The Badger population in the UK is rising and coupled with the fact that more houses and other buildings are being constructed on their natural territory, badgers are moving further away from their natural habitat and into domestic gardens in their search for food. The main food of the badger is grubs and worms that are found under the surface of lawns but they will also feed on a wide variety of other foods if necessary, such as flower bulbs, fruits and vegetable crops in the garden.
Badgers are nocturnal creatures so may not be seen when they enter gardens until the damage is found during daylight hours. Evidence of badger damage in gardens can be seen in the form of lawns having been dug up whilst these animals have been hunting for their food. Flower bulbs and plants may be strewn about and vegetables or soft fruit may have been disturbed and partly eaten. Being strong animals badgers can break fences in their attempt to enter gardens or they can climb over or dig under fences.
Badgers are protected by law and so the control of badgers is restricted to repelling or deterring them from gardens or land. Please note, this is not allowed by law if their setts or dens [ places where badgers live ] are already established in the garden or on your land. If you have found a badger sett on your property you need to contact your local wildlife rescue centre for advice.
Which are the best Badger Control Products to stop and get rid of Badgers?
As Pest Control Professionals, we have tested many repellents and deterrents for use against badgers, and we have selected the most effective products to get rid of problem badgers in the garden.
- Badger Repelling and Deterring Granules are a smell deterrent that badgers avoid and so are ideal for watering onto small areas that have badger damage such as plants or small sections of lawn area. As these are a smell deterrent, they will need to be re-applied as they lose potency over a period of a few days.
- Ultrasonic Battery Powered Badger Scarer senses movement and then sends out an ultra sonic sound that repels and deters badgers. A set of quality batteries will last up to 4 weeks for 200 activations per day, but if there is a lot of movement in front of the unit, such as other animals or people, the batteries will not last as long.
- Ultrasonic Mains Electric Powered Badger Scarer works on ultra sonic sound waves that frightens badgers but will not be heard by humans or small pets such as cats. Larger dogs may be affected, but the unit can be used at night only so any dogs in the garden during the day will not be affected. This unit can be run on mains electricity OR it can be run by using the additional Solar Panel to Power the Mains Electric Badger Scarer which is activated by the sun or daylight to store power to run the scarer device, saving on the cost of electricity.
- Nite Red Eyes Badger Scarer - Solar Powered which stores sunlight and daylight to power the unit from dusk to dawn. This device was recommended on Countryfile, the popular BBC television programme. The two red eyes on the unit flash and scare off badgers who think it is a predatory animal.
- Water Jet Spray Badger Scarer operates on a PIR motion sensor to send a jet spray of water to frighten the badgers away. This unit operates on battery power and needs a garden water hose connection to provide the water supply.