12 Animal Enemies of Your Garden

Deer certainly can leave their mark in your garden. You'll know they've visited when you see jagged leaf edges on plants and of course their distinctive hoof prints. Deer won't discriminate when they're hungry enough, though they generally leaves these plants alone: succulents, poisonous plants, pungent flavored plants and plants with hairy or furry leaves. More deer resistant plants.

Voles are pests that burrow under the garden, disturbing plant roots. They also tunnel under ripening fruit, and up into it from the bottom in search of seeds. Look for partially eaten potatoes or carrots as evidence of vole activity. These furry fellows will also devour newly sown seeds, and feed on most flower bulbs, though they will leave daffodils alone.

Moles belong to the shrew family. They're roughly seven inches long from their snouts to their tails and weigh two to four ounces. Because of their small size, they can be in your yard and you won't know it until you spot their tunnels and volcano-shaped mounds or step into a soft spot they've created. Many people think they eat plants, but they're really voracious insectivores, gobbling up 90 percent of their weight in bugs, worms and other creatures every day. They have tiny eyes, so they can't see well, and ears under their thick fur, which is usually brown, black or gray. They dig with the big claws on their paddle-shaped front feet.

Squirrels will attack young seedlings, berries, fruits and vegetables and are well known for their ability to dig up bulbs, eat freshly-planted seeds and eat maturing root crops. Squirrels are particularly crafty at garden theft. Fencing can be successful at preventing squirrel damage, and you may be able to annoy the pests away with sprinkler systems, sensitive motion lights, high-frequency sound emitters or a variety of scent-based repellants, like garlic, hot peppers or animal urine.