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Kam starts with ... Hi Would someone be able to give me some tips to keep mice and rats from eating up all of my Longan and Lychee fruits? I have 2 Longan trees loaded with fruits each year but I have never been able to eat them because the animals got to them before they were ripe enough. I got to eat them the first 2 years of fruiting but nothing after that. They eat my custard apples, guavas, mangoes, mandarins and starfruits. I see the mice and the rats running along on top of the fences. Thanks if you can help. | About the Author Kam Perth 25th July 2014 1:59am #UserID: 10241 Posts: 29 View All Kam's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author symiot SYDNEY,2000,NSW 25th July 2014 12:50pm #UserID: 9796 Posts: 37 View All symiot's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Anthony says... At the risk of sounding cruel and nasty, why not just apply a bit of bait over a continuous period of time. Rats and mice are an introduced pest that don't deliver anything of value and a thoughtfully placed toxic snack will not only help you but in the long run, your neighbors as well. Bait may seem expensive sometimes, but if you don't feed them something, they will keep eating your fruit. Then you will need to buy the fruit from the shop which will cost you money anyway. | About the Author Anthony Queensland 25th July 2014 7:53pm #UserID: 9188 Posts: 92 View All Anthony's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author Kam Perth 26th July 2014 1:05am #UserID: 10241 Posts: 29 View All Kam's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 26th July 2014 10:15am #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author sternus1 Australia 26th July 2014 10:35am #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Anthony says... You are right Julie. You must take care when it comes to other animals. I have heaps of possums around so I only use bait traps that possums etc can't get into. I make my own bait stations which are cheaper and stronger than those professionally made one's, and secure them so they can't be moved about. As for being cruel, I've been through several massive mouse plagues where I've caught 200+ mice a night in traps for weeks on end, so I don't lose any sleep over it. | About the Author Anthony Queensland 26th July 2014 12:16pm #UserID: 9188 Posts: 92 View All Anthony's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author sternus1 Australia 26th July 2014 2:03pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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A,C says... You can buy the Talon wax blocks and wire them to the fence rails, both bottom and top rails at either end of your block.Ive found mice and rats use fence rails like roadways thru properties.Or you can buy the rat trap boxes from bunnings and put the poison inside to reduce risk to non target animals and attach them to the fence rails.Just some more options. | About the Author AC1 Cowandilla S.Aust 26th July 2014 7:56pm #UserID: 8055 Posts: 103 View All AC1's Edible Fruit Trees |
Anthony says... Talon is the best by far but if you attach it to something out in the open you run the risk of poisoning non target animal like possums and dogs. I use lengths of 90mm pvc stormwater pipe cut to 1m lengths with a small hole drilled through the side at the 50cm mark. Thread a wire through the hole until it reaches out one of the open ends and thread on half a dozen talon wax blocks. Bend the wire over to stop the blocks falling off, then pull them back inside the pipe out of reach of larger critters. Pvc ends can be heated and flattened to restrict the entry if needed. Finally, tie or screw it to something solid. | About the Author Anthony Queensland 26th July 2014 8:22pm #UserID: 9188 Posts: 92 View All Anthony's Edible Fruit Trees |
| About the Author Julie Roleystone WA 27th July 2014 9:56am #UserID: 154 Posts: 1842 View All Julie's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author sternus1 Australia 27th July 2014 12:04pm #UserID: 8314 Posts: 1318 View All sternus1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 27th July 2014 12:03pm | |
| About the Author TyalgumPhil Murwillumbah 27th July 2014 1:51pm #UserID: 960 Posts: 1377 View All TyalgumPhil's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Boris Spasky 27th July 2014 9:12pm #UserID: 7085 Posts: 184 View All Boris Spasky's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Anthony says... Well said Boris. Couldn't agree more. I thought about catching all the local rats and mice for humane dispatch at the vet but I figured that it would be a waste of the vets time and probably extremely pricey. Baits are way cheaper and extremely effective in reducing a pest that no one really benefits from. | About the Author Anthony Queensland 27th July 2014 9:25pm #UserID: 9188 Posts: 92 View All Anthony's Edible Fruit Trees |
Anthony says... Just as an after thought, for those who think the use of baits like Talon is a cruel thing,spare a thought for the rats and mice that consumed the cement/icing sugar mix placed out in bucket loads during big plagues. Works like a charm with not a lot of smell due to the cement dehydrating the dead rodent that enjoyed the sweet treat. Cheap and very effective. | About the Author Anthony Queensland 27th July 2014 9:32pm #UserID: 9188 Posts: 92 View All Anthony's Edible Fruit Trees |
jakfruit etiquette says... IPM integrated pest management. Baiting rats and mice is only one soloution, pref the last. Without other controls such as exclusion, removal of food sources, removal of habitat etc, baiting is only a short term control, others will find all the same attractive things again and move in to the same spots. Yes rats and mice can be very destructive, but don't kid yourself that poisoning is all quick and painless. | About the Author jakfruit etiquette vic 27th July 2014 10:39pm #UserID: 5133 Posts: 915 View All jakfruit etiquette's Edible Fruit Trees |
srt says... Yep, I have no problem poisoning rodents (or ex's) . May i make a plea that you don't use "one bite kills" poisons as there is sufficient residual poison in the rat to also poison owls etc. If you live in a wildlife area use the older Warfarin type poison which will not have sufficient residuals to keep killing. Last night I found a Tawny Frogmouth sitting quietly on my gate waiting for some rodent repast. | About the Author srt giraween 28th July 2014 9:41am #UserID: 10109 Posts: 83 View All srt's Edible Fruit Trees |
