Bloodmeal for gopher/rabbit control?
kickaha
Something ate all my wife's pumpkins.
She suspects either gophers or rabbits.
Home Depot says to mix bloodmeal into the soil to keep both of them
away.
Three questions for you:
1. Could it have been either one of these animals?
2. Will the bloodmeal keep them away?
3. Do those electronic gopher repellers that you stick into the ground
(run off 4 D cell batteries) work at all?
Thanks for any advice!
kickaha
noname
>
>She suspects either gophers or rabbits.
>
>Home Depot says to mix bloodmeal into the soil to keep both of them
>away.
>
>Three questions for you:
>
>1. Could it have been either one of these animals?
Ate *all* of? Telltale signs of wildlife damage usually includes bites in many
fruits, leaving them spoiled but far from consumed. You didn't say what stage
of growth these pumpkins had reached, but if they were larger than a ping-pong
ball, I'd cancel the rabbit/gopher theory.
>
>2. Will the bloodmeal keep them away?
Not likely. Anything sprinkled or sprayed on/around plants washes off the
plants and dissipates in the soil with the first watering/rain. Bloodmeal is a
high-nitrogen fertilizer. Rabbits, at least in my experience, are unaffected by
its use.
>
>3. Do those electronic gopher repellers that you stick into the ground
>(run off 4 D cell batteries) work at all?
Recent survey in our local paper about mole deterrants of a similar sort
revealed perfectly serene moles (and voles) digging right next to these
'scarers'.
Sturdy (metal) fencing will keep out rabbits. Recommended method is to extend
fence underground to discourage burrowing. Don't know about gophers as garden
pests. Have you seen signs of them? Hills and holes and whatnot? If your wife's
pumpkins were large, I'd suspect either human vandals or pumpkin soup lovers.
:-)
Pat Kiewicz
>
>Hi, all-
>
>Something ate all my wife's pumpkins.
>
>She suspects either gophers or rabbits.
I'd think bigger:
Groundhogs, deer
Or if they were gone, clean-as-a-whistle, no remains left behind,
human beings.
>
>Home Depot says to mix bloodmeal into the soil to keep both of them
>away.
Ropel works very well, on ornamental plants (but can't be used on edibles).
A mix of eggs and water will repel rabbits, lasts longer than bloodmeal
or fish emulsion (another rabbit repellant), and doesn't risk burning
the plants (blood meal is very high in nitrogen).
>
>Three questions for you:
>
>1. Could it have been either one of these animals?
More likely something bigger and hungrier. (Rabbits might make off with
squash at the blossom stage, or slightly bigger, but that's about all.)
>
>2. Will the bloodmeal keep them away?
It might work temporarily, at best. Once animals have developed the habit
or dining in (on!) your garden, they are harder to deter.
>
>3. Do those electronic gopher repellers that you stick into the ground
>(run off 4 D cell batteries) work at all?
About as well as wishful thinking usually does.
My strong wire fence topped with electric fence wires (runs on 6 D cells)
keeps out groundhogs, racoons, rabbits, possums, and fox squirrels.
(I've seen no signs of the deer that I've seen accross the street ever
coming into the yard. If they did, I'd maybe have to enhance the electrified
part.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)
simy1
> kickaha said...
> >
> >
> >3. Do those electronic gopher repellers that you stick into the ground
> >(run off 4 D cell batteries) work at all?
>
> About as well as wishful thinking usually does.
>
> My strong wire fence topped with electric fence wires (runs on 6 D cells)
> keeps out groundhogs, racoons, rabbits, possums, and fox squirrels.
> (I've seen no signs of the deer that I've seen accross the street ever
> coming into the yard. If they did, I'd maybe have to enhance the electrified
> part.)
Prevention, of course, is the better cure. If they did, and were to be
zapped before they ever got into the garden, that could be the end of
it. I tested my fence (bought at a farm supply store, has just a
transformer and runs on normal power) by grounding my pinky on the
chainlink and touching the wire with my thumb (so the shock was only
in my hand). Very painful. I doubt that any animal getting that shock
nose-to-toe would ever want to come close again, specially if they
don't know exactly how good those cabbages are.
Night23
animal.
be humane and cut the current down a bit.
a tingling jolt would be sufficient.
Prof.Zooks
>
> if its painful to you, you will probably kill or critically injure the
> animal.
>
> be humane and cut the current down a bit.
>
> a tingling jolt would be sufficient.
>
Speaking from experience, I can tell you a tingling jolt is not
sufficient! Very small animals and birds can be killed, but not large
ones like 'chucks or raccoons...
Regards,
PZ.
simy1
> if its painful to you, you will probably kill or critically injure the
> animal.
>
> be humane and cut the current down a bit.
>
> a tingling jolt would be sufficient.
>
I doubt it that a tinlge would be sufficient - wild animals are very
determined. My hand has certainly a resistance close to that of a
small animal, and that is why it was so painful (higher current than
if I got it through the body). I put up my winter birdfeeder on top of
a pole tied to one of the fence posts. The squirrels gather under and
try to get there, and I saw some of them get zapped. They jump and fly
off, but they stay very much alive.
Night23
them..