Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
Tom N wrote:
Apart from the fruit trees planted in the ground, I also have berries bushes and an apple in pots. I have made a wire cage to keep out the assorted buggers. Works well. Bit expensive for 40 trees though. The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
Tom N wrote:
Tom N wrote: Apart from the fruit trees planted in the ground, I also have berries bushes and an apple in pots. I have made a wire cage to keep out the assorted buggers. Works well. Bit expensive for 40 trees though. The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. Having excluded them from the fruit trees now the satin bower birds are eating my tomatos. I may have to net them too! David |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Tom N wrote: Tom N wrote: Apart from the fruit trees planted in the ground, I also have berries bushes and an apple in pots. I have made a wire cage to keep out the assorted buggers. Works well. Bit expensive for 40 trees though. The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. Having excluded them from the fruit trees now the satin bower birds are eating my tomatos. I may have to net them too! David Remember a few years ago when someone got rid of her brush turkeys by leaving a few lengths of garden hose lying around ('snakes')? I wonder whether a cutout shape of an eagle might work to keep marauding birds away. You could cut it out of fridge carton material and hang it from a tree or fencepost. I'm only half joking. It *could* work... y'never know until you try! OR What about a scarecrow??? Now *that* would add a talking point to your garden! ;-D -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
Trish Brown wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote: Tom N wrote: Tom N wrote: Apart from the fruit trees planted in the ground, I also have berries bushes and an apple in pots. I have made a wire cage to keep out the assorted buggers. Works well. Bit expensive for 40 trees though. The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. Having excluded them from the fruit trees now the satin bower birds are eating my tomatos. I may have to net them too! David Remember a few years ago when someone got rid of her brush turkeys by leaving a few lengths of garden hose lying around ('snakes')? I have real snakes but no turkeys. I wonder whether a cutout shape of an eagle might work to keep marauding birds away. I have the real thing there too. They have a nest on the mountain but don't spend much time here. You could cut it out of fridge carton material and hang it from a tree or fencepost. I'm only half joking. It *could* work... y'never know until you try! Maybe so, perhaps a searchlight with and eagle cut-out, like the Batman call sign. OR What about a scarecrow??? Now *that* would add a talking point to your garden! ;-D You'll be suggesting gnomes soon. David |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
a_nonny_mouse wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote: Trish Brown wrote: snip I wonder whether a cutout shape of an eagle might work to keep marauding birds away. I have the real thing there too. They have a nest on the mountain but don't spend much time here. You could cut it out of fridge carton material and hang it from a tree or fencepost. I'm only half joking. It *could* work... y'never know until you try! You may wish to hang some old cds around the trees / fence as appropriate. A neighbour has pinched a few "coasters" from me in the past. Says they help keep the 28s (parrot species) away from his plum tree and other birds from his fig trees. Haven't had the need myself as our fruit trees are of the citrus variety. Oh, with the one exception of a self sown apple tree. We did not know what it was, but for years it looked OK and kept the summer sun off the end of the shed (west facing). Then a couple of years ago it sprouted forth with a nice crop of sweet apples. As with the citrus, bugs are the major problem. Maybe so, perhaps a searchlight with and eagle cut-out, like the Batman call sign. lol Can just picture it Made my day! What about a scarecrow??? Now *that* would add a talking point to your garden! ;-D You'll be suggesting gnomes soon. Too much. David keep smiling annonnymouse A model plane to buzz em off? |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Trish Brown wrote: snip I wonder whether a cutout shape of an eagle might work to keep marauding birds away. I have the real thing there too. They have a nest on the mountain but don't spend much time here. You could cut it out of fridge carton material and hang it from a tree or fencepost. I'm only half joking. It *could* work... y'never know until you try! You may wish to hang some old cds around the trees / fence as