tomato thieves - Page 2

Worth1 · September 7, 2017

I can envision big population controle glue traps set out on the sidewalks with people stuck on them.
They randomly appear and catch people looking at their phones.

Worth

SueCT · September 7, 2017

Only once had a mouse in the house and I used a have a heart trap, released it back outside. The cat brought in against its will, very gently put it down in the kitchen.

So it really wasn't the mouses fault, and it wasn't eating my tomatoes. I would probably still use have a heart traps and just let them go in the woods some distance away from the house. I actually think they are kind of cute, as long as they don't try to live with me.

Worth1 · September 8, 2017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L...es_a_mouse.jpg

Worth1 · September 9, 2017

I just saw a red tailed hawk perch on a post then dive down snatch up a mouse and fly off.

ScottinAtlanta · September 9, 2017

Snaptraps outside will take awhile. A rat colony can have up to 60 individuals. I don't know about mice. You have to kill and kill and kill. After 20 dead rats, I finally began harvesting sweet peppers.

Also, for snap traps. a good tip is to use some hot glue or bondit and glue dog food to the trigger. Otherwise, they will steal without tripping the trap. My catch rate went up 500% when I started the glueing.

clkeiper · September 10, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

Snaptraps outside will take awhile. A rat colony can have up to 60 individuals. I don't know about mice. You have to kill and kill and kill. After 20 dead rats, I finally began harvesting sweet peppers.

Also, for snap traps. a good tip is to use some hot glue or bondit and glue dog food to the trigger. Otherwise, they will steal without tripping the trap. My catch rate went up 500% when I started the glueing.

maybe, but they are cheap and humane in all reality. displacing wildlife is not so humane. they die of fighting for a new territory, starvation and perhaps dehydration. they spread diseases and just become a nuisance for someone else if they survive or they....go right back 'home". My neighbor told me her husband had to take a week off work and fix the wiring in their attic from squirrels chewing it up... they were doing the trap and release (at a park), too. she said they caught 30 squirrels in the attic.. I am guessing maybe one or two... they were repeat captures. probably back to the house within hours or a day.

ScottinAtlanta · September 10, 2017

I also prefer snap traps. Didn't mean to argue against them. Although I have killed two birds - a brown thrasher and a cardinal - in rat snap traps, which saddened me.

MissS · September 10, 2017

If you put a upside down box over the trap that has a hole cut into the side to act as a door, you will not catch birds, cats or other critters that you don't want to harm.

GrowingCoastal · September 10, 2017

I use an old milk crate to cover over my rat trap. Glue will help prevent them climbing the side and reaching down to snatch the bait. Good tip.

ScottinAtlanta · September 10, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissS

If you put a upside down box over the trap that has a hole cut into the side to act as a door, you will not catch birds, cats or other critters that you don't want to harm.

Perhaps. We seem to have ingenious birds here. They hop into squirrel traps as well, steal the bait, and then hop right out.

zeuspaul · September 10, 2017

I get too much unwanted kill with snap traps no matter what I place over them.

Now I use the Atomic Barbie rat trap I got from Amazon. It is similar to Havahart but works better. In addition to mice it catches rats and squirrels. I even caught a gopher in it. The reason it works so well is the extreme sensitivity of the tripping mechanism.

brownrexx · September 10, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

I also prefer snap traps. Didn't mean to argue against them. Although I have killed two birds - a brown thrasher and a cardinal - in rat snap traps, which saddened me.

That is sad. I have never used snap traps outside but if I did I would cover them with something with a hole in it. Rodents will run into a hole but birds usually will not.

Worth1 · September 10, 2017

If I kill the outside mice the owls will go without food and Smokey will go without play toys.

ChiliPeppa · September 10, 2017

I've had problems with Mojave ground squirrels the past two years. They figured out that they can squeeze through the chicken wire (they are smaller than a chipmunk) and wow! tomatoes! So this winter I will be building a squirrel proof (?) shade house and also growing toms in pots ( to benefit my back). Traps did no good whatsoever. The cats would catch them and come in and turn them loose in the house. I had one in my house for two months I swear and I could not catch that critter and it and the cats just played peekaboo. Finally caught it and put it out two days ago.

bower · September 14, 2017

Saw a big raptor - hawk of some kind - flying low over the garden a couple of days ago. Thought at the time, that's big enough to take a rat.

I haven't seen any sign of rat around my compost since we whippersnipped the place. I stopped putting eggshells in the compost, and few or no tomatoes in the kitchen scraps.

Keeping it lean. And no pickles!! Definitely, no pickle ends going in the pile!

Little rodents are cute, no doubt.

Big ones are downright scary.

September 10, 2017	#23
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,150	If you put a upside down box over the trap that has a hole cut into the side to act as a door, you will not catch birds, cats or other critters that you don't want to harm. __________________ ~ Patti ~

September 7, 2017	#16
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I can envision big population controle glue traps set out on the sidewalks with people stuck on them. They randomly appear and catch people looking at their phones. Worth

September 7, 2017	#17
SueCT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,460	Only once had a mouse in the house and I used a have a heart trap, released it back outside. The cat brought in against its will, very gently put it down in the kitchen. So it really wasn't the mouses fault, and it wasn't eating my tomatoes. I would probably still use have a heart traps and just let them go in the woods some distance away from the house. I actually think they are kind of cute, as long as they don't try to live with me.

September 8, 2017	#18
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L...es_a_mouse.jpg

September 9, 2017	#19
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I just saw a red tailed hawk perch on a post then dive down snatch up a mouse and fly off.

September 9, 2017	#20
ScottinAtlanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 2,593	Snaptraps outside will take awhile. A rat colony can have up to 60 individuals. I don't know about mice. You have to kill and kill and kill. After 20 dead rats, I finally began harvesting sweet peppers. Also, for snap traps. a good tip is to use some hot glue or bondit and glue dog food to the trigger. Otherwise, they will steal without tripping the trap. My catch rate went up 500% when I started the glueing.

September 10, 2017	#24
GrowingCoastal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC Posts: 1,253	I use an old milk crate to cover over my rat trap. Glue will help prevent them climbing the side and reaching down to snatch the bait. Good tip.

September 10, 2017	#26
zeuspaul Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: North County, San Diego Posts: 419	I get too much unwanted kill with snap traps no matter what I place over them. Now I use the Atomic Barbie rat trap I got from Amazon. It is similar to Havahart but works better. In addition to mice it catches rats and squirrels. I even caught a gopher in it. The reason it works so well is the extreme sensitivity of the tripping mechanism.

September 10, 2017	#29
ChiliPeppa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Mojave Desert - California Posts: 368	I've had problems with Mojave ground squirrels the past two years. They figured out that they can squeeze through the chicken wire (they are smaller than a chipmunk) and wow! tomatoes! So this winter I will be building a squirrel proof (?) shade house and also growing toms in pots ( to benefit my back). Traps did no good whatsoever. The cats would catch them and come in and turn them loose in the house. I had one in my house for two months I swear and I could not catch that critter and it and the cats just played peekaboo. Finally caught it and put it out two days ago.

September 14, 2017	#30
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Saw a big raptor - hawk of some kind - flying low over the garden a couple of days ago. Thought at the time, that's big enough to take a rat. I haven't seen any sign of rat around my compost since we whippersnipped the place. I stopped putting eggshells in the compost, and few or no tomatoes in the kitchen scraps. Keeping it lean. And no pickles!! Definitely, no pickle ends going in the pile! Little rodents are cute, no doubt. Big ones are downright scary.