Blood meal fertilizer is popular among gardeners for its ability to provide a quick boost of nitrogen to plants. However some gardeners have concerns about whether blood meal attracts unwanted animals to their gardens. In this article we’ll take an in-depth look at whether blood meal really does attract animals, and what gardeners can do to protect their plants.
What is Blood Meal Fertilizer?
Animal blood, usually from cows or pigs, is dried and ground up to make blood meal. The blood is a waste product from slaughterhouses. It gives plants a quick source of nitrogen when ground up into a meal and spread on the ground.
Blood meal has nitrogen that dissolves in water, so plants can quickly take it up. Blood meal is great for giving plants an instant boost when they show signs of nitrogen deficiency, like leaves turning yellow or slow growth.
Blood meal also contains small amounts of phosphorus and potassium. It’s a popular organic fertilizer choice for vegetarians and vegans, since it avoids using animal-derived bone meal.
Does Blood Meal Attract Animals to Your Garden?
One of the most common concerns about using blood meal is that it could attract unwanted animals like dogs, cats, raccoons, or coyotes. These animals may dig up garden beds to get to the blood meal.
So does blood meal really attract animals? The answer is yes, it can, but not always. Here are some key points:
Dogs and cats are often attracted to the strong scent of blood from the fertilizer. They associate the smell with food.
Raccoons, foxes, coyotes and other wildlife are also drawn to blood meal for its scent. These nocturnal scavengers have an excellent sense of smell.
Rodents like squirrels don’t seem to be attracted by the scent. Blood meal is actually recommended to deter rabbits and deer.
Insects like mosquitos are sometimes reported to swarm plants fertilized with blood meal.
Precautions When Using Blood Meal
Some things to keep in mind if you want to use blood meal but don’t want to attract animals.
Blood meal shouldn’t be spread out over whole beds; it should only be used on specific plants. This limits the overall scent.
Water plants well after applying blood meal to help wash the fertilizer into the soil and reduce scent.
Mix a small amount of blood meal into potting soil when re-potting containers. Avoid sprinkling it on the soil surface.
Apply blood meal to the base of plants and cover it with mulch to contain the scent.
Use blood meal primarily on plants located away from prime animal activity zones, like under trees or shady corners.
Avoid applying right before expected rain. Rain will quickly leach nutrients away rather than into plant roots.
Choose alternative fertilizers like compost tea, coffee grounds, or feathers. These pose less risk of attracting animals.
With some careful planning, blood meal can still be a viable option for gardens frequented by local wildlife. But gardeners should weigh the pros and cons carefully first.
Alternatives to Blood Meal for Nitrogen
If the risk of attracting animals is still a concern, consider these alternative sources of nitrogen fertilizer:
Compost or compost tea – Provides a gentle nitrogen source, without strong scents.
Coffee grounds – Can be soaked in water overnight to make “coffee fertilizer” high in nitrogen.
Cover crops – Growing nitrogen-fixing cover crops like beans or clover boosts soil nitrogen levels naturally.
Manure – Composted manure from cows, horses, chickens, etc. contains nitrogen and nutrients.
Feather meal – Made from ground feathers, this provides nitrogen without the blood scent.
Fish emulsion – Fish waste and bones make this very concentrated, stinky fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Seaweed or kelp – Dried seaweed is an excellent source of micronutrients like nitrogen, as well as potassium.
With all fertilizers, moderation is key. Test soil first and only apply as needed, based on plants showing signs of nutrient deficiencies.
Blood meal fertilizer can certainly attract animals like dogs, cats, raccoons, and coyotes to gardens through its strong blood scent. But with some careful application techniques, and by using it moderately, the risks can be reduced. Gardeners should also weigh alternatives like compost, coffee grounds, or fish emulsion to minimize attraction of animals. While not guaranteed to be risk-free, blood meal can still be a helpful occasional nitrogen boost for plants when used judiciously.
Blood meal, while beneficial as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, has several disadvantages. These include the potential to burn plants if overused, attracting animals, and being relatively expensive compared to other fertilizers.
Do animals like blood meals?
Blood meal helps keep out squirrels, rabbits and raccoons as the smell is associated with predators. It needs to be reapplied after rain or watering and is a natural fertilizer. Wood ashes repel rats, mice, ants and roaches as well as slugs and snails.
What does blood meal attract?
Many animals (carnivores) naturally eat blood as part of their diet hence are attracted to blood meal. This includes pets (dogs and cats) to raccoons and other animals.
What animals don’t like blood meals?
