Frustration can quickly arise once you learn that your having “badger issues”. Causing havoc in your garden, digging holes throughout your yard and irritating your household pets are what a badger thrives well in doing.
In order to keep badgers away, you should attempt in using a variation of the methods.
- Repellent.
- Electric Fences.
- Traps.
- Keep your property clear of food sources.
- Kills methods.
- Install scare devices.
- Electronic devices.
- Use a radio.
A badger is an omnivore, that’s why you’ll find them doing just about anything to get a bite to eat. Continue reading this article to learn exactly how to keep badgers away as well as other helpful information you can use if necessary in the future.
How Do You Keep Badgers Away?
You want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep badgers away. They’re persistent animals, so you’ll need to take matters into your own hands and get to work!
Many people complain about seeing no effects after claiming they’ve tried a variety of methods to repel badgers, the problem however is that they only attempt repelling badgers for 3 days, expect to see immediate results and then complain about “nothing works”. Don’t be this guy! Clearly he didn’t do his research.
In order to see long-term results (which we are aiming for), you’ll need a little gift that I call “perseverance”. It may take a few days, maybe it’ll take a few weeks but at most it may take 1 – 2 months where you’ll eventually notice that you’re no longer having badger issues.
To help you learn how to keep badgers away (once and for all) I’ve listed below 9 different methods you can use to assist in the prevention of badgers. Let’s get started:
1: Repellent.
Spray different chemical repellents around the “badger hotspot” areas of your property. Ensure to spray repellent on a frequent basis to prolong efficiency.
2: Electric Fences.
Through the use of electric fences, you’ll notice an immediate effect around any areas you want to keep badgers away from. As a side note, this can be costly so make sure to weigh your different options prior.
3: Traps!
By the use of live capture cage traps, you’re opting for a humane method in capturing unwanted badgers.
Personally, I tend to use 1 or 2 door live capture cage traps when I’m attempting to capture any pests that are being a nuisance on my property.
Both traps work in the same exact same way except the 2 door cage trap allows entrances on both sides (another option you can consider).
To assist in the capture of badgers, use bait such as laying out fruits or meat to entice them inside.
4: Keep Your Property Clear of Food Sources.
This means trimming trees that contain fruits or cleaning up scattered bird food or other attractants from your lawn to assist you in the prevention of badgers.
In addition to that, make sure your bins are locked to avoid pests from rummaging around.
5: Kills Methods.
There are both kill chemicals as well as kill traps you can use on badgers. You will need to do your own individual research relevant to your state laws around the capturing or killing of badgers as in some places it is illegal. As a result of any unlawful methods, you can be fined or receive jail time.
6: Install Scare Devices.
Water sprinklers are one way to keep badgers away from your property, especially during the night time as the sporadic spurts give badgers a good old’ fright!
Pretend animals (that are also scare devices) are another great alternative for repelling away badgers.
7: Electronic Devices.
Ultrasonic battery devices send out high pitched toned noises that act as an electronic repellent for pests. This works as a great alternative to use on your lawn, especially if you’re dealing with badgers digging holes.
8: Use a Radio.
If you have an old radio lying around your attic, simply use that radio to scare away badgers. This will work as a cost saving alternative to electronic devices, however, be mindful of any neighbors that may hear the noises of the radio throughout the night.
9: Hire a Professional.
Sometimes the easiest way of doing something is by getting someone else to do it for you. Seek out professionals around your area to come and deal with your badger problem at hand, while also releasing them for you.
By taking the necessary steps needed for preventing badgers from coming to or returning back to your property, you’ll finally be able to live in peace. You can finally say goodbye to random holes in your yard, a dismantled garden and an irritated household pet due to the presence of a badger.
There are a handful of alternatives you can use before opting for kill methods. Please be mindful of this as well as learning your own state laws around the killing or trapping badgers before making a final decision.
Remember: consider your well being when around badgers or other wildlife animals. Similar to other animals, badgers can be carriers of different diseases. Bovine tuberculosis or bovine TB is a well known disease to be carried by european badgers.
If you’re ever attacked or bitten by a badger, you should seek immediate medical attention as the effects can become lethal if left untreated.
How to Keep Badgers Away From Garden?
Badgers + Gardens = Destruction! It’s a no brainer than you’re trying to learn how to keep badgers away from your garden.
If you’re anything like me, a proud gardener and homeowner.. you’ll go to the greatest depths of the earth to rid pests such as badgers to stay as far away as possible from your garden.