appropriate. A neighbour has pinched a few "coasters" from me in the past. Says they help keep the 28s (parrot species) away from his plum tree and other birds from his fig trees. Haven't had the need myself as our fruit trees are of the citrus variety. Oh, with the one exception of a self sown apple tree. We did not know what it was, but for years it looked OK and kept the summer sun off the end of the shed (west facing). Then a couple of years ago it sprouted forth with a nice crop of sweet apples. As with the citrus, bugs are the major problem. Maybe so, perhaps a searchlight with and eagle cut-out, like the Batman call sign. lol Can just picture it Made my day! What about a scarecrow??? Now *that* would add a talking point to your garden! ;-D You'll be suggesting gnomes soon. Too much. David keep smiling annonnymouse |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
David Hare-Scott wrote:
snip What about a scarecrow??? Now *that* would add a talking point to your garden! ;-D You'll be suggesting gnomes soon. David OH! Of *course*! Now, why didn't I think of that? I have two: Gregoire and Grenouille. (Actually, they belong to my son, who is 33 and autistic and has a bit of a 'thing' for garden gnomes). Once, years ago, I went to a rather dressed-up 50th birthday breakfast for a bloke who *hated* garden gnomes with a passion. On the invitations, it was stipulated that each guest must bring at least one (1) garden gnome as a gift. LOL! A great laugh was had by all, and the gnomes were all raffled off for charity. Except for mine. I tooled it on leather and painted it gnomishly, framing it in an old-gold celtic-style frame. AFAIK, it still sits on the bloke's grand piano these thirty-odd years later. LOL! -- Trish Brown {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
On Mar 12, 12:36*pm, "David Hare-Scott" wrote:
Trish Brown wrote: David Hare-Scott wrote: I have been pulling apples, pears and quinces this week. *The pears are still hard, hopefully the timing is right and they will ripen off the tree this time. The Granny Smith apples are beautiful; crisp, sweet and slightly tart. We had some visitors and I pulled one off the tree and offered it around. *They said "aren't you going to wash it?" *I said "why?" The quinces are marvellous, truly the prince of cooked fruits, pink and luscious. *The medlars are a few weeks away yet. *Such rewards make all the fuss with nets and such worthwhile. David David, where did you get your quince tree from? I'd love to grow one, but haven't seen any available in N'cle. Anselines at Raymond Terrace, Gloucester Garden Centre has them too. David I've held off planting a quince because of the fruit fly problem. How do you manage to keep your quinces (and apples!) free of fruit fly? Tish |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
|
#25
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
Tom N wrote:
Tom N wrote: Apart from the fruit trees planted in the ground, I also have berries bushes and an apple in pots. I have made a wire cage to keep out the assorted buggers. Works well. Bit expensive for 40 trees though. The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. The $^#% rat still made it inside last night. Nibbled or chomped on 3 apples. Since this is the first year for this tree, the rat has nibbled on most of the crop so far. |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
"Tom N" wrote in message ... The $^#% rat still made it inside last night. Nibbled or chomped on 3 apples. Since this is the first year for this tree, the rat has nibbled on most of the crop so far. Yes, same here, is it the year of the rat or what? I've had fruit trees for years and Never had rats going near them except for this season. They are the only critter that has defeated the nets! They got just about all the apples, because unlike the birds, possums & bats, they have figured out that it's no problem to chew holes in the net. Think I'll have to get a puddytat. |
#27
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
Trish Brown writes:
The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. The Yanks often talk of "tanglefoot" traps for rats. Is that stuff available here? It's a sticky pad critters get their feet stuck to, something like industrial-strength fly-paper. (Stepping on it would probably give the neighbour's cat a few anxious moments, too.) Remember a few years ago when someone got rid of her brush turkeys by leaving a few lengths of garden hose lying around ('snakes')? A suggestion I've heard is to place rubber snakes among the tree branches. But as some birds soon suss out fake snakes, I'd try moving the snakes around under cover of darkness, so they are seen to be in a different spot each day. Bats might not see the snake in the dark, but an electronics whiz might be able to modify a solar light to give the plastic snake some internal LED lighting during darkness. I have previously mentioned the idea of a large teddy bear in a fruit tree to repel possums. Possums, being territorial, see that the tree has already been claimed, and so avoid a fight by moving on. Well, that's how I've heard it explained, but I have not tried it. -- John Savage (my news address is not valid for email) |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
