Community Garden Rats/Mice/Rabbits

[Garrison Creek Park Community Association]

Hi Urban Gardeners,

You have previously helped me with some other issues in our community garden.

I have searched this topic in this group and haven't found anything specific. 

What are community gardens doing to deter rats from the community/allotment gardens. I have one member that is just very upset about the rats/mice. Most people are of the thought that it's a normal part of gardening. 

I am wondering if there is anything that has worked to deter the pests? 

Should we just come to terms with the fact that rats live in Toronto and outside? Not really sure how to explain this is a simple way. 

Is there anything that works to keep them from destroying crops? 

Margaret 

Garrison Creek Park Community Garden 

[Sean Smith]

I think the first question is: what are the on-site composting practices, if any?

Nitrogen-heavy "green" matter left in piles or clumps without a corresponding carbonaceous "brown" matter to help break it down will not be composting or decomposing, but rather rotting or putrefying. This process releases methane, which gives off odors, even subtle ones, and is also a 200x more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.

These odors will attract the pests you mention, known in composting terms as "vectors".

If there's often clumps of weeds or vegetable trimmings "breaking down" in official or unofficial "compost piles", my suggestion would be to maintain a small pile of arborist woodchips on site that can be mixed together with the green materials as they are pulled from the community garden spaces so they immediately start to decompose rather than putrefy.

Hope this helps in some way! :)
Sean

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 Brewing fresh compost teas and extracts for microbial health
 in agriculture, horticulture and arboriculture.

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[rhonda]

Hi Margaret,

I've heard from other people that this year seems to be particularly bad for squirrels and rabbits. I've had to replant seedlings twice because the critters wiped them out the first two times.

This TUG resource page is written differently from the others. We've included references from university extension sources because, aside from needing to control rodents,  gardeners need to convince landholders that it's possible.

https://torontourbangrowers.org/controlling-rodents

Thanks, Sean, for your input! I'd love to hear other ideas.

Rhonda

Rhonda Teitel-Payne (she/her)

Co-coordinator

Toronto Urban Growers

@TOurbangrowers

TUG would like to acknowledge that the land on which we work is the historical territory of the Wendat, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and, most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River nations. We encourage anyone who lives and works in Tkaronto (Toronto) to think about our responsibilities to this land and water, and to the peoples who have cared for this place for thousands of years. 

TUG resources for reconcili-action

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/toronto-urban-growers/1664776449.9230261.1719487987741%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Marc Green]

I hope no one minds what could be perceived as “shameless self promotion” but is really intended to lend some assistance in the realm of “those damn critters!”

We (BUFCO) offer two different critter protections, a Critter Barrier Kit made up of custom made, over-sized bamboo hoops and a length of bird netting with hardware to hold it in place; and our new Critter Cages, a cedar frame with steel mesh lining the interior of the frame that comes with either hinged or lift-off doors. 

Both can be seen here:

https://bufco.ca/raised-bed-accessories/

Again, I hope this is ok to offer as a solution to the problem being discussed here (and sure, a bit of shameless self promo!)

Marc Green (he/him)

VP Operations
The Backyard Urban Farm Company
(416) 450-3899 (cell)