Bandicoots

[Flo54]

Does anyone know how to deter bandicoots from the garden?

[muzzamuru]

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?

[MitchellMc]

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.

Mitchell

[Tyro]

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! 👏

[Poppysmurff2009]

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

[EricL]

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

[DeeL]

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

[JacobZ]

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

[Bomma]

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

[MitchellMc]

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
 

[DeeL]

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.