I have written about desire lines and their importance in designing a garden or commercial landscaping project.
I thought it would be a good idea to bring this to the surface and add a little extra.
The original post on desire lines can be found here; it explains how important it is to consider human behaviour when planning the set up of a garden.
Of course, it is not just us humans which display this instinct. Badgers and foxes will also use desire lines when patrolling their territories at night. This regular use of the same route can cause a real problem if you are trying to establish a nice garden.
Badgers and Foxes will not show you any kind of respect and do not take kindly to having barriers put in their way.
My Father-in-law has a problem with both Badgers and Foxes in his garden near Farnham. There is an ancient established population of Badgers just across the road in a large embankment under the old tennis courts of The Institute in Upper Hale.
He has tried, unsuccessfully on numerous occasions to hinder their access to the garden by blocking up the holes they have made. He has used strong fencing wire and new wooden panel fencing but to no avail.
The jaws on a badger are strong and they will quite literally tear any obstruction down in minutes and will even bite through galvanised wire.
Solid barriers
I remember, growing up as a kid, I would explore the apple orchards on Blackmoor estate. Because of the rural location there was a huge amount of rabbits. Rabbits are notorious for eating the bark at the base of new apple trees so they need good protection when becoming established.
Whole fields of apple trees would be fenced with a fine mesh rabbit fence. However, there were Badger colonies too. Badger gates (a badger gate is a swinging door that is intended to let a badger through but not a rabbit) were strategically placed in corners of the fields or at historical runs (desire lines) to allow the Badgers to come and go at will.
If the gates had not been inserted, the Badgers would have torn great holes in the fences and in turn let the rabbits in.
If you have a problem with Badgers or Foxes then consider either building a very strong fence or wall around your property which will make it Badger proof - Foxes are a little trickier because they can climb.
If you are unable to put that kind of barrier in place then consider a method of diversion. Add a solid feature to the normal pathway and direct the regular Badger route through an area that is less important.
My Father-in-law suffered for a long time with a rut across his lawn where the Badger would take the same route every night. The grass wasn't completely worn away but the unsightly mark was visible all of the time.
He eventually conceded that the Badgers were not going to be stopped but he cleverly made a short 4' long tunnel where they entered the garden that turned them behind the privet hedge rather than cut through a bed of dwarf conifers. It was enough to change their habits (although they made a distinctive pathway through the back of the border which became hard to dig. However, this compromise was one he was willing to make in order to clear the eyesore from the lawn).
5 basic tips for designing your garden
Desire lines and their part in landscaping
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