rats! eating my Tomato Tone - Page 2

OzoneNY · May 15, 2016

Thanks Chris.

So I set some glue traps and a few of the old school spring traps and last night I caught 3 in total. 1 large adult rat and 2 smaller rats. I still cant figure out how the larger rat got inside???
Im also going to set more glue traps since I have to assume there are more out there somewhere.

OzoneNY · May 16, 2016

I got 2 more rats this morning in sticky traps.
200_s.gif

ChrisPlano · May 17, 2016

Good for you! We thought they were under control but chased a small one with the dogs last night. He got away but hopefully is partaking of the bait traps. Ick!

OzoneNY · May 18, 2016

No rats trapped in 2 days and no new evidence of rat damage. Im keeping the traps in the garden in case they have friends that come back in the future. Another threat thwarted at least for now.

oakley · May 18, 2016

I always have this trouble. Field mice, bunnies...And our pups go after it and not great for them, actually toxic.
I do dig it in a bit and cover with big rocks. I've got some harwarecloth and chicken wire
aprox 18inch squares cut with tin snips leaving the edges spikey. Hold down with big rocks.
And try and do the deed before a good rain shower. It seems to loose its 'stink' once wetted. At least most goes where we want it...to the plants roots.

You might try an Osmocote (sp) type fert that is slow release. Does not have the attractive, to them, scent.

The DIY 5 gallon bucket set-ups are fun traps. We had a contest last summer trying different internet, youtube ideas for the barn field mice.

ChrisPlano · May 19, 2016

Oakley, just double checking that "it" = TomatoTone? Using rocks to cover the side dressing for a bit of time is a great idea! I have misc bricks laying around that would do the trick.

Does Osmocote have a tomato-specific fertilizer? With the right ratios and all the extra tomato-loving stuff? I'm still determined to stay organic, but I know that osmocote was the "go to" for big planter flower pots, etc for all of my green thumb friends and even a landscaper friend. I haven't researched what they have these days.

From what I've read, Tomato tone is not actually toxic to dogs. I would not want them eating a whole bag of the stuff but I do catch them eating bits of it at the edge of the garden, even though I've scraped it in with a fork, tried to water it in and covered it with mulch. Have you read differently? Please let me know if you have. Our dogs are our babies :-)

May 15, 2016	#16
OzoneNY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Frisco Texas Posts: 390	Thanks Chris. So I set some glue traps and a few of the old school spring traps and last night I caught 3 in total. 1 large adult rat and 2 smaller rats. I still cant figure out how the larger rat got inside??? Im also going to set more glue traps since I have to assume there are more out there somewhere.

May 16, 2016	#17
OzoneNY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Frisco Texas Posts: 390	I got 2 more rats this morning in sticky traps. 200_s.gif

May 17, 2016	#18
ChrisPlano Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 11	Good for you! We thought they were under control but chased a small one with the dogs last night. He got away but hopefully is partaking of the bait traps. Ick!

May 18, 2016	#19
OzoneNY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Frisco Texas Posts: 390	No rats trapped in 2 days and no new evidence of rat damage. Im keeping the traps in the garden in case they have friends that come back in the future. Another threat thwarted at least for now.

May 18, 2016	#20
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	I always have this trouble. Field mice, bunnies...And our pups go after it and not great for them, actually toxic. I do dig it in a bit and cover with big rocks. I've got some harwarecloth and chicken wire aprox 18inch squares cut with tin snips leaving the edges spikey. Hold down with big rocks. And try and do the deed before a good rain shower. It seems to loose its 'stink' once wetted. At least most goes where we want it...to the plants roots. You might try an Osmocote (sp) type fert that is slow release. Does not have the attractive, to them, scent. The DIY 5 gallon bucket set-ups are fun traps. We had a contest last summer trying different internet, youtube ideas for the barn field mice.

May 19, 2016	#21
ChrisPlano Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 11	Oakley, just double checking that "it" = TomatoTone? Using rocks to cover the side dressing for a bit of time is a great idea! I have misc bricks laying around that would do the trick. Does Osmocote have a tomato-specific fertilizer? With the right ratios and all the extra tomato-loving stuff? I'm still determined to stay organic, but I know that osmocote was the "go to" for big planter flower pots, etc for all of my green thumb friends and even a landscaper friend. I haven't researched what they have these days. From what I've read, Tomato tone is not actually toxic to dogs. I would not want them eating a whole bag of the stuff but I do catch them eating bits of it at the edge of the garden, even though I've scraped it in with a fork, tried to water it in and covered it with mulch. Have you read differently? Please let me know if you have. Our dogs are our babies :-)