“Stop Thief!” How To Keep Your Pumpkins Safe From Wildlife In Arizona

Protecting Your Pumpkins from Wildlife in Arizona

Picture this:

You plan your perfect fall family adventure. You and the kids head to the pumpkin patch, where you take a joyous hayride to the fields. The kids run through the vines, skipping, jumping, adventuring - all the while looking for the perfect autumn gourd.

You select the perfect pumpkins. Then take your treasures home and carefully carve them into jack-o-lanterns. You're all ready for the fall festivities.

• Fall Fun: Check
• Fall Decorations: Check

READ: You're Most Likely to Hit an Animal in THIS Part of Cochise County

Who's REALLY Impressed by the Pumpkins on Your Porch?

Pumpkin season is a delight, but if you set those fragrant gourds on your porch, you might attract more than the admiring gazes from your neighbors. You could be sending out a delicious beacon of scent out to the local wildlife.

You can't hear it, but you just set out a siren song of succotash, and it's singing to the local squirrels, deer, raccoons, coyotes, rabbits, porcupines, and birds. And yes, we have porcupines in Arizona!

Oh, and the most diligent pumpkin stealers of them all: the hungry javelina.

READ: Your Pumpkins Might Be Inviting Wildlife to Your Neighborhood 

Safeguarding Autumn Decor in Arizona

Here are some of the best ways to keep your pumpkins safe and spare your kids the trauma of trashed pumpkins:

1. Elevate Your Pumpkins: Keep those pumpkins out of reach. Put them on stable walls and ledges so it's hard for ground-dwelling animals to get to them.
2. Use Physical Barriers: Put some wire mesh or fencing around your pumpkins. This makes it harder for deer or raccoons to disrupt them.
3. Sprinkle Odor Repellents: Know what a lot of animals don't like? Natural scents like garlic or hot peppers. You can sprinkle them in and around the pumpkins to keep animals away.
4. Add Visual Deterrents: Birds don't care for shiny things like CDs, foil, and reflective streamers. Hang these close to the pumpkins and encourage the birds to eat your neighbor's pumpkins instead!
5. Keep Your Gourds Indoors: If possible, display your pumpkins in a window inside. Then your can share the beauty without providing dinner to the local fauna.

Enjoy your pumpkins throughout the season, but keep them safe until the season ends. When you're done, you can feed them to the wildlife!

Sources: A-Z Animals | Pest Pointers | Cronkite News | Evergreen Seeds | Animal of Things