Backyard Shed (Skunks, Wasps, Bees ...)

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Your backyard shed is an inviting spot for many mammals and insects, because of it's secluded location and accompanying stillness.

The best defense is prevention when dealing with mammals, and an early offense with insects.

Mammals, like skunks and opossums, can be a real pain if they are already burrowed under your shed. Spreading sand or flour around the entrance, can give you an indication of their night activity, and whether a litter is involved.

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Word of warning: Getting rid of these mammals is not enough!

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I have cemented former openings and filled up the external entrances with dirt, and they still can sense a potential nesting ground (like depth perception). Their instincts is to keep digging until they find a route, or until the installed concrete barrier convinces them otherwise.

Existing Mammals:

I have shoved sponge balls and rags (soaked in bleach), underneath the shed from alternate openings, until the skunk and opossum eventually left.

If this is not an option, you may try creating side barriers (planks), that funnel towards a narrow open exit / entrance. Have a bag of rocks elevated / leaning against the shed and covering both plank ends. A string at the top of the bag will eventually be used as the obstruction, for the mammal's exit.

With the tracking device that you have been using (flour or sand), it should confirm that the mammal is still using your new shed route nightly. Tie some unattached pieces of strings across the exit at the plank's ends (lightly taped), so that the mammal becomes comfortable in forcing it's way through it.

When you feel that the mammal is comfortable with the setup, tie the bag of rocks (include bleached rags inside to discourage re-entry), at the top and string it along to the plank's exit.

Test it manually so that the bag falls forward, it covers the entrance when it falls. This setup is just to block the entrance until you seal it up the next day; which can include concrete, stones, dirt, and sponge balls soaked in bleach, as entrance fillers.

Complete the seal by using stone screening (lightly watered down), and packed very tightly around the exterior base of the shed (leveled). Put a bit of instant concrete mix between landscaping bricks, and connect them tightly around the base of the shed; sitting on top of the pounded screening.

Finally, place larger landscaping stones around the brick base for a blended appearance, and as an additional deterrence.

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"Wasps and bees will nest anywhere in your shed, top to bottom" 

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Ideally, the best time to kill the wasp and bee nests is in the late evening. I use boiling water for bottom nests, and soaked bleach rags for top nests.

For bottom nests (waist high), pots of boiling water is very clean and kills instantly. Use appropriate safety wear / common sense, and practice with cold water prior to dousing any nest for accuracy.

For top nests, I wrap and tape rags around a broom handle, and then soak the rags in bleach . Try to cover the nest with a ball of rags of the same size (taped together), killing escaping wasps / bees so that you don't get stung.

The bleach will kill them instantly, or at the very least discourage them from coming back any time soon.

Important to soak the area with bleach after the nest has been crushed, for those late arrivals that try to return. Apply safety and common sense with bleach liquid.

For any major infestations, a professional will very likely be needed.

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"Dogs are using your trees and shrubs as a local rest stop"

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Tossing your coffee grounds around the yard, probably won't affect visiting wild animals in the area. Where it might help is with your neighborhood dogs, and their daily piss breaks; especially if you happen to have a large tree in your front yard, like I do.

Hose down the base of your trees and shrubs, and then throw your used coffee grounds daily at the lower trunk and base. You will notice a change within a coupe of days, of dogs that just keep walking by.

"Removing or Killing Your Unwanted Grass"

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I posted this on the website of Apartment Therapy (link below), removing any unwanted grass using tarps with gravel:

Lawn Be Gone: 4 Methods to Kill Grass

These methods work great for drive-way additions, walkways, or just basic landscaping projects.

If drainage from your home is also a factor when removing grass / soil, stones will compliment your landscaping and help solve your problem.

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Light or No Foot Traffic:

1- Purchase plastic tarps at the dollar store, and lay them out on the leveled ground to be landscaped, side by side. Hammer long, wide-headed, stainless-steel nails into the tarp's end openings, to stabilize their movement.

2- Apply at least 1/2 inch of screening evenly raked, and water it down with the hose.

3- Pound the screening down with a hand tamper.

4- Let the screening dry and then cover it with at least an inch of landscaping rock (River Rock).

5- Make note of the location of the nails, since removing them will allow you to easily / quickly remove your stone tarp setup (pull it like a carpet), in the future if required. 

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Heavy foot traffic or vehicle use:

1- Apply the screening first (2 inches min), level, water , pound / roll

2- Apply tarps as mentioned above

3- Large size of landscaping rocks (River Rock), 3 inches min depth and enough to cover the tarps underneath

4- Use a roller to flatten down the rocks (slowly driving back and forth over the rocks with the vehicle will do the trick).

5- After initial use, adjust the depth of rocks as needed. A shallow depth of landscaping rocks, will make the tarp color very visible from near distances.

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This is the basics that works very well. What you have to consider is if dirt has to be displaced and where, slopes created, and how much material you will need in total. Factor in the exit path of rain water when creating slopes.

For larger slopes against the house, use more screening and blend it in with landscaping rocks.

I used this technique around the house to create drainage for a damaged basement. The house originally had a lot of grass / soil surrounding it (unfinished landscaping contributed to the problem) .

It's important in the beginning to decide how much grass and soil will be removed, including the leveling of the ground to apply the screening evenly (one inch depth works).

The extra soil removed in one spot, is now the foundation for another spot (lawn patches, garden soil, flower beds,...). Test it out on a small area first for the logistics.

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If applied properly, it will last years with only a min of upkeep. I dug out chunks of lawn / grass for additional parking spots, and it works great (railway ties make ideal lane separators).

Even Bindweed cant' get through it. The plastic tarp and cement like layer of screening, blocks all their growth. 

This is a task that you can break down over days / months if need be, since your lawn isn't going anywhere. It's definitely worth the labor and time.