Tree rats!!!

I lost one of my expensive Schreiners iris rhizomes last night. I came home today and found it dug up, sliced apart, chewed on, and then dumped in with my, now-shredded, container plants.

Is there ANYTHING that gets rid of the &!@*#! vermin?? They like hot peppers and garlic and have steel feet and claws that don't mind diatomaceous earth and crushed oyster shells. When I'm through, I plan to have a couple hundred bulbs and rhizomes planted. I don't want to see all of them killed.

And I don't think I have peony plants any more, either. :-( It was too dark to see, but they were planted beside my beautiful, fat rhizomes.

I'm really depressed. I'm not doing very well at this gardening thing so far.

Time for some rat traps, or a couple of cats!

Have you tried cotton balls doused with peppermint oil? Seems to work for some.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/654903/

I'll try it. That'll smell better than some things I've tried. I would assume some place like Whole Foods would have that?

I planted the rhizome back into the ground. Do you think there's any hope for it? It was pretty chewed up, but some leaves, most of the rhizome, and most of the roots were still together. And it was a Schreiner iris, which seem a lot healthier than many rhizomes I've seen.

I've looked all over the web for Pledge Allegiance or at least a deep blue iris, but it's the end of the season, and they're just not to be had. :-( This is so disappointing.

I have five cats, but they do not go out. They're fat, pampered house cats, and while they're quite fierce with the catnip mice, I think an anorexic squirrel could probably beat the tar out of them. Besides, they know nothing about streets, kids, dogs, other cats, mean people, winter, antifreeze, cars.... They've no experience with snow.

Rat poison works quite well. I feel the same way about tree rats .. they decimated my winter sowing attempts a few years ago. I've also gotten quite good with an old fasion slingshot.

X

I'm afraid the neighbor cat might get into the rat poison, though. I'm trying to convince him to hang around more, and he's tackled birds, but no squirrels that I know of. Maybe I should put a bong out there with a good supply of catnip. Might convince him to bring his friends.

I have Bulb Guard, but I don't know if it can be used for rhizomes.

I used to let my two cats outside until they got chased by the great horned owl..twice! Now they're house (rv) cats. They have a cat door that leads to a large cage outside. Can you rope off the area with fishing line about 1inch from the ground?

I'm sure I could, but what will that do? Squirrels can probably hop over trip wire.

Whole Foods will probably have peppermint oil. You might also consider picking up a bottle of Rescue Remedy if you don't already have some around the house. It's helpful for the animals during periods of stress and I've used it on traumatized plants as well. Put a few drops in the watering can and water the chewed iris with it.

Have you tried taking your cats for a walk outside with a harness & leash? That's what I do with the ones that like to go outdoors.

I wonder if the Castor Oil would have the same effect on them that it does on
moles? I found that moles definitly do not like it. Even tho it does not smell or taste, at least to us. Might be worth a try. The formula is 1/2 cup Castor Oil to 2 gallons of water and spray it on. So far all I have tried was some Mole Out that I got from Gardens Alive and when I got it I looked at the ingredients and it was 10% Castor Oil and 90% inerts. It was granular form so I just broadcast it on my perennial bed, and all of a sudden I noticed the area on the other side of my house looked like a mine field. Which was ok because there is nothing planted there.

And I haven't had any moles back in my flower bed. However, that was a couple of months ago so I better get out there and spray.

Jeanette

Okay, maybe if you feed them nuts they'll leave your bulbs alone?But then maybe they'll bring their whole family. I'm going to the frugal living forum ..they usually have some good ideas there.

I've used Rescue Remedy for myself and for my cats (good for introducing adult male cats), but it never occurred to me to use it on my plants. I can't find my Rescue Remedy (still unpacking), but I've something called Good Cat, which I think is similar. It's a homeopathic calmative.

Peppermint oil and Rescue Remedy. I'd make a run to Whole Foods tomorrow, but I want to go home straight from work. The first episode of the new Dr. Who is on.

I have thought about taking a cat outside with a harness and leash. I tried just carrying my big Maine Coon outside and setting him down in the middle of my veggie patch, but he tried to scamper away, then cussed me out when I scooped him up and took him inside again.

You've got the new Dr. Who out there? I am sooooo jealous!!!!!

When you introduce an indoor cat to the outside for the first time, it's important to have a bench or shrub for them to sit under and observe the outside world. Otherwise they will get frightened by the open sky that is unknown to them. Your Coon's cussing was probably a transference of that fright to you.

