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Citrus Growers Forum Index du Forum -> Citrus diseases and pests
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Terry
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Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 243
Location: Wilmington, NC

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 11:42 am

A lonely Meyers lemon and a limequat. Squirrels. I had a couple a dozen yuzu and they ate all but 6. not much marmalade this year[/img]
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adriano
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Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 357
Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 2:55 pm

unusual for rodent to eat citrus. there are many rabbits around my citrus, but they never ate one fruit.

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Terry
Citruholic
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Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 243
Location: Wilmington, NC

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 3:37 pm

Rabbits would have to climb like a squirrel to get to the yuzu, satsumas and etc.
I have seen some fruit like the pic that have one bite out of it. I'm not sure that they eat it but they do take it.
o
On a side note, they ate most of my tomatoes while they were still green. Some were taken and some were half eaten.
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Laaz
Site Owner
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Joined: 12 Nov 2005
Posts: 5657
Location: Dorchester County, South Carolina

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 3:40 pm

A nice high powered pellet gun will solve that problem fast.

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hoosierquilt
Site Admin
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Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 970
Location: Vista, California USA

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 3:44 pm

Adriano, it is very common for rodents to eat citrus here in the USA. Out here in California, we have a rat called the "Roof Rat" or "Citrus Rat". They like to live inside your attic, run along your roof, and also live in citrus trees. They are a horrible, horrible pest here. I have at least 8 bait stations going at any given time. They can totally ruin a small crop of citrus fruit on a tree. They will hollow out the fruit (see the link to the Univ. of Florida link). Plus, eat the wiring of your car under the hood, destroy outdoor furniture, carry and spread disease, and otherwise become a terrible nuisance.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74106.html

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw120

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Patty S.
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Terry
Citruholic
Citruholic


Joined: 21 Nov 2005
Posts: 243
Location: Wilmington, NC

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 3:51 pm

I have a pellet rifle. In my development I'm afraid that some "Earth Mother" will see me and have me arrested.
I do have some box traps. After I catch them I like to soak them in the lake out back for a few minutes.
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hoosierquilt
Site Admin
Site Admin


Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 970
Location: Vista, California USA

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 3:56 pm

We have a pellet gun, too, Terry. Same fears. I don't know which does more damage to my fruit trees - the roof rats or the equally horrible ground squirrels. Both can get over my 3' snake fencing I've put up all around my property (at considerable expense). Downside - keeps the snakes out, and thus my rodent population goes up. Upside - no nasty surprises from a rattler from inside my yard. I have an owl house up, so does my next door neighbor. We have tons of coyotes (multiple pass bys every day in fact), multiple birds of prey (Red Shouldered hawks, Red Tailed hawks, White Kites, American Kestrels, Sharpshinned hawks, Barn owls and Great Horned owls and Roadrunners off the top of my head), weasels and even a couple of bobcats. And, my two very quick and agile Aussies. Still can't keep the rodent population down, here.

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Patty S.
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grad85
Moderator
Moderator


Joined: 15 Aug 2010
Posts: 224
Location: Eindhoven , Holland /Barcelona Spain

Posted: Fri 19 Oct, 2012 4:32 pm

Nasty little critters you have there.

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GT
Citruholic
Citruholic


Joined: 11 Jul 2010
Posts: 395
Location: Beaumont, TX (zone 9a)

Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 1:18 am

Patty,

did you try rat poison?
I had a rat family coming to harvest my grapes and pears... two animal traps failed to catch any and only poison finally took care of rats. Those creatures are too smart.
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hoosierquilt
Site Admin
Site Admin


Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 970
Location: Vista, California USA

Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 1:24 am

Oh, yes. I currently have 10 very large bait stations strategically located on my property. I have both rat and ground squirrel bait in it. I'm thinking of moving to a non-through kill bait, to protect my birds of prey. The only downside to that, is there is no antidote. So, if my Aussies get into the bait (the stations are in an area of my yard that the dogs are fenced out of, but they do go down to the lower area with us on occasion), it could be fatal, if the dog eats enough of the poison bait. So, it's been tough for me - possibly kill a Red-Tailed hawk or Barn owl, or possibly kill my dog. Right now, I am opting for regular bait that has an antidote. I have a young Aussie that might get curious. My slightly older Aussie is too smart to get into the bait stations.

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Patty S.
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GT
Citruholic
Citruholic


Joined: 11 Jul 2010
Posts: 395
Location: Beaumont, TX (zone 9a)

Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 1:37 am

Patty,

sorry, I missed you mentioning the bait stations...
Yeah, I understand your dilemma! In my case, it was our 1.5 year old daughter, whose infinite curiosity puts her in troubles about every other day. I was placing poison out every day after dusk while removing it every morning... That worked with the tiny yard we have.

I wish you luck with your fight!
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hoosierquilt
Site Admin
Site Admin


Joined: 25 Oct 2010
Posts: 970
Location: Vista, California USA

Posted: Sat 20 Oct, 2012 1:47 am

Thanks. And it's tough when you have little ones who are super curious. It's a constant battle for us here. One of the other reasons I try to keep the rodent population way down is that rodents also attack rattlers.

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Patty S.
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KW4
Citruholic
Citruholic


Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 68
Location: Colorado

Posted: Sun 21 Oct, 2012 12:46 am

The tree rats do a lot of damage at my place. Eat fruit, damage trees, chew on the house trying to get into the attic and chew multiple holes in my drip irrigation system.
This trap has worked very well for me this year:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=4449
I use peanut butter for bait and have it strapped onto the top of a 3 foot post. Hidden under a spruce tree. No animals injured to date other than 22 squirrel quick demises/ 4 months. I would say I did not keep it baited for approx 1 month of those 4 due to being out of town, etc.

Kyle
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adriano
Citruholic
Citruholic


Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 357
Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Posted: Mon 22 Oct, 2012 6:51 am

We had a big problem with snakes on dalmatian islands. At the beginning of the 20-th century, authorities introduced mungos from Asia to some islands. In very short time mungos have killed all the snakes and they have turned to birds and all other mammals like rats and mice. They killed all of them and now there is a big problem with them, because as an alohton invasive species they have killed all the wildlife on some of the islands.

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Laaz
Site Owner
Site Owner


Joined: 12 Nov 2005
Posts: 5657
Location: Dorchester County, South Carolina

Posted: Mon 22 Oct, 2012 8:58 am

Mungos? Do you mean mongoose?

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