Through out the season you may however come across some pest problems. In a healthy garden, these are mostly slugs and snails. The best way to deal with these is to go out at dusk, pick them off of your vegetables and kill them. Alternatively you can leave out a saucer of beer for them to drown in, or purchase a slug trap. DO NOT use products such as Sluggo or other slug killing poisons even if they are organic because they will upset your ecosystem and cause problems for your beneficials like worms and bug predators. Ultimately they will cause more harm than good in your garden. The other big problem is squirrels, raccoons, groundhogs, cats, dogs and other animals. These do not care at all about companion planting or insect predators. The only way to keep them away is a physical barrier. The 2.5’ fence discussed earlier is the best way to keep them out of your garden. The netting is better than the chicken wire because it is not rigid, so very difficult to climb. We staple the netting directly to the wood of the raised beds with a staple gun. It is low enough to step over to get into your garden. NEVER step into the beds. You will compact the earth and harm your soil structure and your plants will not grow well.