Despite ever shrinking green space, the animals that share the Earth with us are trying to survive. Our homes, offices and shopping centers were developed on what was once forest and fields. Chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, possums, skunks, raccoons, ground hogs and deer are not the invaders. We are. Please remember this when these displaced animals forage for food on your property or try to find places to bear and rear their young.

With education and raised awareness, more and more people are choosing the enlightened and compassionate way to protect their homes and gardens from unwanted animal visitors. There are many humane alternatives to killing. Simple commonsense and prevention are the best forms of animal control.

Raccoons and possum are attracted by garbage. Keep all leftover food inside until the night before trash pick-up. Seal organic garbage in plastic bags (a good way to reuse sandwich or storage bags) and refrigerate or, better yet, freeze it. The less your garbage smells, the less likely it will attract an animal. Use trashcans, with locking lids, where allowed. Otherwise, use heavy-duty, tightly tied trash bags.

With so few places left to burrow or nest, raccoons, possums, skunks and ground hogs will look for safe haven wherever they can find it. They will seek out the weak spots around your home. Neglect invites these animals. A well maintained home does not. 

Install lattice under porches and decks to block animals from nesting. Another option is stainless steel screening that can be sunk into the ground around the inhabited area. A one-way gate is installed that allows the animal to leave, but will not allow it to return. Only install this form of prevention when there are no babies in the nest.

Keep your garage or shed door tightly closed and repair broken boards at the bottom of cracks in the foundation.

Seal all openings under the roofline and cap your chimney. Do not do this if an animal has already entered. Wait until the animal has left to look for food. And be certain that there are no babies left behind. Do not use mothballs or ammonia to flush the animal out. You will kill the babies. A radio tuned to a talk show will sometimes disturb the mother enough to cause her to move out with her babies.

Your garden, whether it is a flower garden or you grow vegetables, will tempt any animal that forages for vegetation. There are a variety of repellants commercially available that claim to keep animals away. These range in cost and effectiveness. And there are recipes for homemade, foul smelling deterrents all over the Internet. The same commercial products used to repel cats and dogs often deter raccoons.

Another option is a mechanical device. Motion-activated sprinklers can be purchased that shoot a stream of water at an intruder, like a remote squirt gun. Loud or annoying sounds can also be set to go off like a security alarm, whenever movement is detected.

Polypropylene netting is sold to cover plants and keep deer and rabbits from eating them, but this netting can put other wildlife at risk. Small birds, toads and other animals could become trapped in the mesh. The netting is also very difficult to work with and expensive in large quantities.

By far the most effective “critter control” is fencing. A low voltage, electrified fence can be effective for all animals, but this option can be expensive. Chicken wire has served the purpose for years. A picket fence may be charming, but deer can jump those of average height. Decorative metal fencing looks good and should keep out all but the most intrepid deer.  A low-tech method is simply a nylon string, stretched across your garden perimeter, chest-high. A deer will back off when it feels the tension.

Deer can be the most destructive of all the animals that come into your garden to forage. In addition to the measures above, you could simply plant as many deer resistant plants as possible. The following is a list of plants that deer will “rarely” damage or “seldom severely” damage. Ask your nursery expert or search online. You can find photos of beautiful plants that won’t tempt the creatures in your garden.