Continue reading to learn how to keep badgers away from your garden!
Use Mesh Fencing!
Head to your local garden supply store or jump online to Amazon where you can purchase wire mesh (designed specifically for repelling badgers) and bury it underneath your garden.
Electric Fencing.
A powerful alternative, consider purchasing electric fencing to place around your garden to prevent badgers from entering. You should consider the wellbeing of household pets or other wildlife if you do opt for the use of electric fencing.
Ultrasonic Devices.
Set up an ultrasonic device around your garden to repel any culprits from wandering in the night. The noise that comes from the use of these devices work well to rid unwanted predators and thankfully will not be heard in the night, unlike the use of radios.
Spray Chemical Repellent
Or opt for creating your own homemade repellent through the use of ingredients such as hot peppers or garlic cloves. Simply scatter these ingredients (or spray the chemical repellent) around the structures of your garden.
You can also use these repellents around your trees to help ensure badgers stay far away as possible.
If you’re noticing badgers digging holes in your garden, grab your bulbs and use your homemade repellent to soak the bulbs in.
Always remember to re-spray any areas frequently as well as after rainfall to ensure effectiveness.
- Male urine. If you’re a male, this is your time to shine! Male urine carries a specific scent that badgers believe are another predator.
- Use all of the methods mentioned above! I’m a believer in alternating these methods throughout the time span of a month. If you’re not having much luck with one method, try a different method (instead of giving up).
Through the use of the methods mentioned above as well as other methods you’ll find in this article, you’ll save yourself the money needed for hiring a professional along with stopping the continuous damage that is happening to your garden.
It’s a good note to remember, badgers won’t disappear immediately. It’ll take a few weeks for them to finally get the message, that’s why perseverance is key for the prevention of badgers.
Don’t give up, keep trying and as a result you’ll begin to reap the effects.
Do Badgers Dig Up Lawns?
Yes, badgers are one of the many culprits that enjoy digging up your lawn and damaging your property in their “selfish” attempt to search for food.
If you’re a victim to a badgers habit of damaging your lawn through their hole digging, thankfully there are a small variety of options for you to try in the hopes of prolonging it from continuing.
Different methods for stopping badgers digging up your lawn:
Infrared Sensors.
One of the best methods for keeping badgers away from your lawn is the use of infrared sensors. Use these motion lights to scare away badgers as well as similar unwanted pests.
These sensors become activated (turn on immediately) when it catches movement in the area you’ve set up your lights, which work well in repelling badgers off your lawn.
Owl Scare Decoy.
It’s as simple as placing an owl scare decoy, which you can purchase here, throughout your lawn. The presence of this decoy will be enough to make the badger have second thoughts on roaming your property at night.
Ultrasonic Repellent.
Another one of my favourite devices for repelling pests from your property is by using ultrasonic repellent. I’ve mentioned this option multiple times throughout this article because I stand by the effect it has on pests!
The way this repellent works is it sends out high frequency noises inaudible to humans which can be painful to hear for animals, such as a badger. The 5 seconds of hearing this repellent will be enough to stop any badgers from digging up your lawn.
Remove Attractants.
Cleaning up your lawn once a week can assist in the prevention of badgers as well as other pests from visiting your property.
All in all, if you’ve tried most of these methods and you’re still struggling with prevention, there probably isn’t much else you can do.
You’ll have to endure the badger problem (which isn’t always the nicest thing to hear, I understand) otherwise maybe consider hiring a professional to rid them for you as an absolute last resort.
Can Badgers Climb?
Badgers sure can climb! Although it’s commonly known that a badger will prefer to roam underneath the ground, on the odd occasion a badger will climb trees (searching for fruits) as well as walls or fences.
Many people will mention seeing badgers climbing over walls or fences they’ve purposely built to deter them away from their property. If this is your case, you’ll want to make sure the walls are tall enough (5 – 6 feet high) to keep them out.
What Do Badgers Eat?
For the most part, a badger is an omnivore (meaning they will happily eat both vegetables as well as meat).
The diet of a badger consists of:
- Apples, berries, plums.
- Carrots, lettuce, sweetcorn.
- Cockroaches, worms, beetles.
- Eggs or chicks.
- Dead animals. Rats, mice, squirrels.
- Cat food/Anything else they can possibly get their claws into!
If you’re using live capture cage traps, use some of these foods as bait to assist you in the capture of badgers.
