My grandfather was the greatest orchardist I’ve ever known and, if not for heart problems forcing him to retire, he would’ve worked them until he died (he almost did anyway) and I would’ve taken them over.
Instead he sold ‘em, became a multimillionaire and took my grandmother on a world tour before building their dream home and retiring (much to his chagrin).
One thing he knew is that a good orchard is never without its cats. They manage the rodents and birds far more effectively than bait and tinsel.
His favorite orchard cat used to line up the skulls of the rodents she’d killed in the night on his back porch, sometimes as many as a dozen.
If you’re suffering from animal damage, consider adding cats into your system.
If you want to be responsible, only introduce spayed/neutered cats. If you want lots of orchard cats, then leave their bits and bobs intact.
But, in general, you’ll spend a lot more time and money (often with less efficacy) managing the pesky animals in an orchard without cats than with them.
It is a close call. The ratsnakes and black racers do a real number on rodents here. We have 2 outside cats{only one is ours} and not everything they kill is bad This week our cat killed a baby bunny and the feral tomcat that took up here ate it. But they kill a lot of beneficial critters and song birds too.
Our Great Pyrenees kill a lot of marauding larger critters. Two of them have a pet Barred Owl they speak too nightly and that seems to keep the squirrels to a dull roar. Tubby{the owl} has a perch in their pen in a pine tree and they chatter back and forth all night. Did not know dogs speak owl…lol
Cats work for me. The long hair cats absolutely destroy the rodents, particularly voles. Red tabbies seem to prefer snakes, squirrels, rabbits
I have no shortage of sparrows. They do most of the heavy lifting.
I need a better dog. My little Aussie isn’t worth a pinch of dung. I once had what appeared to be a corgi x mut (lab x chow). She enjoyed killing groundhogs. It was a grisly, but satisfying spectacle.
Cats are incredibly damaging to your local ecosystem. They have single handedly driven dozens of species to extinction. I love cats but mine are not allowed outside. Unfortunately the neighbors have a very large barn cat population so I don’t get much of a say in their presence.
Yeap. We have two Walmart pick up Cattens just about ready for the spay trip. Oddly sister Orange Tabbies. Only our Pyrenees are not fixed. Because…ever try dragging a non-walking 140 pound dog to vets{who tend to avoid treating Livestock Guard Dogs}.
Imo if one gets a cat, please have it fixed. Theres a huge overpopulation of cats and they’re highly destructive to wildlife, and often will wander to other properties.
I agree with @snarfing that a dog is a much more reliable bet, but they require significant time commitment. My rescue mutt is great at killing groundhogs. It’s the husky in him that has high prey drive. The husky in him also makes him an escape artist and if my fence gate is even unlocked he will nudge it open and stroll around the neighborhood. In a more rural area this may not be a huge problem. A terrier is good for ratting and removing other pests. Dogs will often kill wildlife like baby birds on the ground.
Generally they do better with fences though can be trained to stay on property, with varying success. One also has to decide if the dog will also be a family/pet dog.
The snake point is underrated honestly. We get a family of them on the plot every year and the mouse numbers stay manageable without any of the bird drama. Obviously can’t manufacture that like you can with cats, but worth making them welcome if they turn up.
Meant to pick up a few cats last spring, but never got around to it. How are you guys feeding them without feeding all the other trespassing animals? Dedicated meal times?
Yeah. Tubby showed up here as a young juvie and stayed. For a while he moved to a nearby farm and we worried as they have been poisoning their rat problem heavily. He thankfully came back though. He missed his dogs.
He does not care when we walk under him and even touch his toes. He seems amused…lol
The answer is you don’t. You can’t selectively feed. I stopped putting birdseed out because I was feeding the rodents. Raccoons and rats will eat your cat food.
I want a Rat Terrier just for this reason!! I never liked ankle biters until I met, Peppy. A dumb as bricks Rat Terrier who wouldn’t learn to stop chasing cars on the road. The third time he got hit he didn’t make it. (A friend’s dog, not mine.)
(A friend’s dog, not mine.)