Allegheny Spurge  (Pachysandra procumbens) -Groundcover

American Holly (Ilex opaca) -Tree

Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia sp. (Datura) -Annual

Anise (Pimpinalla anisum) -Annual

Anise Hyssop  (Agastache sp.) -Perennial

Annual Vinca  (Catharanthus rosea) -Annual

Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) -Shrub

Autumn Crocus (Colchicum sp.) -Bulb

Barberry (Berberis sp.) -Shrub

Barrenwort (Epimedium sp.) -Groundcover

Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) -Shrub 

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) -Groundcover

Big Bluestem (Andropogon sp.) -Ornamental Grass

Bigleaf Goldenray (Ligularia dentate) -Perennial

Bishop's Weed  (Aegopodium podagaria) -Groundcover

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) -Perennial

Blue Fescue  (Festuca glauca) -Ornamental Grass

Blue Mist Shrub  (Caryopteris clandonensis) -Shrub 

Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) -Ornamental Grass

Bluebell (Endymion sp.) -Bulb

Bottlebrush Buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) -Tree

Broom (Cytisus sp.) -Shrub

Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) -Groundcover

Bush Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) -Shrub

Butter & Eggs (Linaria vulgaris) -Perennial

Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.) -Perennial

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia sp.) -Shrub

Cactus (Cactaceae sp.) -Perennial

Catmint (Nepeta sp.) -Perennial

Christmas Fern (Polystichum arcostichoides) -Fern

Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) -Fern

Clump Bamboo (Fargesia sp.) -Ornamental Grass

Coleus (Coleus sp.) -Annual

Common Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) -Shrub

Common Foxglove  (Digitalis purpurea) -Biennial

Common Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) -Perennial

Corydalis (Corydalis sp.) -Perennial

Crown Imperial, Fritilia (Fritilaria imperialis) -Bulb

Daffodil  (Narcissus sp.) -Bulb

Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) -Perennial

Daphne (Daphne sp.) -Shrub

Devil's Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa ) -Shrub

Dill -Herb 

Drooping Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana) -Shrub

Dusty Miller (Centaurea cineraria) -Annual

Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica') -Tree

European Ginger  (Asarum europaeum) -Perennial

False Camomile (Matricaria sp.) -Annual

False Indigo (Baptisia australis) -Perennial

Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis sp.) -Ornamental Grass

Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana sp.) -Annual

Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sp.) -Perennial

Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica) -Annual

Fountain Grass  (Pennisetum alopecuroides) -Ornamental Grass

Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatic) -Shrub

Fringed Bleeding Heart (Dicentra eximia) -Perennial

Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) -Perennial

Germander (Teucrium Chamaedrys) -Perennial

Giant Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus floridulis) -Ornamental Grass

Giant Reed  (Arundo donax) -Ornamental Grass 

Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea) -Ornamental Grass

Greek Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis sp.) -Perennial

Hakonechloa (Hakonechloa macra) -Ornamental Grass

Hard Rush (Juncus Effusus) -Ornamental Grass

Hayscented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) -Fern

Heath (Erica sp.) -Shrub

Heather (Calliuna sp.) -Shrub

Heliotrope (Heliot-opium arborescens) -Annual

Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum) -Fern

Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) -Perennials 

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) -Perennials 

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) -Perennials 

Indian Grass (Sorghastrum nutans) -Ornamental Grass 

Iris  (Iris sp.) -Perennial

Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphylum) -Perennial 

Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergiana) -Tree

Japanese Blood Grass (cylindrical) -Ornamental Grass

Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium goeringianum) (nipponicum) -Fern

Japanese Pieris, (Andromeda Pieris japonica) -Shrub

Japanese Plum Yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia) -Shrub

Japanese Sedge  (Carex sp) -Ornamental Grass 

Japanese Silver Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) -Ornamental Grass

Japanese Skimmia (Skimmia japonica) -Shrub

Japanese Spirea  (Spiraea japonica) -Shrub 

Japanese Sweet Flag (Acorus sp.) -Ornamental Grass 

John T. Morris Holly (Ilex x 'John T. Morris') -Shrub 

Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)-Tree 

Ladys' Mantle  (Alchemilla sp.) -Perennial 

Lamb's Ear  (Stachys byzantine) -Perennial

Large Blue June Grass (Koeleria glauca) -Ornamental Grass 

Larkspur (Consolida ambigua) -Annual

Lavendar (Lavandula sp.) -Perennial

Lavender-Cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) -Perennial 

Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei) -Shrub

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis ) -Perennials 

Lenten or Christmas Rose (Helleborus sp.) -Perennial 

Lily of the Valley  (Convallaria majalis) -Groundcover

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) -Ornamental Grass

Lungwort  (Pulmonaria sp.) -Perennial

Lydia Morris Holly (Ilex x 'Lydia Morris') -Shrub

Lyme Grass (Leymus arenarius glaucous) -Ornamental Grass

Marjoram (Majorana) -Perennial

May Apple (Podophyllum) -Perennial 

Meadow Rue (Thalictrum sp.) -Perennial

Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) -Tree

Mint (Mentha sp.) -Perennial

Monkshood (Aconitum sp.) -Perennial

Moonglow Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum 'Moonglow') -Shrub

