Tree rats vs. Herbs ~

Tomstrees · May 21, 2007

How would I keep tree rats out of my herb planter ?

I was thinking hot pepper powder .. anything else ?

Hope all is well ...

~ Tom

Miss_Mudcat · May 23, 2007

Gosh, I remember battling the squirrels when I lived in town in Wisconsin.... I don't think I've ever been so angry in all my life. EVERY morning I would find a new pot of flowers or herbs dug into and pretty much destroyed. They would even climb to the top of my sunflowers and bite the heads off, which they took TO THE PICNIC TABLE of all places and had a feast! I hated those #@$%*!#$!!!

I never won a battle against them; for your sake I hope someone can give you some good advice.

Lisa

Granny · May 23, 2007

Our young, male cat decided that he was an outdoor cat, no matter what his owner might think. He has solved our problem with the chipmunks quite handily. I did see one squirrel about the time the snow first melted, but haven't seen hide nor hair of him since.

Worth1 · May 23, 2007

I use a good cat to solve my tree rat worries.

Tomstrees · May 24, 2007

We have Bailey (border collie mix) our tree-rat chaser ... but shes only out during certain times of the day; therefore allowing tree-rats to roam free...
Looks like they've found my cuke & zuke seeds ... man are they gonna get it ~ when I find out how !!! lol ~

Tom

Granny · May 24, 2007

Many years ago we lived on the NY-MA state border. Hunters in those parts swore that all of the deer could read. And they were probably right

What happened was this: hunting season is at different times in the two states. About the time hunting in NY started, every single deer anywhere near the border would stroll across into Massachusetts, from where they would look at those NY hunters and snicker. A couple of weeks later they would all pick up and together with their Mass cousins stroll over into New York, laughing like a bunch of loons at all those frustrated Mass hunters.

Put the doggie out at unexpected times

Tomstrees · May 25, 2007

lol ~ watched Bailey tear out of the patio door this AM to watch her chase that tree-rat around the yard ... It was a close race, but it finally was able to hop the fence and up the old oak in back ~ lol ~ I don't think he'll be back anytime soon ~ had to run for his life ~ lol

~ Tom

bcday · May 25, 2007

LOL -- reminds me of the time I saw a rabbit climb a 4-foot fence, one jump ahead of my dog.

Sorry, no good ideas about squirrels. One dug up a bunch of my cosmos seedlings last week.

It's not like they don't have anything else to eat around here, there are bird feeders galore all over the neighborhood.

supergirl · July 3, 2007

OK, really dumb question, but are you referring to squirrels or actual rats? We have roof rats (aka tree rats) out here in the tile roofs, and I used to see them in our holly tree until I had the evil thing cut down (when those leaves get dry, the spines are like needles.) I know they weren't squirrels, since we have plenty of them for comparison as well, and I saw their little skinny ratty bald tails. Yeeeccch.

But I digress....I coated my tulip planters in cayenne this spring. Had to do it pretty frequently, but it seemed to work. However, that was to keep them from digging vs. eating what was actually there. I've tried the hot pepper wax sprays before on tomatoes, and they unfortunately didn't seem to do much. One of my friends tried the coyote pee stuff, but I'm not so sure about having that on stuff you're going to eat. And apparently if you have dogs, the coyote pee will make them nuts.

May 21, 2007	#1
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Tree rats vs. Herbs ~ How would I keep tree rats out of my herb planter ? I was thinking hot pepper powder .. anything else ? Hope all is well ... ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

May 23, 2007	#2
Miss_Mudcat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Central Georgia Posts: 366	Gosh, I remember battling the squirrels when I lived in town in Wisconsin.... I don't think I've ever been so angry in all my life. EVERY morning I would find a new pot of flowers or herbs dug into and pretty much destroyed. They would even climb to the top of my sunflowers and bite the heads off, which they took TO THE PICNIC TABLE of all places and had a feast! I hated those #@$%*!#$!!! I never won a battle against them; for your sake I hope someone can give you some good advice. Lisa __________________ Farmers don't wear watches; they work until the job is done!

May 24, 2007	#5
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	We have Bailey (border collie mix) our tree-rat chaser ... but shes only out during certain times of the day; therefore allowing tree-rats to roam free... Looks like they've found my cuke & zuke seeds ... man are they gonna get it ~ when I find out how !!! lol ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

May 25, 2007	#7
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	lol ~ watched Bailey tear out of the patio door this AM to watch her chase that tree-rat around the yard ... It was a close race, but it finally was able to hop the fence and up the old oak in back ~ lol ~ I don't think he'll be back anytime soon ~ had to run for his life ~ lol ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

May 23, 2007	#3
Granny Tomatovillian™ Honoree Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 507	Our young, male cat decided that he was an outdoor cat, no matter what his owner might think. He has solved our problem with the chipmunks quite handily. I did see one squirrel about the time the snow first melted, but haven't seen hide nor hair of him since.

May 23, 2007	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I use a good cat to solve my tree rat worries.

May 25, 2007	#8
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	LOL -- reminds me of the time I saw a rabbit climb a 4-foot fence, one jump ahead of my dog. Sorry, no good ideas about squirrels. One dug up a bunch of my cosmos seedlings last week. It's not like they don't have anything else to eat around here, there are bird feeders galore all over the neighborhood.

July 3, 2007	#9
supergirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Palo Alto, CA Posts: 107	OK, really dumb question, but are you referring to squirrels or actual rats? We have roof rats (aka tree rats) out here in the tile roofs, and I used to see them in our holly tree until I had the evil thing cut down (when those leaves get dry, the spines are like needles.) I know they weren't squirrels, since we have plenty of them for comparison as well, and I saw their little skinny ratty bald tails. Yeeeccch. But I digress....I coated my tulip planters in cayenne this spring. Had to do it pretty frequently, but it seemed to work. However, that was to keep them from digging vs. eating what was actually there. I've tried the hot pepper wax sprays before on tomatoes, and they unfortunately didn't seem to do much. One of my friends tried the coyote pee stuff, but I'm not so sure about having that on stuff you're going to eat. And apparently if you have dogs, the coyote pee will make them nuts.