BADGER - to feed, or not to feed?

[cathyh]

We live on the edge of our town, and we put up a fence, which was promptly battered!
We repaired it only to find more damage almost the next day. The verdict was that we have Badger/s crossing our garden, so we got out the saw and made a 'badger flap' to make life easier for us all!
We looked out at all hours and lost sleep, in our desire to catch a glimpse, to no avail. We already had a galvinised bucket full of water in the garden and began to put out food in the form of raw unsalted peanuts and sometimes chips, on a tin plate. Often, this would be eaten without us ever seeing a thing. ...We were told that if the menu was approved, then 'Brock' would likely bring his family to show them where the 'all night diner' was!
...then, one evening at about 11pm one evening, when there were still voices and people outside quite nearby, I happened to look out and joy of joys! there was just one Badger, he seemed quite large to me, on the path eating his supper! took him about 20 minutes to scoff every bit rattling the tin plate as he did!
....and so, although we never saw him again, we kept up the routine of feeding, until one morning, Badger had dug a hole the size of a Bucket, near our boundary fence. I filled this in and the hole had been re-dug next day. Despite damage to my precious garden, I was rather sorry for Badger and wondering what to do next, as the local Fields are now, typically, a Housing developement. A large Set was rumoured to be long abandoned but there is still some local land...
I spoke with 'animal lover' neighbour who shocked me when he said if Badger dug into HIS garden he would "get a shotgun" (he has gamekeeper son) Is this legal? surely not! we were very upset by this so stopped feeding and all went quiet.
After a while (this autumn) I placed a heavy Roof Tile and Cast iron weight against the 'badger flap'. I am not keen on making entry too easy, for local cats as I DO love my garden but very soon, the tile was pushed aside and there are long claw scratch marks on the tile. Seemingly Badger is still alive and patrolling his territory!

...Which brings me to my question, to feed , or not to feed? Our garden is small, and in a terrace of houses, so we have to consider the consequences.

We would be glad to hear any thoughts...

Thankyou Cathyh

[nightshade]

I live between two main roads ,yet even here we get the occasional Badger.
If I know it is around I will supplement its diet,it usually digs for worms or bulbs leaving the garden looking like the Somme.
It is a very large mammal and not everyone is enamoured so probably best
not to feed it regularly, unless you are prepared to feed it for its lifetime and
generally take responsibility for it, and perhaps its family.
It is true what you say developers turn farmland into housing estates without
any serious concern for hundreds of years of Badger occupation,they should have the dead ones hung around their necks like the ancient mariners albatross

[m1.carson]

Hi,

Can't remember who it was on this forum, but they feed their family of badgers pasta, and the badgers love it.

Max.

[tigger]

We occassionally have badgers in the garden.... I would love them to come every single night. I absolutely adore badgers, but I realise that a lot of people don't (including your neighbour, but the sounds of things!).

They can do a lot of damage.... but I consider that to be a small price to pay for having a wild animal in your garden. My garden is regularly dug up by foxes & badgers. I just go out and straighten it up the next day.

Badgers are creatures of habit. They have probably been coming to your garden for a long time. However, you only really realised once you put the fence up... Personally I would chuck out the odd handful of food (when times are hard), and leave water for him to drink, but not worry too much. Old badger will come and have a snuffle around your garden for snails and slugs and then leave. (hopefully without digging up the lawn!) thats what he has probably been doing for years!

[cathyh]

Thankyou for all replies,

We have been here for about 5yrs, the house is pre-war, and used to be like small allotment, rather than lawn, so ideal for Badgers I guess!
I did not mind re-planting small Fir tree and assorted plants, tidying up, as you say, but am sad that we cannot encourage him/them to call for regular treats, due to living so close to those neighbours.
Personally, we were thrilled to have a Badger visit us but stopped feeding for his sake.
I do hate to think that he may be hungry and I am SoOh tempted to leave out a snack, if only we could say to him, do not dig near THAT boundary ...and I did think that we should not be unreliable feeders, it is really hard to know what is best to do.
I think there must be a Sett in scrub near cyclepath or common land.

Cathy

p.s. we do not have lawn, only paths, LOTS of plants and mulched soil (no plastic stuff under).

[tigger]

I expect badger is coming to your garden for worms/snails/slugs (that's no slight on your gardening, but there always seems to be lots in my garden). He probably comes into your garden most nights anyway (whether you put out food or not) if he finds some, it's a bonus! They are very adaptable.

It would be interesting to find the sett, then you might find some of the foraging paths and be able to trace where he/they go at night.

[cathyh]

..............Just had an awful thought, does this mean that as a gardener, I should not be using Slug pellets - even the 'safe to birds and animals' ones?

[cathyh]

.......whenever I have talked with locals, no-one knows location of active Sett, only heresay of an old Large one which used to be.........trouble is that children, boys especially, do not go out to play in scrubland and woods like they used to years ago, when I onced asked some local children, they just looked blank! I have walked our local footpaths and seen nothing............

[tigger]

Re slug pellets... you might find the "badger trust" website helpful. Especially their pages on living with badgers. I'm not sure about the animal friendly pellets... I have to admit I don't use them as the badgers and foxes keep my slug population down.

Re the sett. You might be able to find the sett by following badger paths in the wood. They will be about badger width, and the vegetation will be very squashed and you might see badger latrines along the way. You might find it if you follow all the signs... hopefully.

The kids around me call me "the badger woman" as I keep an eye on the local setts, all of which are in the middle of housing estates. Poor badgers!

Good luck!

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by cathyh

..............Just had an awful thought, does this mean that as a gardener, I should not be using Slug pellets - even the 'safe to birds and animals' ones?

I would urge you not to use slug pellets as they can poison other creatures. I've learnt to co-exist with molluscs in the garden- using slug/snail resistant plants, etc.

If you feel you must control slugs then you could put down grapefruit skins + dispose of the attracted critters elsewhere/destroy humanely. Some people use beer traps, but make sure lip is raised above ground level to prevent useful ground beetles falling in.

There are also biological controls using nematodes, but these are dependent on factors such as temperature to work, but are more environmentally friendly.

Some people use physical barriers around susceptible plants.

Me- I just enjoy my slugs + snails in the garden + have plenty of flowers in my garden.