Does anyone know how to deter bandicoots from the garden?
It's usually rats and possums that cause troubles to gardeners @Flo54. Where are you based to have bandicoots in your garden? Hopefully there will be some community members who can share some advice with you.
Let me also extend a very warm welcome to the Workshop community. It's fantastic to have you join us. I hope you find plenty of helpful advice, information and inspiration here. Feel free to post anytime you need a hand. You might also like to share some of your projects and plans with the community.
Thanks again,
Jason
@Flo54
You are lucky to have bandicoots in the garden! They keep pests at bay like cockroaches, ****, ants, moths, termites etc. If they are leaving holes in your lawn they are often eating pests that will harm your lawn, plus they are helping to aerate the soil.
But if you do really want to get rid of them then use lights and dynamic lifter or chicken manure in the garden. The combination of lights and unpleasant smell will deter them and is easier than fencing. Just don't use any pesticides and be careful if you have pets to keep them inside at night.
Yes, be careful as bandicoots are endangered and a protected species in many parts of Australia.
Thanks Jason, live in Alstonville NSW.
SCAT is a product that dogs and cats dont like and i'm sure would also work with bandicoots
You live in a lovely area of Australia @Flo54. Do you have a large property?
I can understand that it would be frustrating if they were digging out your plants. I would start with the dynamic lifter or chicken poo on your garden beds. If that's not enough to deter them then I would install the lights.
Good luck, please let us know how you go.
Thank you everyone for your ideas I will try them all out
I live on a house block in a semi rural area between Ballina & Lismore. We also have problems with rabbits.
I'd install some lights @WCE2019. Put a motion sensor on them.
Thanks @MartyH
Would that scare it off?
it is REALY tame,
like i can get to within 5cm of it without is moving!!
I live in Hobart and have laid Dynamic Lifter around my fence line. They dig through it and, Oi suspect, eat it.
My garden is also full of solar lights - about 80 of them. Some turn on when there is action. Others go through the night. The bandicoots are not deterred one bit. Brazen as pie.
Hopefully members will have some other suggestions for you @lindisfarnelad.
Welcome to Workshop. We're really pleased to have you join us and look forward to reading all about your projects around the house and garden. Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share.
That’s easy! Put your cats’ food on a large box or a low table and let your cat eat it where the bandicoots can’t reach it. Cat food or biscuits aren’t really very good for bandicoots, although they don’t know it, and will eat it if they can 🙂 Seeing as this is an old conversation and I’ve just seen it, I hope it’s still valid.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @tairbair.
It's great to have you join us. I'm sure @Flo54 appreciates your input and no doubt others with a similar issue will find your comment helpful. We look forward to hearing about the projects around your house and garden and encourage you to let us know if you ever need assistance or have something to share with the community. There are loads of helpful and creative members sharing their projects and advice here regularly and I trust you'll have plenty to contribute also.
Mitchell
Hi @lindisfarnelad . I live in South East Queensland and have had a bandicoot problem in my garden since I started using a compost bin. Even though the compost is sealed in a vermin-proof bin, the smell seems to drive the bandicoots wild, and they dig everywhere around the bin as if to say "where is that delicious rotting food ... it must be here somewhere". They are endearing looking creatures but unfortunately they carry thousands of ticks (including paralysis ticks), and drop them in the garden. I have been bitten by ticks 3 times since establishing the use of my compost bin, and at least one of them was a paralysis tick. Before that, I never had a tick problem in my garden for years, so I do blame the bandicoots.
Like you, I have also found that bandicoots are not the least deterred by flood lights and are as brazen as pie. I suspect the Dynamic Lifter is only good for days or perhaps a week until the ammonium smell dissipates and after that the rotten smell just attracts them (like my compost does). I just read about an ammonium product called D-Ter (a powder which you make up into a spray). It is supposed to be non-toxic and harmless but acts as a repellant. It is supposed to last up to 12 weeks. I'm going to give it a try.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @callistemon. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for joining the discussion.
It's great that you've added your experience and recommended an option. I agree that the Dynamic lifter would only be good until it ages, and even before that, the ammonia levels are likely not extremely high. Perhaps a more concentrated ammonia product like Richgro 5kg Sulphate Of Ammonia might last longer. The added benefit is that it can be used as a lawn greening agent.
We look forward to hearing all about your projects and plans around the house and garden. We would encourage you to reach out anytime you need assistance or have something to share, even if that something to share is progress updates on your continual battle with these delightful but sometimes irritating native animals.
Hi @MitchellMc
Thanks for your warm welcome! And thanks for the suggestion re Richgro 5kg Sulphate Of Ammonia (which is new to me). I might try that on my front lawn (even though it's mostly weeds), and recommend it to a friend who has a bandicoot problem in his backyard.
I appreciate the tip.
Can you recommend any particular brand/type of dynamic lifter. There appears to be a few to choose from: https://www.bunnings.com.au/search/products?q=dynamic+lifter&sort=BoostOrder&page=1
Also, I would prefer reduced odour. But will that still work in deterring bandicoots?
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @muzzamuru. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about Dynamic Lifter.
