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Hurdland USA

Gophers are bad this year and I have not set my plants out yet.

I'm thinking about placing chicken wire or something similar in the dirt surrounding the main root hoping that if the rodents do get to the plant it will still survive.

Any other suggestions? I think I have the wind and hail covered for the most part.

5/20/2010 4:22:41 PM

Rhode Island

id look for a more perminate solution to any whistle pigs that live near my patch if i were you

1. have a heart traps work well (and is a humane solution)
2. some people shoot them (only do this as a last resort)
3. some put smoke bombs into there holes(not that effective)
4. your fence idea should work but how many times must you move the wire as the plant grows.
unless of course you just protect the main vines tip? then they can eat all the side vine tips?
5. i have also seen some sort of motion detecting noise maker that is advertized to repell whistle pigs? never used them though.

5/21/2010 7:08:49 AM

Western PA

Ground Hogs are tough to deal with. they can get over an under about anything they want to. They give birth in the early spring and leaf home to make there own burrow, they grow very rapidly.

I use a live trap to trap them. When you set the trap up try to find there burrow and put it right by there burrow, throw some weeds and twigs over it to make it look more inviting to the ground hog. I found the best bait for the ground hogs around here is apples, the older the better.

after you catch the first one, you might as well reset the trap because there are plenty more out there if you seen one. I keep a trap set just about all season long, the only prob with that is catching things you don't want to catch.
COONS, Skunks, Possums.

5/21/2010 3:23:46 PM