As if deer weren’t enough of a struggle for mountain gardeners, throw
in some mulch-moving turkeys!
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| Turkey surveying her handiwork |
Ever since I put down new mulch on my garden bed, I‘ve had
regular visitors who like to do some landscaping of their own. A group of turkeys scrape out all the mulch
onto the driveway and sidewalk with their strong feet, on an almost daily
basis. This not only causes a big mess
but damages the plants.
They are searching my garden for food, most likely insects as turkeys are
opportunistic omnivores. They eat a mostly plant-based diet of herbaceous green leaves,
berries, seeds, grasses, and acorns.
Insects play a smaller but important part of their diet, especially for
the young turkeys, called poults. Insects
might include grasshoppers, dragonflies, slugs and snails and beetles. Turkeys do a large amount of scratching for
food especially in the fall, so possibly coincidental timing with my new
mulch. They are enjoying the ease of
moving the soft mulch to most likely find plentiful insects hiding within the
bed.
I wondered if this was a unique situation but I did find
some fellow internet gardeners who have experienced the same thing. And they weren't just mountain gardeners - many lived in suburban settings and reported that there were more turkeys moving in. There are some various solutions that they
offered.
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| Turkeys leaving the scene of the crime |
Use of wire mesh/chicken wire
to circle the bed will deter them as will a blast from a garden hose or a
barking leashed dog. One helpful gardener
suggested putting cans of gravy and cranberry sauce around to give them a hint to
leave. I’m putting rocks along the edge of the bed which they are unable to
move aside. It doesn’t look great but it
is helping a little to reduce the areas they can get to and at least how far
the mulch gets scraped. Turkeys have a weak sense of smell so stinky sprays will only cause you to leave, not them.
I do celebrate the turkeys being here as it’s pretty great
seeing them so close and fun to watch them interact with each other. I also appreciate that they are eating some
insects that might also do damage to my plants.
As with any wildlife issue in gardening, you have to find a way to
co-exist!
For some fun and helpful information, also check out the article The Turkeys are Coming!