Rodents

[kforbs126]

So the past few days I've noticed a lot of my tomatoes and a few of my peppers have gone missing or almost fully eaten off the stem. Last night I was about to go to bed when I heard something at my window. I looked out and it quickly ran away, it had a long tail and small body. I'm assuming a rat or a mouse. How can I stop this creature from eating all my vegetables? It has taken almost all my pink brandywine crop and a few of my hungarian peppers. Also noticed my kumato seedlings disappeared. I'm so mad. Everything I grow is on my back porch so this thing is obviously climbing to get to my porch. Please help!

[LDx4]

Kristin,

I feel your pain, believe me I do! One of the potential problems with growing veggies in San Diego is that we have an epidemic of tree rats around here. You can check out my original thread here: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=26372

I have to grow everything under cover in my yard because of the rats. It was very frustrating for many years!! Right now I have some cherry plants in the main yard that are unprotected. Every night we set out 2 or 3 traps with beef sticks as bait (rats love those things) and sometimes we catch one, but most times we don't. In the morning we usually find the traps undisturbed and some cherry toms (still green) pulled off the plants. Once the tomatoes start to ripen though, the rats will go crazy and eat everything in sight. I put these plants outside the screened houses as an experiment, and I can see now that it didn't work .

For your situation, you do have some options: traps (regular old fashion or newer electronic ones), poison, screens, etc. I never use poison because we have four dogs, plus other animals (cats, hawks) eat rats and I don't want to harm the other local wildlife.

As you can tell, rats are my number one enemy and I've spent years trying to get rid of them! Grrrr .

Good luck in your battle!!

Lyn

[kforbs126]

Originally Posted by LDx4

Kristin,

I feel your pain, believe me I do! One of the potential problems with growing veggies in San Diego is that we have an epidemic of tree rats around here. You can check out my original thread here: http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=26372

I have to grow everything under cover in my yard because of the rats. It was very frustrating for many years!! Right now I have some cherry plants in the main yard that are unprotected. Every night we set out 2 or 3 traps with beef sticks as bait (rats love those things) and sometimes we catch one, but most times we don't. In the morning we usually find the traps undisturbed and some cherry toms (still green) pulled off the plants. Once the tomatoes start to ripen though, the rats will go crazy and eat everything in sight. I put these plants outside the screened houses as an experiment, and I can see now that it didn't work .

For your situation, you do have some options: traps (regular old fashion or newer electronic ones), poison, screens, etc. I never use poison because we have four dogs, plus other animals (cats, hawks) eat rats and I don't want to harm the other local wildlife.

As you can tell, rats are my number one enemy and I've spent years trying to get rid of them! Grrrr .

Good luck in your battle!!

Lyn

Thanks Lyn. I'm going to see if I can get some screens or netting. I don't want to use poison either.

[Vespertino]

You should see the rats in the NYC subway system. HUGE mutant rats the size of cats... Since they love the tomatoes have you tried baiting the traps with one or two?

[LDx4]

Originally Posted by Vespertino

You should see the rats in the NYC subway system. HUGE mutant rats the size of cats... Since they love the tomatoes have you tried baiting the traps with one or two?

Last summer we did bait the traps with some ripe tomatoes, but with only some success. The problem is, the rats are SMART, and figure out pretty quickly which tomatoes are safe and which are not! Once one gets caught in a trap, the others must check out their dead comrade and realize that traps=danger, because it always takes awhile before we catch another one. They also like to just shred the new foliage and use it to make their nests. I've lost so many young flower plants on the patio each spring that way!

Lyn

[ginger2778]

Hey Kforbs, this is what I use. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/cata...ve+animal+trap
I bait the trap with peanut butter, which they can't resist. They like it far better than tomatoes. I have caught 8 rats and a baby O'Possum so far. I can't kill them so don't tell anyone but I drive them about 5 miles away and release them in a large forested acreage area.
I use the double door trap, which is under$20.00. Set to just barely touching so it is easy to trigger.
BTW- they seem to hunt in pairs so I can usually catch 2 in 2 days, then nothing for awhile until the next one comes around.

Marsha

[Vespertino]

Originally Posted by LDx4

Last summer we did bait the traps with some ripe tomatoes, but with only some success. The problem is, the rats are SMART, and figure out pretty quickly which tomatoes are safe and which are not! Once one gets caught in a trap, the others must check out their dead comrade and realize that traps=danger, because it always takes awhile before we catch another one. They also like to just shred the new foliage and use it to make their nests. I've lost so many young flower plants on the patio each spring that way!

