Misfit Minute – Got a radio?: How to protect your garden, flowerbed, or chicken coop

Have you got a radio? How to protect your garden, flowerbed, or chicken coop from deer or predators. This is a quick tip and I promise it only takes a minute (a Misfit Minute)… Here’s what to do…

This is a trick passed down to me several years ago by my pappy that was passed to him a long time ago by local farmers. I’ve been doing this for years and I have seen how incredibly powerful it works.

If you don’t have a radio in the basement, attic, or in the spare bedroom that you aren’t using, pick one up at a yard sale for a couple of bucks.

Place the radio in or around your garden, flowerbed, or chicken/duck coop –

You can put the radio right in the middle of the garden, on the edge, or in a nearby tree to keep deer out of your garden (or flowerbed if that’s your problem). You can put the radio in the chicken run or right inside the coop if you have space. It doesn’t even have to be that close… just somewhere near that you can hear from the coop. Remember though, please keep it out of the way of the chickens. You don’t want to hurt them and you certainly don’t want them pooping on it.

Protect your radio from the weather –

You can protect your radio from the elements by covering it with a garbage bag, tarp, under a roof (such as in the coop), or under a tote (invert a tote with slots and put your radio up on a piece of wood) in the middle of the garden. You can really get creative making decorative little ‘houses’ for your radio that will compliment your yard decor AND protect your radio while you keep critters out.

I have mine on my front porch, in the corner under roof. Because my coop is near my porch, it was the best place to place it and I can enjoy it while lounging in the chair drinking a tall cold glass of iced tea.

Plug it in… turn it on… –

You can use an outside outlet on your house or an extension cord (but make certain it is an extension cord rated for OUTDOOR USE. Turn the radio on to your favorite 24 hour FM radio station (Country, Rock, Rap, Talk Radio… it doesn’t matter – what ever suits your fancy). Turn the volume until you can hear it low enough around the area you want to protect but… not loud enough that the neighbors will call the cops. Now… just let it play.

How it works –

The premise behind having a radio in or around your garden, flowerbed, or chicken coop is that deer and other pesky critters hear the fluctuations in the announcer’s voice, the commercials, and in the music. This in someway must make them believe “Hey there are people here.”. Where do deer, rabbits, coyotes, bear, raccoons, skunks, or other predators NOT want to be? They don’t want to be in areas around people… and where are those areas… your garden, flowerbed, or coop.

I don’t think this would work for groundhogs, chipmunks, or mice… but it is extremely effective for those I just mentioned above.

Give it a try –

Give this little radio trick a try. See if it helps you. I know that many farmers love this trick and they swear by it. It has worked for me… and I hope it works for you.

Wanna hear more –

If you like this quick tip for protecting your garden, flowerbed, or chicken coop… and/or if you want to hear more tips and tricks, want to know more about raising ducks and chickens, or if you even want to know more about Semi-Rural Homesteading, subscribe and get my updates. Also please feel free to follow me on social media. I’d love to have you along because… we are all in this together.

Thanks for stopping by –

~Enjoy it simple… Sue 🙂