There's a group of guinea pigs that came down from the brush and they're eating the plants in my garden every night. I've already lost several lettuce and carrot seedlings. Do you guys know anything that actually works to scare them off without hurting them?
Plant things they don't like near the ones you want to protect - mint, rosemary and sage keep them away pretty well because the smell is really strong. I've got these scattered around my yard and I notice they avoid certain areas. It works great combined with fencing if you can manage it, but even on its own it cuts down the damage a lot if you plant them strategically around whatever's most valuable.
The best way is really to fence off the space with mesh or protective netting buried about 20-30 cm deep, because cavies dig and can squeeze through tiny holes. If you don't want to invest in that, try planting things they don't like (like rosemary or mint) around the seedlings you want to protect, or sprinkle chili powder in the garden beds - it works as a repellent for a while, but you need to reapply it after rain.
I got lucky with predator repellent - I put down those fox urine pellets you can get at garden stores, and the cavies just disappear because they think there's a predator around. It works better than noises or lights, anyway it worked for me.
What worked better here was noise - I hung some old CDs on string that move around in the wind, and the cavies stay away because they get scared by the reflection and the sound. Also, keeping the area more lit up at night (even a solar lantern does the trick) discourages them because they prefer dark spots to dig around in.
What actually works is combining several things because guinea pigs are annoying and adapt quickly to just one defense. In my yard I had success alternating repellent (that fox urine they mentioned) with plants they hate like sage and mint, but that alone wasn't enough - I also needed a buried fence around the main beds because they dig like crazy. Question: do you have space to fence off just the vegetable area or would you need to protect the whole yard?
Combining a few strategies works better than relying on just one. A fence is really the way to go (like they mentioned), but while you're getting that sorted, try making food less appealing - guinea pigs hate pepper, so sprinkle pepper powder or spray it on the seedlings you want to protect. There are also some good reports about motion-activated lights in the yard at night - they scare them when they suddenly turn on. The tricky part is that guinea pigs are stubborn, so you'll probably need to test what works best in your specific situation.
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