Lyn

Doh! I'm sorry to hear. It's almost disturbing that rodents can be so smart. I hope they don't evolve too quickly or else human beings will have competition.

[DonnaMarieNJ]

I bought two electric fence kits on Amazon last year. It will be a challenge to put it up considering my garden layout, the neighborhood dogs, my four cats, and the people who also come into my yard.... Plus, it won't get the smaller critters like mice and rats. It's the woodchucks, skunks, squirrels, raccoons, and stray cats who spray their scent on my containers, etc., that it will affect. No system is perfect. You just do what you can and try to pretend the inconvenience of the wires in your garden doesn't exist....... <sigh>

On a better note, I heard that once a critter gets zapped they "learn" and do not come back. So, hopefully that will happen to me and I can take the nasty, in-the-way electric fence down asap!

[LDx4]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

Yes, Rats love tomatoes. I have battled them before but I am currently enjoying a wonderful reprieve. "Kitty" my 20 LB Tom loves rats!

Nice! Unfortunately, we are on the border of an open preserve that has lots of coyotes -- all kittys around here are strictly indoor cats, or they become coyote snacks

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Hey Kforbs, this is what I use. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/cata...ve+animal+trap
I bait the trap with peanut butter, which they can't resist. They like it far better than tomatoes. I have caught 8 rats and a baby O'Possum so far. I can't kill them so don't tell anyone but I drive them about 5 miles away and release them in a large forested acreage area.
I use the double door trap, which is under$20.00. Set to just barely touching so it is easy to trigger.
BTW- they seem to hunt in pairs so I can usually catch 2 in 2 days, then nothing for awhile until the next one comes around.

Marsha

Marsha, you are a rat whisperer! What a great catch record! We tried peanut butter and these Calif rats just turned their noses up at it

Originally Posted by DonnaMarieNJ

I bought two electric fence kits on Amazon last year. It will be a challenge to put it up considering my garden layout, the neighborhood dogs, my four cats, and the people who also come into my yard.... Plus, it won't get the smaller critters like mice and rats. It's the woodchucks, skunks, squirrels, raccoons, and stray cats who spray their scent on my containers, etc., that it will affect. No system is perfect. You just do what you can and try to pretend the inconvenience of the wires in your garden doesn't exist....... <sigh>

On a better note, I heard that once a critter gets zapped they "learn" and do not come back. So, hopefully that will happen to me and I can take the nasty, in-the-way electric fence down asap!

DonnaMarie, please keep us posted on your experience with the electric fence and what it kept out (or didn't keep out). I keep threatening to buy some on Amazon, but my husband is resisting so far

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by kforbs126

...It has taken almost all my pink brandywine crop and a few of my hungarian peppers....

They have good taste!

One of my community garden neighbors was losing zucchinis, so baited a have-a-heart trap with zucchini. The culprit was a black squirrel, which he relocated a few miles away. (probably illegal and ecologically inadvisable) I think it was the same squirrel who, earlier in spring, was eating the perennial kale leaves.

Yeah, you'll have to protect your plants.

[Sun City Linda]

Yes, Rats love tomatoes. I have battled them before but I am currently enjoying a wonderful reprieve. "Kitty" my 20 LB Tom loves rats!

[kforbs126]

Well no sign of the dirty rat this morning. Hopefully that means he found another food source.

[kforbs126]

Well it/they were back last night. Went out and bought some netting today. Hopefully this will keep them out unless they can climb up/down walls.

[Sun City Linda]

In the past I too have used elaborate methods so I could use poison bait, which does work quite well. I would usually put the bait inside a large empty coffee can, cut a hole in the lid, then put some type of crate with rat size opening on top of the coffee can. Then I would place a heavy potted plant on top of the crate. But now, as I said, I have Kitty!

[Baja_Traveler]

I have too much fun with the air rifle, so I am presently experiencing a rat drought. But they will be back - Here is a recipe for the rats that will not bother the dogs or other wildlife (Disclaimer - I have not personally tried it):

Put 1 cup of Cornmeal, 1 cup of powdered Hersheys chocolate milk mix with 1 cup of plaster of paris in a bowl. Using a whisk, mix the dry mixture up thoroughly. Place the powder in upturned jar lids in the rat infested areas. The theory is the rat will eat the powder, and the plaster will set in the rats gut when it contacts the moisture, killing it. The volume of plaster in the mix is too low to affect anything if the dog gets to it - it will just be pooping gravel for a bit...

Report your results back here if you try it, so we all know whether it works or not...