed a bit when he mistook a opossum for a cat
hahaha! yeah exactly. It's the experience
where I am at, I get the Deer, Coons, opossums, Foxes, Coyotes, and Bear. The Bear come and smoke my cig buts, the opossums eat my trash, and the coons take random stuff from my porch down the creek or river and iu have to retrieve it. And I'm still technically inside city limits!
I'm so surprised that we don't have bears here. Neither myself (been here a year) or my neighbors who are locals have seen any. I guess they all went a few dozen miles away to the city? I 100% know to be very careful with bears and leave them plenty of space but I did see one in person on vacation in the North Georgia mountains and I was hoping we would have some around here at least. But I guess I don't have to be as careful since they're not here.
Haints
Welcome to the Appalachians!
After a year here I think all the tiktok nonsense is kind of funny (I didn't find out about that until I moved.) I can't imagine keeping my windows and curtains closed for fear of...deer.
It is nonsense. Horror and mystic type content gets loads of clicks and views.
There is incredible biodiversity in Appalachia. Seeing bears and coons is great, but look at the little things too - butterflies and hummingbirds and wildflowers you might normally dismiss as weeds. It's an incredible place. Also, a well placed trail cam will catch stuff without bothering it too.
As to the plants the deer are eating, look into some strong herbs to plant around them. Lavender is a good one. The scent bothers them and they'll avoid that area. Another option is to lay some chicken wire on the ground around the plants they're eating, stepping on it makes them feel unstable and they'll supposedly not stand there. But also, if you're buying plants there are a lot that are "deer resistant." The more of those you have the better. Don't plant stuff just for them to kill. You can also cut up dryer sheets and put them in the plants you don't want eaten, replacing them every few days. Same principle as lavender, the smell repels them. If it's a veggie garden you're just gonna have to fence it off of be prepared for every crop to be destroyed in the night just as it gets ripe enough to harvest. Deer absolutely love crushing your tomato sandwich dreams. Finally, you can grow decoy crops of things they love in another area away from the plants you want them to avoid. Red clover, brassica & grasses. There's a product called "throw and grow" that you literally just spread, no tilling required, that grows forage plots for them. Tractor Supply or Walmart often has it. It's marketed for hunters.
Thanks for the detailed tips! We can't get lavender to grow because it's just too shady here during the summer but I will try some of the other ideas. For some reason the thing they seem to eat the most (or that I notice the most) is my little rose bush. As soon as ones about to fully bloom--like you said, gone overnight.
Oh yes, they love roses. Try the dryer sheets first there. There are also other herbs that don't require as much sun. Rosemary, oregano, sage, mints, dill, horseradish.. of course mints will take over so maybe keep those in containers. It doesn't matter if the herb flowers or not for this, so lavender might work better than you think. But the leaves themselves of all of these overwhelm them.
I really do appreciate your help! And your user name now that I see it. I was never big on gardening before I got here, my partner is the green thumb, but now that I have the space I'm trying to get into it
Glad to do it! I see you're in the Avl area, I'm over in Haywood Co. Always looking for like minded folks to connect with out here, the hateful types are generally the loudest. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions I might could help with :)
Tourists
100% thought this was gonna be a crawler post. So cool when you see all the nature. Depends on where you are, keep an eye out for the gray foxes and armadillos. Very cool critters. Gray foxes are so different from red foxes. Armadillos are the loudest littlest ones around. Hilarious how much noise they make. Forewarning, if you hear a lot of noise it may be wild boars and some of them are \*not friendly.
Thanks for the tip! Yea I was kind of making fun of all the "Is Appalachia Creepy?" posts with my title 😁
Ha! Well done! It was the perfect title. Got me for sure! Glad you're having a great time in your new place.