Tom N writes:
We did have a rat or two in the garage at one point and it ate a whole packet of snail bait (the one with the bitter additive to deter children and pets). The rat ate half one the packet one night and I saw the half empty packet and thought the culprit would be dead and wouldn't come back, and the next night it came back and ate the rest! I found it very frustrating to spread snail bait and next day find not a single pellet anywhere, and no dying snails either. Finally I sighted a rat, around midday, skipping around the garden bold as brass collecting each pellet of snail bait. I replenished the bait each day, hoping it would spell the end of the rat, but no such luck and I had to resort to rat bait before I could lay out snail bait. I reckon a lot of wild animals like foxes and rats and probably feral cats live on pet food and scraps given to pets outside. I occasionally see foxes around here and I am sure they patrol back yards for food scraps. You forgot Indian mynahs! The garage rat used to bring in lamb chop bones and nectarines and I was cleaning out secluded parts of the garage and the carport behind some boxes and other stuff, and I found dozens and dozens of nectarine stones and chop bones. The nectarines were from our tree but the chop bones must have come from someone else's yard. You ruled out the possibility that the rats had progressed to slaughtering sheep? -- John Savage (my news address is not valid for email) |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
"John Savage" wrote in message
... Trish Brown writes: The $^#% rat found some way to get inside the cage last night and nibbled a couple of apples. Spent a while today applying some more wire clips and chookwire to hopefully keep the bugger out. The Yanks often talk of "tanglefoot" traps for rats. Is that stuff available here? It's a sticky pad critters get their feet stuck to, something like industrial-strength fly-paper. (Stepping on it would probably give the neighbour's cat a few anxious moments, too.) finding a bunch of live rats stuck onto paper would also give any decent human a few anxious moments as well. the yanks don't exactly have a reputation for civilised behaviour toward living creatures and this would be one example. if you want to kill vermin, i'd suggest just killing them, rather than leaving them to die of thirst stuck onto sticky paper. kylie |
#30
|
|||
|
|||
Defeat for the bats, birds and possums.
"0tterbot" writes:
"John Savage" wrote in message m... The Yanks often talk of "tanglefoot" traps for rats. Is that stuff available here? It's a sticky pad critters get their feet stuck to, something like industrial-strength fly-paper. (Stepping on it would probably give the neighbour's cat a few anxious moments, too.) finding a bunch of live rats stuck onto paper would also give any decent human a few anxious moments as well. the yanks don't exactly have a reputation for civilised behaviour toward living creatures and this would be one example. if you want to kill vermin, i'd suggest just killing them, rather than leaving them to die of thirst stuck onto sticky paper. Your strawman has not a leg to stand on, but nice try. I don't believe instructions accompanying the use of tanglefoot would say to leave any trapped animal to die of thirst; and I don't believe any user would -- no more than they would with other live-capture traps. I'd expect users would check the trap daily and dispatch any captured pests quickly and humanely. Draw a comparison of this with a death drawn out over 2 to 4 days by internal bleeding that the anti-coagulant type bait brings on if you wish to balance your view. There is nothing to be boastful of in the baiting methods used for controlling rats, rabbits, foxes, pigs or dingoes, other then their demonstrated effectiveness. Do people who set live-capture cage traps really leave the rats in the cage until they die of thirst? I can't imagine it. -- John Savage (my news address is not valid for email) |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Need tips for attracting birds bees butterflies & bats | Gardening | |||
Ponds and bats | Ponds | |||
OT - Bats and Buildings | United Kingdom | |||
Bell peppers and rabbits, raccoons, possums, etc. | Texas | |||
Killing Black birds (and birds of prey) | Australia |