• Bats eat local insects.Bat Close Up image by kdhouston from Fotolia.com
  
  A garden filled with tall trees, thick bushes, bright flowers and succulent vegetables attracts more than human visitors. The furry, winged and four-legged creatures enjoy it, too. They eat the plants, take twigs for nests and root around for water. Not all garden animals destroy the garden, though the most common and notorious visitors often do. A garden is a place of plenty for man and beast.
  
  

Rabbits

• Lured by easy pickings, rabbit descend on gardens to partake of the succulent stems and flowers. The eastern cottontail, brush rabbit and the jackrabbit are just a few of the species that enter gardens to eat peas, lettuce, beans, beets, flowers and branches. Rabbits weigh between 1.5 to 7 pounds and jackrabbits grow as large as a cat. Put up a fence at least 2 feet high to keep out rabbits. Bury the bottom of the fence about two or three inches underground. Rabbit repellents often do not work.
  
  

Deer

• Deer aren't limited to gardens in rural areas. Deer also enter urban areas. According to West Virginia University, "using an integrated approach of repelling and/or restricting deer access is the most effective method to reducing damage." Repellents discourage deer by smell and taste. Home remedies usually use scent and commercial repellents discourage by taste. Deer fences usually involve an electrified wire and/or 6 to 8 foot fencing. Other possibilities include dogs, hanging aluminum foil, aluminum plates, mirrors, and noise-makers. Deer of all species, such as the white-tailed deer and mule deer may nibble on flowers, new shoots and anything green, especially with high populations and few food sources.
  
  

Groundhogs

• Groundhogs hibernate in the winter and become active in February. Each female groundhog of mating age produces two to four offspring a year. Groundhogs utilize a 100-foot range around their dens. The 2-foot rodent devours just about anything, including young plants and flowers. If left unchecked, groundhogs can destroy a garden, and once they've found it, they'll keep coming back. Groundhogs burrow into the ground and make extensive tunnels. Live trapping is one of the more effective methods of groundhog control; keeping them out takes effort and money.
  
  

Bats

• Unlike most garden visitors, bats are beneficial to the garden. According to Oregon State University, bats eat 50 to 100 percent of their body weight a day in mosquitoes and other insects, including beetles and moths. Bats are mammals, birthing live young and feeding them milk. A roosting site near food (your garden) and water attracts bats.