Master Gardeners

Vertebrate Pest Control in the Home and Garden

The Kentucky Extension Master Gardener Program began in the late 1980’s and was initially active in a few urban counties. Today the program is active in 50 Kentucky counties with 1,445 active volunteers who contribute in excess of 43,000 service hours and provide research-based plant information in over 83,000 direct contacts with Kentucky residents each year. The Laurel County Master Gardner program currently has 8 graduates who are providing opportunities for individuals throughout the community. 

The Laurel County Master Gardeners traveled to the Whitley County Extension office for a joint program with the Whitley County Master Gardeners on “vertebrate pest management in the home and garden”. Stacy White, the ANR agent in Whitley County, discussed ways to control wildlife pests in gardens. He discussed a myriad of wildlife, including deer, racoons, snakes, birds, foxes, beavers and others.

Stacy received a grant to develop a test site to demonstrate the use of electrified fence to exclude wildlife pests.  The site included a garden area and a chicken coop. Different types of electrified fence were used in the different applications. The Master Gardeners were able to view the sites and Stacy discussed the functionality of each.  

100% of the  master gardeners expressed that they are now  more knowledgeable on wildlife management techniques and will be able to use this information to enhance the gardening experience of the gardeners they will be teaching in the future.