I have been worried as a lot of things I've just planted are being eaten.....

J

joanietoo

Well-known member
but odd things...the watermelon grew to 6 or so leaves and then...GONE...then the next plant! The squash plants did the same things and the cucumber seedlings....

I put down cutworm bait, then sprayed (which I don't like to do) and was considering making wire basket for some plants (to go over the top) when this A.M. I wandered down into the garden to see a GInormous iguana taking a stroll along one of the walls.....

It was brownish, not green in colour and I DON'T know what to do???? Apart from basketing a few plants, but that won't help as the plants need to meander.

Does anyone have ideas on what these critters eat, what to do about making them prefer another location...I've checked on the net and can't find anything that tells of their prefered diet.

GRRRR! and I thought the mongeese were a big enough hassle.

 
Sacre bleu! I thought that ground hogs and racoons were a problem.

But I guess I was wrong! I use a chile spray to discourage them, but I'm not at all sure that iguanas have taste buds that would be affected by chilies.
My first guess when you said all of your squash crops were disappearing, was squash borers, but I think that problem would be easliy solved compared to yours.

 
just read about this today. more.

the article said that those animals do not like
people -so they can sense things that come from human-so guess what ---they suggested-human hair -spread thenm around the plants they like and they will not touch them. how true i can`t tell you but i am going to try it.

 
I sure know what iguanas love. They will turn sommersaults for strawberry bits! Set up some

parameters for them....let them know that they get a strawberry for good behaviour.

They will eat squash plant fruits...cantaloupe, etc. No oranges. They like mangos and papaya. Spinach. Lettuces.

What a diet. I should be so lucky. No wonder they're long and slender.

 
Hey, my guys loved me. They sat on the grass looking up at my apartment door....waiting for

strawberries. Everyone used to laugh at them, knowing exactly what they were doing.

When they saw me coming, they would start a stampede. But strawberries are the funniest thing. One guy would grab one and run away with it because the others would chase them if I ran out of them.

 
Ahhh! and I thought it was the birds eating some pawpaws......

I have got plenty, though, to share...and if they like fruit then that is why the watermelon plants are going...I'm going to have to devise some kind of protection....also, I wonder if that is why all the seedlings for the 'mustard india' and the bok choy have gone.

 
Make it yourself. Grind up hot chiles with garlic. Steep in water and then strain and spray.

I used this mixture for gardens for years- I don't know about Iguanas but it kept all the other bad critters away. It washs off when it rains or if you put sprinklers on the garden so be aware that you musts use it often.

 
In this same vein.....

this is a not-so-traditional method of critter control....my SIL, who lives out in the wilds of the Adirondack State Park has a good method. It may or may not work for you.
Ready for this?????
He drinks a couple of bottles of the local brewery's finest ale. He then walks the perimeter of the property "marking" his territory.
If you have up-close nosy neighbors, this might not be the best approach. He swears that it keeps any number of marauding fauna out of his garden, such as deer, coyote, raccoon....

 
Don't know about iguanas, but I DO know what just about every critter in the northeast hates...

It sounds disgusting but it's.....blood.
A local farmer told me about this when I was complaining about my garden being devoured. Tried it last year and had beautiful broccoli, peppers, lettuce and everything. I've watched rabbits go right to the edge of the garden but no further.
Farm supply stores sell it dried in 5 pound bags.

 
I know one critter who loves it: my neighbors dog. I put a small box of blood meal on my driveway

temporarliy and it disappeared. I found it all torn apart on my neighbor's porch, as if it were real prey! LOL, keep it out of reach.

But the critters raiding the garden are vegetarian, so I can see how it would work.

 
LOL! Joe, I'd be worried about bringing the loose dogs as we....

aren't fenced in BUT I will deff. try the blood meal as I DON'T like facing a beady eyed reptile on my morning walk round the veggie patch...mind you, it's eaten just about all it can and so there isn't much left to "talk" to.

 
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