Kill the wabbit? Gardeners frustrated with animal pests take desperate measures.

Are you tired of dealing rabbits, woodchucks, deer, raccoons and other pests in your garden? According to the NY Times article, “Peter Rabbit Must Die” you’re not alone in the frustration of half-eaten and demolished crops. Whether it’s a matter of ethics or emotions, some gardeners use organic or natural means to try and rid their garden of the unwanted pests, but some are taking a more hands on approach to the problem.

As summer closes in, gardeners around the country are starting to worry about the animals that may end up enjoying their roses and cucumbers more than they do. Any day now, they know, they may come upon a carrot patch ravaged by groundhogs, lettuce ransacked by rabbits and squirrels, or a massacre in the koi pond.

But for many gardeners — the tenderhearted ones, who pride themselves on their decency and compassion — killing pests, particularly those with big eyes, fluffy tails and cousins who work for Disney, could never be a solution of first resort.

Each animal comes with its own dilemmas. Some, like squirrels are territorial and hard to relocate. Others, like moles and woodchucks had underground tunnels that allow them to pop in and out as they please.

Taking pest control into your own hands, of course, is no simple matter. There are the ethical and emotional issues, and while it is often legal to kill a pest, there are innumerable federal, state and municipal laws and regulations that may make it illegal.

There would seem, at first, to be many alternatives to killing. Besides mesh and electric fences, there are nets to cast over trees and gardens; foul scents with names like Not Tonight, Deer; and home remedies like sprinkling cayenne pepper around the tomatoes and dumping used cat litter into woodchuck holes. There are scarecrows in the north and fake alligators in the south, and household pets to scare predators away or to do the gardeners’ dirty work. There are capture-and-release traps.

But none of these methods work all the time, and some, depending on the species you are trying to catch and the area in which you live, may not even be legal. The New York State Environmental Protection Law, for example, forbids anyone but a state Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator from transporting a wild animal, which puts the kibosh on the use of capture-and-release traps.

Not the type of person to stake out your yard with an axe, shotgun or lump of poison? Good for you! You still have other options, thankfully.

Here at Clean Air Gardening, we encourage the organic approach to pest-proofing your garden. For example, using a Hot Pepper Wax deters squirrels, rabbits, gophers and other small animals. An all inclusive repellent like our Shot Gun Repels-All Animal Repellent Granules repels all types of animals including house pets from getting near your prized garden.

Some products, like our Organic Mole and Gopher Repellent targets specific animal problems in dealing with individual types of animals.

For more ways to rid your lawn of the pests that dwell in it, check out our entire Organic Pest Control section.

And consider this advice:

JOHN HADIDIAN, the director of urban wildlife programs for the Humane Society of the United States, is skeptical when he hears of gardeners who claim they have tried everything to rid themselves of urban pests. He also cautions that gardeners who kill animals and birds may be breaking the law, noting that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, for example, protects most species of birds.

Killing animals often does not solve the problem. “Woodchucks are a classic case,” Mr. Hadidian says. “If you do nothing to alter the burrow system or to protect against reinvasion, it’s going to be back.”