by Colleen Taylor

Created on: May 29, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

Where I live, in a beautiful wild part of Zimbabwe, some of the most destructive pests are baboons, monkeys and moles. The moles tunnel underground until they come across a nice fat carrot or parsley root and you won't realise anything is wrong until one day the tops start wilting. On closer examination the whole top comes away in your hand, with just a little shell to show that it once had a large root underground. If you discover them quickly enough you can at least dry the parsley to flavour your cooking, but carrot tops are not very appetising. Sometimes I put them in my dogs' soup and they don't seem to mind.

Baboons are the worst! They are extremely cunning and will sit watching your vegetables grow until they are almost ready for picking. Then on a quiet day, when nobody is around, a troop of them will sneak in and wreak havoc on your veggie patch. Fruit and juicy vegetables like tomatoes are the favourite targets, but don't think your root crops will be safe. They simply pull up carrots, potatoes and even beetroots and eat the whole lot, possibly leaving you the odd miserable little carrot or potato if they happen to be disturbed before they have finished. They often pick large pumpkins and run away carrying them to a safer place where they can enjoy them at leisure. They can be extremely aggressive and will rip a dog to pieces if it comes too close. They have even been known to surround a guard in a cornfield and gradually close in on him - fortunately he was rescued by the farmer.

We have Samango monkeys in our forests. These are large dark monkeys with long tails and quite rare in most places. They are protected against being shot in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately the eastern mountains are their preferred habitat and I have a troop that sleeps in the tall trees in the garden where they are safe from most predators. Occasionally a leopard will catch one, or a martial eagle swoop down and carry off a youngster. The wildlife books tell you they are too shy to venture into gardens, but don't believe a word of it. They will devour your whole fruit crop in a few hours and not turn a hair when the dogs bark at them. We had one that actually pelted the dogs with avocadoes when he felt threatened.

Short of shooting them, what can one do to at least be able to reap part of one's crop? I have a few beehives in the garden and one hive was particularly angry at having its honey cropped. The bees had chased the man who was collecting the honey and the following day were still feeling very irritable when a troop of baboons came creeping past. The bees attacked them in full force and gave them such a scare they kept away for at least a month! Unfortunately it is difficult to persuade the bees to repeat that performance. I have tried covering fruit trees with special cloth that allows the plants light and air, but they usually find a little gap somewhere so they can creep in and eat away unseen and undisturbed. My solution for carrots and potatoes is to grow them in old oil drums cut in half lengthwise, with holes punched in them. These are commonly known as Braai Drums and normally used to hold a fire for braaing, or barbequing meat, but if you fill them with soil and place them as close as possible to the house, preferably behind a flower bed, they are quite effective protection against the apes and even the moles. That is until a smart one figures out a new plan of attack!

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