When do you throw in the towel?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by annette, Oct 12, 2013.

  1. Rick Larson

    Rick Larson Junior Member

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    Can you kill them without a gun? Without a license? Is there a season?
     
  2. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Well it depends on what you are trying to kill. Most of the ferals like pigs can be shot but some things like foxes and rabbits etc are trapped or baited. I had wild dogs (part dingoes) here at one point and was told they can't shoot them. I was going to have to bury chicken in the ground for a couple of weeks, get them used to it, and then the guy would come with a trap. Thankfully they moved off. Can't discharge a firearm here.

    For things like kangaroos, it depends on the science and if they think it is best for them to cull (they do this in Canberra at times). I know in some parts too they have tried many things to get rid of flying foxes that move into areas and cause problems. These things range from loud noises to frighten them away and in some cases I know they have been poisoned (farmers get their crops decimated by them at times.)

    They have gangs of people that go out west and shoot the camels that have gone feral. They make a lot of trouble for the native species and the environment.
     
  3. Linda Critters Lady

    Linda Critters Lady New Member

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    You have made me realise that my urban garden (as small as it may be) is quite protected from these gorgeous critters who don't like dense population. One thing I read somewhere else is to plant what you want them to eat away from your product. I know we're talking about little critters who are quite insistent and sneaky, but maybe this will work. Retrain them to eat where you want them to. Some friends have done this with a possum, they actually fed it fruit away from their roof, and they finally got some sleep. Apart from that, please enjoy your country experience.
     
  4. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

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  5. mischief

    mischief Senior Member

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    I was thinking you could build a similar sort of fence with old corro iron and fence mesh, ramming some of the posts in the ground instead of concreting them in/screwing the railings in place, so that when/if you decided to extend the fenced off area it wouldnt be so much of a mish to move it.
     
  6. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Hi Mischief

    Yes my raised beds are made of corro iron and I have them attached to star pickets. The bird mesh is draped over the top of the star pickets. So the tiny gaps between the iron and star pickets seem to be enough for something to get in there. The beds are about 45 cms high and in some areas they have dug right under logs around the outside of the corro, under the corro and up through the soil. Once they are in there they go to town. I actually put some chicken wire in the bed on top of the soil yesterday to see how that went. They just dug under the chicken wire!!! If I do build something else there has to be no gaps not even half and inch. I caught an antechinus in a humane mouse trap. Now they have tiny mesh and it got out. How I have no idea. They are houdinis.

    So I put some herbs in pots and put the pots on top of a sort of table about 30 cms high. Got in the pots and dug in there.

    I sound so wingy so I will shut up now. Poor little things must be so hungry to go to so much trouble.
     
  7. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Ok so I sat in the dark last night in the garden to see exactly what is going on. Not long to wait. I see a big fat bandicoot walking towards the first raised bed. Then I waited and watched. It got it's long snout under the bird netting and moved its head up and stood up on its hind legs and jumped into the garden!!! Aha! So it's worked out how to get under the netting and jump. Smarty pants.

    Will go around the gardens and tie the netting down tight and see how it goes.
     
  8. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    My wish for you today is that you have a hungry and upset bandicoot at your place tonight!
     
  9. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Hi Linda and welcome to the forum!

    When I first moved in here I fed the possums and birds etc. What I found was they became quite insistent on being fed. I also noticed them breeding more. I read also that you are not supposed to feed them because they get dependent. A little bit doesn't hurt I don't think.

    I was lucky SOP gave me a heap of mulch that breed lots of worms and grubs that the bandicoots get stuck into every night. But then again there must be more of them because they have migrated to my gardens as well.

    It's all learning which is good.

    Thanks for the wishes Eco. I have been out this morning and tied down the netting. let's see the big fat bandicoot get through that tonight. It's funny but sitting out there in the dark and quiet just listening and watching is a wonderful experience. You hear all the little night animals doing their thing. The wallabies come on dusk, the possums climb out from under the house the micro bats fly around eating the insect.........so it's a whole new set of animals to those of the day time. Better than tv.
     
  10. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

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    Theres always a permaculture solution
    Too many snails not enough ducks
    Too many bandicoots not enough taipans

    I would probably just secure the net than wish for a natural solution in this case.
     
  11. songbird

    songbird Senior Member

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    i'm glad to hear about the wonderful night time experiences. :)
     
  12. mouseinthehouse

    mouseinthehouse Junior Member

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    Me too! Two nights ago my partner went out to lock up the poultry a bit late, about 9pm, and was shining the torch around and spotted some eyes up in a gum tree. Then swoosh through the air and plop onto another gum tree and shining the torch again he saw it was a little sugar glider. We have lots of them here but they can be so hard to spot - he was really chuffed. :)
     
  13. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    So how's the cranky bandicoot tonight?
     
  14. Pakanohida

    Pakanohida Junior Member

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    Im ok. I got up @ 5am.. and the stars are still out. 38f with 99% humidity, no winds.

    Oh, you mean Annette's problem. ;)
     
  15. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    NO fat bandicoot last night. yippee. Gardens left alone after I tied everything down. We had pretty fierce winds here yesterday and I had to go back and tidy again yesterday afternoon.

    MITH how lovely to see the sugar glider. My next door neighbour has them and has even put up little nest boxes for them. I haven't seen one yet here.
     
  16. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    In the words of my teenager - LOL!

    That's great news Annette. There will be more critters to disturb the equilibrium, but at least you are making progress!
     
  17. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

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    Dont worry about your bandicoot going without, I think he just relocated to my place ate 2 massive parsnips I had been saving for seed last night.
    2 years in the ground untouched, until you closed down the free meals at your place Annette :)

    ...still have plenty of seed so no probs they were well beyond human consumption.

    saw the goanna eating a dried out dead bandicoot the other day so something is killing them and I dont think its too much parsnip.
     
  18. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Dont worry about your bandicoot going without, I think he just relocated to my place ate 2 massive parsnips I had been saving for seed last night.
    2 years in the ground untouched, until you closed down the free meals at your place Annette

    ...still have plenty of seed so no probs they were well beyond human consumption.

    saw the goanna eating a dried out dead bandicoot the other day so something is killing them and I dont think its too much parsnip.

    Hahaha Sorry but it is so nice to know others have the same problems. LOL. Got goannas here too but obviously not enough!!

    I like that enclosure you posted yesterday. I checked out the ag piping a while ago from a place just down the road. pretty expensive by my standards but a great idea. I'm going to wrap some chicken wire I have lying around on the outside of the raised beds and leave some on the ground. It's 1.8 high so unless the bloody things can fly and morph through the bird netting they won't get in. Trouble is I will have to tear one side down to get to the veges. The things we do hey!! lol
     
  19. annette

    annette Junior Member

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    Oh I meant to say, I've seen brown snakes, red bellied blacks, green tree snakes (had a bright blue one here the other day, apparently quite rare) heaps of pythons but haven't seen a taipan here. I can live quite happily not having seen one. lol
     

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