Why do we have gophers????

Yikes, you made me go read about Hanta virus. I should have read all of that before I cleaned up those mice droppings!!!

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/

What an interesting life you led, Betty. Even as a child I would have been so out of there with the rats. Snakes, mice squirrels, OK, but not rats. Other than the rats it sounds like a great time, and a great childhood.

The mice can get in the tiniest tiny little pinholes Lucy. And you can open a door and one can run in and you'll never see it. And if it's pregnant, well...

Makj, it sounds like you need to throw a few cats under the house instead of on the lap. I know rats are common in so many places, but up here we never see them, luckily. I guess if they were more common I wouldn't hate them so.

I have read that soda pop will killl mice, they love the soda, and the carbonation does them in.

I figured if I won't go under the house, I sure as heck am not going to force the cats to...........I think we have a handle on it now.....

Well not your pet cats. You need to import some ole alley cats, LOL. I'm glad to hear you have a handle on it. Like I said I hear they are a really big problem some places.

lived here 30 years and nothing....then the vineyard moves in and RATS>>>>>>>>>>>

Ahhh, vineyard. I bet. Do they at least give you free wine in exchange for the rats they brought?

My daughter loves ice wine. Ice wine came about, I'm positive, when someone forgot to harvest the grapes, and they froze, and they said let's see what we can do with these. Now ice wine is a real big industry in the vineyards here. And what they would have thrown away years ago now goes for 30.00 a small bottle.

Ice wine is like what they call vinho verde in Portugal or May wine in Germany. It isn't my cup of tea but my DH loves it.
Sorry about the vineyard. Wonder what they are doing that attracts rats? I recommend the large springloaded traps with peanut butter as bait. Works like crazy. I can't say the same for poison which works sort of.
As for the rats at Girl Scout camp -- we didn't have any idea there were rats around until we tried to kill ground squirrels which didn't seem to be phased by strychnine.
Yes, I had a very interesting childhood and learned young to deal with all manner of critters and though I find some annoying, and respect the danger in others, I am not afraid of any of them. It was really did help me to spend all that time camping in swamps. Camping in the Rockies later on was much nicer though. I guess that's why I am still here!

I think they go after the grapes, not sure, however the neighbors were tossing their trash on a flat trailer to go to the dump, basically out in the open and that attracted the rats not to mention coyotes etc....I would not wish these people on my enemy.......

Well, don't send those people here.

The only thing that eats my grapes are the wild turkeys. I would think the rats would be more attracted to the trash.

Do the coyotes eat rats? I would think so.


I had to go look it up, and sites do say that rats like grapes.

Rats eat almost anything and yes coyotes and wolves live primarily on small rodents. So the coyotes are probably after the rats. Coyotes also eat a lot of fruit and vegetables so they probably like the grape trash to. Why don't they compost it? It would make great fertilizer for their grapes -- or do they grow grapes? There are people who buy grapes and make wine. I have never known why they don't grow their own -- but shows what I know about wine making. Do these neighbors actually sell wine or is it all just a large experiment?

it is a new winery, so I think probably next year they plan to open it to the public, yes means more noise, we are backed up to that property, at least there is a little space between us and the actual building, so I hope it won't be too loud, one of the beauties of being here is to be away from noise etc.... been nice for 30 years, I went to high school here and have a senior photo with my dog and me in the field where now our house is.... the neighbors to the side of us are a living nightmare, the stories I could tell you, you would think I am off my rocker, well that being what it is:) I couldn't make this crap up, anyway right now they rented it out and so far so good, the only people worse than the owners would be Charles Mason.......yes that bad.... as for the rats, heck I have chickens and ducks that would love to get their beaks on them, but all these creatures are nocturnal, so no go....

So you are a victim of increasing population density. Sad if you want to live there, but probably makes you land worth more. If it is a new winery, it may not last. Wineries have a tough go, as I understand. Of course, then you have the problem of who will come in next. As for the property next door, be grateful that the nightmare folks have moved out. Who knows what will happen when the renters leave?

Here to date we have been lucky as one neighbor is a pain because he is filthy rich and owns the lawyers and judges in the country but the worst has been the hunting which under normal conditions does not bother me but they shot before the law allows and after the law allows.

Front neighbors used to be a pain by the filth but over the last 3 or 4 years since the kids are gone they are cleaning it up big time:)

The other two are nice:) We live in protected farmland to date! grandfathered in that we can not sub divide.

The rich neighbor wants to buy all the surrounding land and asked us and I said sure met my price of 1 million have a special crew that I hire and you pay for dig all the commerical bed and you can own it, the other neighbors have told him to go away, as he is not liked.

But would I move not in my lifetime, I pray and how our will is for the kids (2) is if other wants the land they must pay the other off in a timely like fashion or sell the place. Son would and might buy it from sister.

After 18 years here, I can image moving into town. I know someday I may not have any choice but this is HOME and we love it.

D

Believe me we are thrilled to see the new renters there, anyone is better than the owners, as for the winery, we live in now what is called "wine country" you could through a rock in any direction and hit a winery...... it has become a real thrill for people to come and tour the different wineries... so I think they aren't going anywhere.....I can hear the bull dozer as I am typing, last year x-mas eve they were out there dozing up to midnight, they were just starting to put the vines in........

I had a friend of mine in Calif that got tired of gophers and as his wife was den mother to a good size group of boy scouts, he had all the little boys use a can in the bathroom. Than he poured that down any gopher holes he could find. To his surprise no more gophers. This was suggested to him by someone he know. I tried it in my yard out there when I had a troublesome gopher and after a couple of applications, I never had any more trouble with a gopher.
Mary

there are literally thousands of holes, no I am not making that up, it is amazing how many there are........

Well it takes that I will try heheheheh

D

Anything to get rid of those varmints. They have huge underground structures in which live and raise yet more gophers. I would have trouble doing the boy scout cure here in my neighborhood. If my neighbors ever figured it out, I would be in court forever!

LOL, well, it would take way more than both of us could provide, and I don't think that would make a dent in them.....

start storing up now hahahahahah

D

makj,
You have several acres -- you could really use the rodentorator. It might actually work. Then you could start a little business killing gophers in your area -- perhaps even for the vineyards -- they probably don't like them any better than you do -- or won't once their vines are in.

OK I am curious what is the rodentorator and where do I find them?

D

http://www.rodenator.com/pests-controls-videos-rodenators

Here you go Dee. Enjoy the movie!

Maybe you need one too, Dee. They would work any where where you didn't have buildings near the gopher tunnels.

Maybe you need one too, Dee. They would work any where where you didn't have buildings near the gopher tunnels. I do think it helps a little to destroy their tunnels once you have trapped all the ones you can get in a given tunnel.
They can dig more tunnels rapidly, but when they do that, they have to throw more piles of dirt up on the surface, thereby tipping you off where they are at a given time. I think left alone, gophers build elaborate underground tunnel systems which they use when convenient.
Once I have trapped one or more gophers in a tunnel and no more come for a while, I use my hose to destroy it and fill it up with dirt washed in by the hose. Just stymies them for a little while, but better than nothing.

Can eat the roots, unfortunately; more on beardless than bearded I think. Or at the least people complain about it.