Each year I post a Varmint Report showing the number of varmints that I
have either trapped or shot in my orchard compared to previous years. It’s
interesting to see the changes from one year to the next and possible
explanations for the changes. I live in the city on a 1/3 acre lot that includes
my house and garage. I use 5 Safeguard traps that are all in my back yard
and a Crossman air rifle.
For you cat lovers, all cats were taken to the shelter. As you can see,
squirrels and possums are my biggest problems. I use sunflower seeds
and apples as bait.
Very interesting. I would have thought that by now the number of mating pairs of squirrels would have gone down. I, too, am in a battle with squirrels and possums. Five traps in 1/3 acre how often do you change the placement of your traps? How did you catch a snake in your trap? Do you ever change the type of bait? Great information.
I can’t answer for Ray, but cats in a suburban setting are the worst. They love going to the bathroom in loose, disturbed soil, aka your garden, your flowerbeds, your mulch…
At least most other animals do their business on the surface where you can see, but with cats, all you have is a smell and then you have to go on a scavenger hunt. And the smell, to me, is so pungent it is worse than almost any other animal’s. Plus they will disturb they ground and uproot seeds and young seedlings.
So I’m with ray on this one. Maybe if I lived on a huge farm it would not be an issue.
The average population of squirrels in this type setting is about 200 per square mile. He is (un)lucky to trap only 60. Ask a pecan grower how bad squirrels, blue jays, and crows can get.
The traps I have are made of galvanized steel and are all at least
10 years old. I usually have to replace the bait every time I trap
an animal, because the animal eats the bait. Sometimes a bird
will trigger the trap, since they love sunflower seeds. I always
release the birds, but sometimes they die before I can release
them. The snake that I trapped had gotten into the trap, eaten the
bird and couldn’t squeeze through the holes.
There is a leash law in my county that applies to both dogs and cats.
The owners of these cats are breaking the law by letting their animals
roam freely. They have to pay a fine, in order to get them back. I detest
cats, because they eat the many song birds that are attracted to my
orchard. The birds perform a very needed service by eating the many insects that attack my trees, while the cats are nothing but a nuisance.
When one population of squirrels is depleted, another distant population
takes their place. I place the carcasses in the trash.
out of all of these which do you think are doing the most damage? my guess would be squirrels just by the numbers, but the one group not accounted for is birds and I’m sure they get their share as well. I’m surprised that the squirrel population was so high in 2017 especially after getting 42 in 2016…I’d expect it to drop pretty significantly this year.
Although I have to net some of my trees, I don’t consider birds to
be varmints. As I said before, they perform a very valuable service.
I have about a dozen nesting pairs, of various species, that revisit the same trees every year.
Cat poop = free fertilizer! Leave the cats and they will help with rats, mice, squirrels and possibly even birds. Ive been thinking about getting an outside cat just to keep the rabbits out of my yard…
I think cat poop is good fertilizer in the same way human poop is good fertilizer or dog poop is good feelrtilizer. Theoretically, it’s probably ok, if tremendously gross, but there can also be some baddies in there that can make you very sick. Certainly not something I’d be encouraging in my vegetable garden.
There’s a reason people only fertilize with the waste of plant-eating animals.
Theoretically, there’s probably ways you could compost it down to make it safe (like milorganite) but I don’t know if it makes sense for the average person to fool around with it when you can get free wood chips and coffee grounds.
True in some circumstances. Main problem can be parasites with predatory animals. Vegetable garden, especially if you tend to eat food without washing/cooking it well could be bad, but an orchard I would think it might not be as bad. Maybe not ‘best practice’ but if basic precautions are taken, shouldnt be too hard to stay safe. I throw my dogs crap on my rhubarb plants occasionally and have never had a problem. Plants seem to love it but hes a house dog and is wormed regularly and fed only commercial foods.
“No” to cat, dog, human poop! At least around my veggies.
By the way, if your garden beds are small enough it’s very helpful to lay any kind of old fencing material down over the freshly turned or planted bed. The cheap welded wire fencing, chicken wire, hog wire, or some such discourages them, I guess because they can’t scratch to cover.
voles are bad some years up here. 2 years ago i lost my nanking cherries to voles! this year will probably be bad as it really cold early and a lot of snow so they can move more easily with out predators getting them. hopefully they find the ‘’ treats’’ i left them in pvc pipe i have all around my plants.