It took about a month of daily outdoor time before my Somali was comfortable with these walks enough to enjoy herself. When I first took her out and set her down on the walkway, she walked under the carpet roses and just say there looking at things. She did this for the first few days. Eventually she started walking around under the rose bushes (and tangling up the leash). As she explored each part of the open area, she became more and more comfortable with it. Now she readily walks on the leash and checks out all that pass by.

Try dipping your bulbs and rhizomes in Ropel before planting: I let bulbs sit in it for a minute or two, just dip the rhizomes, and the squirrels and chipmunks leave them totally alone thereafter. It's a non-toxic taste repellent: tastes truly disgusting.

Where can I get Ropel? I have Bulb Guard, which is supposed to do much the same thing. I wasn't sure about dipping rhizomes into it or if it was just for bulbs.

I am thinking that what you westerners call tree rats, are squirrels here. Am I right?

Nope, not to me. We have several varieties of squirrels out west, and some rats that specifically live in trees and similar habitats. This variety is also called a roof rat. They have very long tails, large ears and a relatively slender body.

We call them squirrels. I'm using the term "tree rat" in a derogatory fashion. If they dig up my bulbs and ruin my vegetables, they're not cute, fuzzy wildlife, they're vermin.

Thanks for the clarification. I hadn't heard anyone refer to squirrels as tree rats this side of the Rockies, but maybe that's because we actually have a tree rat. We put chicken wire down over the bulbs when we plant them, then cover with mulch. The squirrels are buddies with my cats. The rats are not. The cats definitely know the difference.

Good grief!! there are a lot of things, little animals, that will dig up the bulbs and eat them. One night my dog jumped up on the bed and was barking while looking out the window. My DH looked out and fortunately was able to quiet the dog because the window was open, there was a skunk out there rolling around in all of my lily bulbs it had dug up and was eating them like apples.

I had a mole pull an entire Rudbeckia plant with 4 large blossoms on it, down it's hole and there was not a sign there ever was a plant there.

We have Pack Rats, that sound like what you are calling Tree Rats. They also have long tales, long skinny bodies, and big ears. They steal anything that isn't nailed down and take it to their nests.

We have Chipmunks, squirrels, and rats that build nests in the engine compartments of our vehicles, and yes, they chew the wires, get in the air conditioner motors which just cost me $150 to replace.

But, sorry, I enjoy the little buggers even when I cuss them out.

W_H, Ropel can be hard to find at the local big box hardware and garden stores. When I need more, I google for it and pick a vendor with good pricing; last time I wound up getting it on ebay. It's labeled just for bulbs, but I've dipped rhizomes with no ill effects; it's completely non-toxic. You just don't want to ever use it on veggies; the taste will repel people as well as wildlife (lol).

I was thinking of spraying the iris rhizomes with hot pepper wax BEFORE I put them in the ground. I also have some Liquid Fence that I should try out. But for three weeks after I planted them, the varmints left the irises alone.

I've also thought of burying some garlic flakes, red pepper flakes, and diatomaceous earth with them when I plant them.

Really didn't know it was going to be this much of a battle.

Could be a drought coming on. The only time the squirrels would eat our crocus and tulip bulbs up at Tahoe was the winter before or during a drought. The other years they weren't interested.

Would providing water deter them? Or providing nuts or bread? Or are they just nasty little buggers who are going to eat my plants regardless?

Drought is pretty much an ongoing condition in Colorado.

By drought, I mean a period with significantly less rainfall than usualy. Much of the west is dry. We still have periods of drought on top of that. Seems to occur about every 10 years of so.
You could try hanging up a squirrel feeder away from your bulbs to see if they develop a change of palate.
Does your library have a copy of the Squirrel Wars video, or perhaps your PBS station will show it.

White Hydrangea: Couldn't find any good news in frugal living, but you might want to look under classic threads; pests. A lot of interesting ideas. Funny you mention the water idea, they actually have something on the market that will spray the critter if it goes in the garden.

I have an ongoing problem with squirrels here too. I say they are just rats with good PR! They eat my bulbs and rhizomes and trying to keep a birdfeeder filled is a joke. If they ate all the bird feed, it wouldn't be so bad, but they dump most of it on the ground looking for the bits they like the best. I have a "Twirl a Squirrel" feeder now that is activated to spin at a certain weight point. As for the bulbs and rhizomes, I put chicken wire ove the top of them when I plant them and it keeps them out. A friend of mine actually had an entire boat destroyed by squirrels that got into the barn during the winter season and chewed up all the electrical wiring and a lot of the plastic parts. If none of this works, an air pellet gun would probably work wonders.

Living with many daxies for years, I had to anchor ALL newly planted iris rhz. with a V shaped wire made out of wire hangers. Had to do this till rhz, rooted properly. (next spring usually.
inanda