Mountain Pieris (Pieris floribunda) -Shrub 

New York Fern (Thelyptens noveboracensis) -Fern

Northern Sea Oats  (Chasmanthium latifolium) -Ornamental Grass

Oregano (Oreganum sp). -Perennial

Oregon Grape Holly  (Mahonia aquifolium) -Shrub 

Oriental Fountain Grass (Pennisetum orientale) -Ornamental Grass 

Ornamental Onion  (Allium sp.) -Perennial

Ornamental Onion  (Allium sp.) -Bulb

Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) -Fern

Pachysandra  (Pachysandra terminalis) -Groundcover 

Pampus Grass (Cortaderia selloana) -Ornamental Grass

Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) -Tree

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) -Tree

Peony (Paeonia sp.) -Perennial

Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) -Tree

Poppy (Papaver sp.) -Annual

Pot Marigold (Calendula sp.) -Annual

Potentilla, Cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.) -Perennial

Prince of Wales Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis 'Prince of Wales') -Shrub

Purple Moor Grass (Molinia caerulea) -Ornamental Grass

Purple Rock-Cress (Aubretia deltoidea) -Perennial

Ravenna Grass (Erianthus ravennae) -Ornamental Grass

Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) -Shrub

Red Pine (Pinus resinosa) -Tree

River Birch (Betula nigra)  -Tree

Rock-Cress (Arabis caucasica) -Perennial

Rocket Ligularia (Ligularia 'The Rocket') -Perennial

Rodgers Flower (Rodgersia sp.) -Perennial

Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria) -Perennial

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) -Annual

Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) -Fern

Rue (Ruta sp.) -Perennial

Russian Cypress (Microbiota decussate) -Shrub

Russian Olive  (Elaeagnus angustifolia) -Shrub

Russian Sage  (Perovskio atriplicifolia) -Perennial

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) -Fern

Siberian Bugloss (Bruneria macrophylla) (Brunnera) -Perennial

Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica) -Bulb

Silver Mound   (Artemisia sp.) -Perennial

Small Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro) -Perennial

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) -Annual

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) -Bulb

Snow-on-the-Mountain (Euphorbia marginata) -Annual

Spider Flower  (Cleome sp.) -Annual

Spotted Deadnettle   (Lamium sp.) -Groundcover

Spurge  (Euphorbia sp.) (except 'Chameleon') -Perennial 

Statice  (Limonium latifolium) -Perennial

Strawflower (Helichrysum) -Annual

Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritime) -Annual

Sweet Box  (Sarcoccoca hookeriana) -Shrub

Sweet Woodruff  (Galium odoratum) (Asperula odorata) -Groundcover

Switch Grass  (Panicum virgatum) -Ornamental Grass

Tarragon  (Artemisia dracunculus) -Perennial

Threadleaf  (Coreopsis Coreopsis verticillata) -Perennial

Thyme  (Thymus sp.) -Perennial

Variegated Purple Moor Grass  (Molinia caerulea 'Variegata') -Ornamental Grass

Varigated Oat Grass  (Arrhenatherum elatius -Ornamental Grass

Weeping Love Grass  (Eragrostus curvula) -Ornamental Grass

Wild Ginger  (Asarum canadense) -Perennial

Winter Aconite  (Eranthus hyemalis -Bulb

Wood Fern  (Dryopteris marginalis) -Fern

Yucca (Yucca filimentosa) -Perennial