Pests & diseases › Badgers
Badgers
Protected species. Will dig up beds for worms, raid sweetcorn, strawberries and root crops.
Symptoms
- Beds dug up overnight, especially after rain
- Sweetcorn cobs ripped down and chewed
- Strawberries vanishing
- Distinct snuffling and digging patterns
Lifecycle
Active mainly dusk to dawn year-round.
What to do
- Badgers are legally protected — you may not trap, harm or relocate them
- Pick crops as soon as ripe
- Strong fencing dug 30cm below ground level
If it's bad
- Not legal to use anything that would harm badgers
Stop it coming back
- Solid 1.2m+ fencing dug 30cm below ground, with no gaps
- Cover sweetcorn cobs with mesh bags as they ripen
- Net strawberries
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.