What's eating my bulb flowers?

Jadeboy48@aol.com Jadeboy48@aol.com
Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:06:26 PDT
There are a couple solutions to too many chipmunks in the world. When I  
owned a very, very large plant nursery I used "farm cats". These are tame, not 
 feral (wild) cats with claws and teeth. I very strongly believe in 
neuturing (it  prevents the cats from making more baby cats) cats otherwise you 
will have  a cat problem! I had 8 cats, inside but with a outside pet door on 
150 acres.  When I started I had several thousand chipmunks (really!) and 
underground moles  and rabbits. My cats were literally dumped on my property by 
people that did not  want them, Short haired cats are best. I used pet 
collars that prevented fleas  and ticks from living on the cats. Regular visits 
to a veterinarian are very  important! While they should be fed a healthy 
diet they will soon eliminate  the pest problem for fun and fresh meat in 
their diet too. Cats need to be young  but not babies. Probably one or two cats 
would do the trick for a regular home.  Chipmunks can also be killed using 
snap (mouse traps) baited with peanut butter.  A friend used moth ball 
pellets lightly spread near the base of the plants with  great success too. 
Probably as a last resort take up target shooting with a gun.  I am talking about 
a pellet gun NOT an Uzi machine gun. This method should only  be used when 
there are no children or loose pets in the area. If you use a  pellet gun, be 
responsible! All guns can be dangerous so learn how to use them  correctly 
and safely. By the way the cats saved me thousands of dollars per year  and 
died around 26 years old! Make sure they have All the proper shots for cat  
diseases and especially rabies. Please don't get the wrong idea. I love 
wildlife  and think many animals are cute but when they eat your 500 dollar rare 
bulb you  have to decide if you are running a chipmunk ranch or growing 
plants. You can't  have it both ways. You might check online to see if there 
are any plant that  give off odors they don't like. In that case the pests 
just move on to a new  home. I have heard of this method from friends but just 
cannot recall what  plants work.
With plant eating birds I found that little pieces of aluminum foil on  
string hanging from a branch or bush will frighten the birds away but not harm  
them. The foil blows in the wind and the little flashes of light are enough 
to  scare them away. It is cheap and simple and harms nothing. I hope this 
help with  your plant problems!
PS: I have kept cats in a town but be considerate of your neighbors.   Some 
people hate cats. Good Luck- Russ Hintz
 
 
In a message dated 3/12/2013 10:31:30 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
bonsaigai37@aol.com writes:

Last  spring I had CHIPMUNKS eating the lily bulbs.  The little beast 
climbed  the boulder next to Scheherezade and ate nearly every bud off.  And yes, 
 I watched him do it!


Michael
Interlaken NY Z6

Some birds  here are colour selective with crocus. Yellow seems to be 
attractive 
to  them. Sparrows mainly.

> Rabbits?

No rabbits.  
-



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