It’s best to not feed a badger any of these foods, as they’ll probably come back rather than leave. Resist from doing this to avoid future badger problems.
Will a Badger Attack a Dog?
Are you dealing with badger problems on your property and beginning to become concerned about the wellbeing of your household pets, such as your dog? Well you can ease that stress by knowing that a badger will not willingly attack a dog for no reason.
You should be aware, however, that if a badger becomes scared/threatened or anxious in anyway, it is possible that a badger will indeed attack.
Dogs serve as fantastic guards for your property. Large dogs are usually ok against badgers, as they’re usually big enough to frighten away any annoying pests. If you have a small dog, however, you may want to consider keeping them inside just in case.
As previously mentioned in this article, a badger can be known of eating animal carcass such as cats or dogs, therefore if you’re feeling worried about the wellbeing of your dog (usually small dogs) you should consider keeping them inside at night.
How Deep Do Badgers Dig?
Approximately a badger can dig up to 6 – 9 feet (1 – 2.8 metres) deep.
If a badger is digging a tunnel, then they can dig up to 13 feet (4 metres) deep,
A badgers den or commonly known as a sett, can be as large as 980 feet (300 metres).
Do Badgers Hibernate?
Badgers do not hibernate, however, during the season of winter there is a noticeable decrease in the presence of scavenging badgers simply due to the cold weather.
They prefer to take shelter in their burrows during the winter period and will come back out once the season has ended.
Are Badgers Nocturnal?
Similar to many animals, badgers are indeed nocturnal animals.
Throughout the day, a badger prefers to sleep to their heart’s content. Once it hits the night time, a badger sets off to scavenge for food.
They’ll dig holes (usually in your lawn) and rummage underground searching for anything they can find to eat.
Even though badgers come out in the night time, they may not always roam around at the same time which has been noted difficult for badger hunters. If you’re using live capture cage traps, set up your trap ensuring it’s ready to go by the time it hits night.
A fun fact: In the wild or areas where there are minimal to no humans in the area, badgers have been recorded roaming during the day scavenging for food.
Do Badgers Damage Trees?
In their search for food, a badger will scrape and scuff trees to find insects or grubs living inside the bark. This can cause damage to trees.
On the odd occasion, you may witness a badger climbing trees to assist in their search of finding any source of food to eat, such as fruits.
You’ll be able to identify if they’ve caused damage to a tree by their trail of claw marks or branches scattered on the ground.
What Do Badgers Dig for?
We’re all aware of how irritating it can be when we see random holes throughout our property due to sneaky little badgers, but did you know exactly what badgers dig for? Badgers dig for food!
A badger can and will dig anywhere around your property (such as your garden or lawn) in the hopes of finding food. Worms, cockroaches, bugs or any kind of insects they can find in your lawn, they’ll eat!
In addition to insects, a badger will also dig up your garden. Eating any fruit or vegetable they can find as well as on the odd occasion, chewing your bulbs or other garden beds.
Prevent badgers from their obnoxious digging through the use of methods mentioned in this article.
Are Badgers Dangerous to Humans?
In my opinion, a badger is not dangerous or an imminent threat towards humans.
Badgers do have aggressive tendencies, but their aggressive nature usually will come out when they’re feeling threatened or are about to be attacked by another predator. It would be very rare to see a badger sporadically attack a human without reason.
It should be noted that if a badger were to attack a human, they most likely would have had to feel extremely threatened or trapped prior.
Remember to always be cautious around wild animals, as they may appear to be small, stupid and “incapable” of attacking us, however, they will absolutely scratch or bite in order to feel safe. (This goes for both humans and household pets).
If you’re ever attacked by a badger or another wild animal, you should seek immediate medical attention. The same goes for any household pets that may have been attacked, you should take them to a VET as soon as possible.
What Do Badgers Do for the Ecosystem?
It’s a no brainer that badgers are annoying pests to have around our property. However, they hugely contribute towards the ecosystem by lowering the population of animals such as squirrels, rabbits, birds or other similar animals.
How Long is a Badger Pregnant for?
Depending on the species of badgers, the gestation period for a female american badger is 42 days.
Approximately, the gestation period for a honey badger is 181 days, for a hog badger is 43 days and a european badger is 49 days.
After pregnancy, a baby badger is born blind. For 3 months or so after birth, the baby is cared for by the female mother. After 5 – 6 months, the badger will leave the den to start their own life.
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