Too Many Ravenous Rabbits This Year!!!

hart- like "Twee-oo-weet --Guys! Over here! They just planted cabbage!" LOL

maybe the little hostas in nursery pots, just protect the drain holes and surface? never tried , just suggesting

Just an update, the voles are still winning!!!!! I have been finding corpses under the mulch as I plant, Yuchhh! But every day there are more and larger holes in my big bed and more tunnels and digging in my shrub bed. I have two bags of the Ramik left and when they are used up, I'm going to switch back to the Zinc Phosphide. I've put more than 1200 pellets down and they have all been eaten, bujt there are still lots of voles.

Since the dead Squirrel, there have been no more on the property. This week it's 2 months since I put down the Snake-a-way. We've had tons of rain, but still no bunnies or squirrels.

I did finish putting down the Milky Spore last week. Three weeks ago I put down the Diatomascious Earth. The ants are so bad this year, this was my solution. It seems to have helped. My one bed is just full of grasshoppers. Does anyone think they are harmful to the plants?

After spraying the Sevin, There were not any more Jap. Beetles or June Bugs.

Right now I have a few Gypsy Moth webs on two trees that I could do without.

The Cicadas are everywhere. My grass and beds are now full of their exit holes and I keep finding the shells everywhere. All else is well as I continue to construct more of those nuisance wire cages to plant my Hosta garden!!!!

*HUGS* and hoping the grasshoppers limit their munching to your less precious or more abundant plants...

stormyla- I was starting to wonder if they had stuffed YOU down one of their holes. My voles are reappearng too --I haven't kept up any control measures. My few traps are lost under weeds or summer growth. oops

Thanks, Critter. The grasshoppers have been here since before me and except for a few azaleas, that bed has done very well, so I suppose they are safe from me! I also think that they are what my large frog who lives there feeds on. He greets me everyday when I return home and he is getting quite large and can hop quite high. He lives right by the front door and I have to be very careful when entering.

No Sally, I'm still topside!!! After 8 days at the beach with 5 toddlers under 5 years old, I needed some recoup time. Being the childless adult, they think I'm one of them and can play at their pace. Maybe 20 years ago!!!!! They all still keep asking when I'm going to get married and have babies. Funniest thing is they refer to my DSO as my "Daddy".

When I finally got back out in the yard, I'd been out of it for 11 days and there was lots of work needed doing. Of course it only rained for about an hour in that 11 days, so there was a fairly high casualty rate. I'd made arrangements with someone to water several times, but it turned out they only came once and did a very shallow job. Since I'd done a mad rush of planting just before leaving, the casualty rate was higher than normal. There are quite a few that I'm still nursing, including a bunch still to be planted, that didn't get watered at all. GRRRRRH!!!

One thing very unusual is that there are no new residents in the Groundhog's den. The holes are both still closed. Usually when I gas the den, not more than a month goes by before some squatters take over. It's now over 2 months and there are lots of them on the neighboring properties. I hear the whistles when I'm out working and they are very close by. Not sure whether it's the Snake-a-way or the fact that the voles were using the den, so I put lots of poison on and in it. Or maybe The manner in which I packed the holes this time. Before, they just dug new holes in a different location.

There is still something walking around here and chomping away at night, because I found that the remainder of my seedlings in my one trough had all gotten haircuts. Have no clue what it is, I've still not seen any critters. Here's a welcome visitor, there have been many gorgeous ones this year and each one is such a wonderful treat!

stormyla,

Pardon me for budding :^) in; but this is an SFG Wire Top Cage that I saw at Mel Bartholomew's web Site http://www.squarefootgardening.com/html/body_mel_s_column.html

I made one early this year to test it out. It works fine to keep the top-side nibblers off the crops & plants. Cats, dogs, squirrels, most deer, little children.

I also bought 2 dog runners (6'x10') @ $125.00 each to keep the tomato plants & Larger crops in. I'm going to try to make some PVC - wire cages during this winter.

I need another camera too. (I'm asking Santa for that!!)

~* Robin

No problem, Robin. Thanks for the info. My viscious critters are below ground!!! That looks really good for Bunnies, Groundhogs and deer. A Dog runner is a great idea. Robin, what's eating your plants? You really out to try that Snake=a=way. Once again, thank you, Hart.

I got very serious on the vole battle today. Put down 400 pellets. It will be interesting to see how many are left by Friday. I went overboard as I've not put any down in over 2 weeks. I'm still hobbling around on sore feet and have to choose my garden chores strategically. No more Ramik left. I'm hoping this will get most of the last 2 litters!!!!

This also motivated me to sprinkle the Sluggo on the Hosta!! The slug damage is pretty bad right now.

After this weeks planting, I'm fresh out of wire cages. Used 25 this week! I feel more sore hands coming on!!!

The munching mystery is solved!!!! There is a grounghog living under my deck!!!!!! Gosh, another chore to do!! Gotta clean out all of the stuff stored there and find his lair!!!!

At least you found out what it was.

stormyla wrote:

Good Grief, Robin! You do have critter troubles. I don't think your wire top cage will help with the bear. The dog run is a really great idea. Can you stand up in it?

I don't think Snake-a-way works on deer, but it's great on rabbits and squirrels. Come to think of it, under the deck is the only place that I didn't use it. Maybe that's why the groundhog moved there. Maybe the ducks won't like it. It's worth a try. It's so much nicer than the cages. Further up in this thread Hart posted a link to a supplier.

Everyone that I know with deer swears by Liquid Fence & Deer Off. I think that Hart & Ruby plant garlic between prized plants to keep the deer away. Good luck!!

stormyla wrote:

Is anyone having trouble with this Thread loading? We are close to 300 Posts.

Let me know--and I will can "move over" and start a part #2.

Gita

Do it!! I would say anytime over 200 is very fair game. We're all just beign polite and not wanting to 'manage' 'your' thread ; ^)

Aw--Sally! I would never mind if anyone suggested we move on over.....

SOOO---We are moving on over to here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/893935/

I need to come back later and read this whole thread but I wanted it to come up on my list. Years ago when I was first attempting to grow liners, I was told to sprinkle blood meal about and it would deter the rabbits. I need to get some more. It does need to be replenished after rain. The butterflies loved it.

Plantnutz when I find an old inactive thread I want to appear on my watched threads list I first of all click on 'Watch Thread" Then to make sure it keeps appearing on my watch list I also have to click on "Mark as unread" any time I revisit the thread. Hope this two step process helps.

plantnutz--good advice!--see also that there is a 'next thread' of this; see the post above yours and click the link in Gita's post.

There are THREE "next Threads"! Parts #2---#3---and #4...
I can't believe this Part #1 was started in 2008!!!!!

They are all connected--as always--"New Thread here!" and--"We Came from Here"

Should be easy to jump back and forth once you have any of marked as "watched".

Gita

Going to start a new Thread on this topic. it is at 300 posts.
I am sure, soon, we will all be fussing over what chewed on what....

Lets all continue fussing over here-- http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1318583/



This message was edited Jun 14, 2013 9:29 PM