Early Saturday morning, around 2:00 a.m., the Critter Gitter alarm went off. I jumped out of bed, grabbed a headlamp and an ax handle, and headed for the garden.
All summer long, a porcupine has raided the garden. On several consecutive nights, it would cut a straight path through the strawberry patch, or across a grow box full of lettuces. Occasionally, it would attack our cherry trees. Then, it would disappear. Shortly after that, a neighbor would report a porcupine in their garden. Apparently, one or more porcupines spent the summer making the rounds of the neighborhood gardens, grazing at will.
Michelle went to the Department of Fish and Game and checked out an electric fence, and an alarm called a Critter Gitter. This small, battery powered box casts an electric beam over an area of several yards. If it senses motion or body heat, it flashes LED lights and raises an alarm. It’s programmed to cycle through distinct patterns of light and sound with each triggering, so that animals don’t become used to it.
The Critter Gitter, under its plastic baggie raincoat, guards the garden (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
