I am thinking about building a greenhouse in my backyard. I am looking at an inexpensive one similar to this:
My problem lies in the fact that we have several types of critters around here. Raccoons, Squirrels, Rabbits, etc. These critters terrorize the garden right now, digging up whole plants, eating fruits & veggies, etc.
So, will 6 mil plastic sheeting like that used for these PVC greenhouses work to keep the critters out? I plan on instaling chickenwire belowgrade to keep them from tunnelling under, but I would think most squirrels could open up some simple plastic sheeting.
Am I wrong? Should I do more to keep them out? Will plastic chicken-wire fencing effectively keep these guys out? Or do I need metal chickenwire?
Go with the metal chicken wire. It’s somewhat sturdy as far as vertical stability and you can get the kind with the small enough holes to keep mice and moles out.
I use the stuff.
You need to bury it in the dirt about 3-4" below grade with an L-shaped bend in the fencing (the L facing the outside) so critters can’t dig under the fence.
You don’t want to mess with plastic sheeting. It’ll get brittle after a summer or two while the chicken wire can be re-used for several seasons. And you can’t beat the price, it’s really cheap.
Right, but the lower part of the structure can be armored with chicken wire. You can get creative and have the whole perimiter of the thing surrounded by the stuff so that critters can’t get in.
I went through the greenhose thing several years ago. It’s not as easy to build one as it might seem. You can’t just buy some plastic film, it won’t hold up for more than a couple of months, maybe less. You need to get a film made for greenhouse use and even then it will only last 2-3 years. If your building a small structure, it might be better, in the long run, to buy some old windows instead of using plastic. You might also consider using cold frames instead of a greenhouse.
Also, glass is too dangerous to buy, since I have small kids. Any broken glass would be a tragedy waiting to happen, and affording unbreakable glass is not in the cards.