Blood meal is fairly cheap, fast acting and weighs very little so it’s convenient to cover large areas. It will keep deer and rabbits away in the short term. The cons are, it’s blood so it’s a mess when it gets wet and it will attract animal attention.
Be careful not to overuse blood meal. Follow package instructions so you do not harm your plants. Blood meal contains a lot of nitrogen, and using it too much can stop plants from flowering or fruiting, burn their leaves and roots, or even kill them.
Not good for plants that like alkaline soil because some plants don’t like the acidic soil that blood meal creates.
Costly: Blood meal bags are pricey and can’t be used in large gardens. Buying in bulk is preferred. A 25-pound bag can cost about $30 or more.
Carnivores are drawn to the smell of blood. Hungry dogs, cats, and other roaming predators can dig up your garden in their search for food.
Mosquito magnet: Mosquitoes need blood to live and have been seen to swarm gardens and plants that provide blood meals.
Benefits of Blood Meal
The main benefit of blood meal as a fertilizer lies in its high nitrogen content. On the blood meal package, the NPK sequence tells you whether it has only nitrogen or mostly nitrogen with a little phosphorous and potassium. Blood meal can provide a boost for plants suffering from nitrogen deficiency.
Blood meals other benefits include:
Blood meal has a strong smell that keeps deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and moles away. Spread a little blood meal on the leaves and base of any plants in your vegetable garden that have been nibbled.
To keep your garden healthy, you don’t have to use chemical fertilizers when you use blood meal.
Acidic: Acidifies your soil, which benefits acid-loving plants.
Fertilizer that works slowly: Blood meal works slowly (one to four months).
Small bags: For about $10, small 3-pound bags of blood meal make it easy to try out different ways to use it, like to improve the soil or keep pests away.
How To Use BLOODMEAL To Get Rid of Pests – DEER, RABBITS, SQUIRRELS, CATS, RACCOONS, CHIPMUNKS, etc.
FAQ
What are the disadvantages of blood meal?
Blood meal, while beneficial as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, has several disadvantages. These include the potential to burn plants if overused, attracting animals, and being relatively expensive compared to other fertilizers.
Do animals like blood meals?
Blood meal helps keep out squirrels, rabbits and raccoons as the smell is associated with predators. It needs to be reapplied after rain or watering and is a natural fertilizer. Wood ashes repel rats, mice, ants and roaches as well as slugs and snails.
What does blood meal attract?
Many animals (carnivores) naturally eat blood as part of their diet hence are attracted to blood meal. This includes pets (dogs and cats) to raccoons and other animals.
What animals don’t like blood meals?
Blood meal is fairly cheap, fast acting and weighs very little so it’s convenient to cover large areas. It will keep deer and rabbits away in the short term. The cons are, it’s blood so it’s a mess when it gets wet and it will attract animal attention.
Does blood meal deter pests?
Upward of 40% of crops around the world are lost to pests each year. Fertilizers like blood meal provide nutrients and deter pests. Blood meal’s other benefits include: Deters pests: Blood meal has a strong smell, which repels deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, and moles.
What animals eat blood meal?
Good Answer! Blood meal helps keep out squirrels, rabbits and raccoons as the smell is associated with predators. It needs to be reapplied after rain or watering and is a natural fertilizer. Wood ashes repel rats, mice, ants and roaches as well as slugs and snails. Good Video Answer! Does blood meal repel rodents? Does blood meal attract animals?.
Does blood meal attract animals?
Attracts Unwanted Animals: While blood meal is effective at repelling certain pests, it can also attract other animals that are drawn to the smell of blood. Dogs, raccoons, and other wildlife may be enticed by the scent and dig up your garden in search of the source. This can lead to damage to your plants and frustration for the gardener.
Does blood meal attract deer?
Blood meal can be used to deter pests but can also attract them too! Animals such as deer or rabbits that can quickly destroy a garden hate the smell of blood meal so is a fantastic deterrent for our leaf eating friends.
Are dogs attracted to blood meal?
Unfortunately, there are several accounts of pets and wild animals digging up gardens treated with blood meal in search of the source of the aroma. Deer and rodents like rabbits and squirrels may not like the smell of blood, but dogs and other animals that eat meat seem to like it.
Does blood meal attract raccoons?
Blood meal may also attract unwanted visitors, such as dogs, raccoons, possums and other meat eating or omnivorous animals. If you can’t find blood meal or don’t want to use it in your organic garden, you can use feather meal or alfalfa meal instead, which is vegetable-based. Does blood meal repel raccoons?.
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