From reports, the smell deters the bandicoots, so using the reduced odour version will likely not be effective. I can see several posts indicating that even the normal version hasn't proved to be particularly effective. If you were to choose I'd recommend going for Yates 17.5kg Dynamic Lifter Organic Plant Fertiliser and Soil Improver or Yates 25kg Dynamic Lifter Standard Pellets Concentrated Organic Plant Fertiliser which is purely poultry manure.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hi @Flo54
Dogs. Large ones are good! Rescued greyhounds? If allowed to become established rabbits will cause much more damage than a few bandicoots. We were on a farm and the rabbits were the only animal I wanted to kill! But the farm dogs were good at keeping them away from the kitchen garden! 👏
Hi I looked it up to stop Bandicoots from your yard it said they don't like bright lights or dynamic lifter chicken manure but the smell can be overpowering. So lights best solar shine them to fence line. Good luck
Hello @Poppysmurff2009
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us. On a side note, I've recently installed solar lights with motion sensors, and they have managed to scare away the possums in my roof. I can therefore confirm that bright lights do affect the habits of nocturnal animals.
Were keen to hear more about all your projects and plans around the house and garden. Please feel free to reach out whenever you need assistance or would like to share a project with the community.
Eric
I have a huge problem with Bandicoots digging huge and deep holes all around my garden, especially all my beautiful Fruit trees, up to 4 deep holes around every single one of them. I am going to try putting Chicken fence wiring around them and anchoring the wire down with metal garden pegs.
Hopefully this may deter them. The are raising havoc with the fine roots around all the fruit trees. And apparently going by some of the comments made on this forum, lights, dynamic lifter and chicken manure does not work. I am at my wits end. I do like the Bandicoots, but I wish they would leave my fruit trees alone. I live on a 1 acre beautiful manicured garden, they don't seem to bother with the lawns and flowers, mainly my fruit trees.
I have 18 fruit trees, so it is very time consuming and expensive to cover the ground area with the chicken wire, but I have to try something.
I have now resorted to planting 6 other fruit trees in pots in the hope of not having the Bandicoots dig around them
I will post again in a few weeks to let everyone know if the chicken wire has been a success.
Regards to all, and happy gardening. DeeL
Hi @DeeL,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.
I can't say I've ever dealt with bandicoots, but I imagine some fine chicken mesh would work well as a barrier.
Only time will tell how effective it is, but I hope to hear it was a roaring success in the next few weeks.
Jacob
Hey DeeL
I have similar problem and wondered how you got on with the mesh around your trees?
I have tried lights and dynamic lifter to no avail and have fenced whole gardens but they still seem to get in.
Curious to hear others solutions.
All the best
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Bomma. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about bandicoots.Let me tag @DeeL so they are notified of your questions. Hopefully, they have had some success.
I wonder if it would be worth trialling one of these Jack Pest Control Outdoor Ultrasonic Repellers to see if they are effective against bandicoots. They work with rodents, so I suspect they would.Please let me know if you have any questions.Mitchell
Hi Bomma
I actually have had success with the chicken wire around my fruit trees in deterring the Bandicoots. BUT, the chicken wire needs to be put on the ground (lying flat) around the base of the trees. I anchor the wire with metal pegs, this way they cannot dig a hole, thus not destroying the fine roots of the trees.
Mind you it is expensive since I have around 20 fruit trees, and the little buggers dig holes elsewhere in the garden. But at least my trees are safe.
I still need to try and find a method to stop them digging out my beautiful flowers I have just put around the edge of my garden, approx 120 plants.
Every morning I go out and they have totally ripped out at least 8 plants, I replant the seedlings, and am hoping they survive.
I thought I might try putting mothballs around the seedlings, this may deter them. Will let you all know how that works in a few weeks.
Good luck to you all in Detering the little critters. They are very cute, but, a real garden destroyer.
Hi Bomma. Its Dee again. Just wanted to clarify how I actually put the chicken wire around the fruit trees, I don't think my last information post was clear enough. I put the Bunnings medium height plastic edging guard in a large circumference around the trees, then I put more compost and soil in the circular area within the edging. Then fertilizer, and top the lot with Mulch, making sure that non of the extra soil, compost or mulch touch the trunk of the fruit trees. Then I cut the chicken wire to go on top of the circular bed around the trees. Need to make sure that the chicken wire also does not touch the trunk of the trees, so as not to damage the trees. I secure the chicken mesh with metal or plastic garden pegs. I find that the edging really helps me in covering the base of the trees. The Bandicoots still try and dig a deep hole, but, its so far away from the fruit tree roots due to the circular area around the tree base that they don't harm the trees. I think that the chicken wire stops them from digging, it might hurt their claws, so they dig where the earth is soft. They still have a huge area in the garden to dig for worms and insects. Now if I can stop them ripping out my seedlings I will be very happy. I will try the Scat that another gardener posted, she said that cats and dogs don't' like the smell, and if that doesn't work, I will resort to trying the moth balls. I don't mind them digging up the grass but would appreciate it if they left my seedling alone. Good luck with deterring them.
Let me know how you get on. All the best
