MR.MAK Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 Haha, i found this little critter stuck u my mesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarls Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Ok here goes i think this is all very relevent ... made this post on another site a little over 3 weeks ago under the title **Unknown Pest, Suspect Rats? outdoor guerilla grow south coast UK** didn't get much response but we have still learnt a bit from it all so i shall post it here and update with new info after. Myself and my friend planted 18 Feminized "SHAMAN" seeds the 1st week in April we planted them straight into the ground covering over with 'half' bottles for protection we have since cut the tops off and let them grow through, we had a slug problem and have since sorted that out (blue pellets around base's) we have 12 plants in one "plot" 4 in another and two seperate '1's' all surrounded with chicken wire which we have dug into the ground and has not been breached but is large (pictured 2"(5cm) holes) this was done to guard against rabbits which are EVERYWHERE where we live, pictures show our largest plant the tape messure at base of plant is set to 6"(15cm) to give scale Onto the problem! the two seperate "1's" have been destroyed and are stumps one of the plants in the "4" has been decimated (in picture) and has only a nawed stem and scraggly branchs with no leafs left. ALL the other plants have had there branches at or below 11" (28cm) nawed chewed and generally eaten away we have seen lots of mice (field mice i belive) and have set traps and caught 9 or 10 although we doubt they are the culprits. We have been back down today and painstakingly secured fine mesh to the outside of the chicken wire around the biggest plot of 12 plants and 'built up' around the bottom ,.. oddly 2 mins after we finished a mouse came along and spent 10 minutes travelling round trying to get in ,.. which it failed to do we are thinking if it is a rat that is doing the damage we will at least be able to see an 'entry point' if it does gain entry now. Whatever it is stood on its legs it must be no taller than 11"(28cm) as this is the height that the branches have been eaten up to, and that the "pest" must be getting through the gap in the chicken wire hence why we think maybe rats... i know they will eat just about anything... but will they eat young MJ plants? I hope that is enough and not to much detail,.. The plants being eaten is very worrying though. *****that was the post barring some minor bits not relevent now. then i attached some pics showing the damage and the plants layout******* We have since had Another "attack" and lost the smallest plant (in terms of stem thickness) in the "4" (which was "3" and is now "2",.. still with me? ) we have however caught a rat in a trap so now we are sure it is rats! we also did see some "entry" points where the rat(s) had made holes in the black plastic mesh to get into our " "12"enclosure " we have had some of the lower branches that were left hanging on at or about that 11" (inches) mark taken away. signs to look out for now that we know its rats, The whole plant or complete branches were gone over night no bits left at all so either eaten or taken away in one go. The bigger plants (thicker stems) had been chewed a little loooking like the stem had been scraped up and down leaving shallow but long scrapes deep enough that they turneds brown in a couple of days the bigger plants that (we F**ing hope) are to big for them to bring down had there branches no higher than 12" all taken away - makes sense rats are about that big on there hind legs.. Our plan now is to set the rat traps we have and smear them with peanut butter as the bait (done some research) with the traps set into holes and branches placed over to deter birds (sadly caught a Jay in one trap last week) also to set some posion out in small bowls inside shoe sized carboard boxes with rat friendly holes in there sides to save birds etc again aparently phosperous and arsenic are best as it kills them slower (don't have any symphaty its the plants or them) so they don't die near the bait and deter other rats from eating and to place these in and around where we can see they have been gaining entry Also to bite the bullet and buy some smaller chicken wire the stuff with small square holes... we havn't so far as its very expensive but we got a loose plan of surounding the "4" (now "2") with it to make sure it works before we spend £80+ odd to do the whole lot well if you made it through all that thanks for taking the time to read it. i hope some info we have gained by losing plants might save someone else's and if anyone has any info that might help that we have not come across they can pass it on and help us out. Im planning to make a dairy of our plants (will try to edit with link here when i do if your interested) like it says planted 1st week of april and messured last week the tallest was 50"ish (1.3M for the imperial impeared ) and some sprouts on the lower branches starting to make them into bush's (we hope) we just hope we don't lose anymore so feel free to drop any tips, we have no domestic animals or grazing animals anywhere near us and the site is ideal if only we can get these rats into check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Frisian Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 New one on me mate i have loads of rats but never had any damage from them......... could it be squirrels ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarls Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 New one on me mate i have loads of rats but never had any damage from them......... could it be squirrels ??? thanks for a good point was one of our likely suspects that we quickly dissmissed though as we both grew up in the area and know it VERY well, there are no squirrels within 11 miles of grow (98% sure anyways ) also thought they would be much bigger than a foot tall on legs munching away Have gone down today and set traps borrowed the idea of putting small cicrle of wire round plants (instead of our massive "enclosures") i seen on all the dairys (uber info ) and did them all with one 10M roll for under £20 BARGAIN if only we had known before... Have some piccys need to upload and stuff and will try to hash a dairy together to keep any interested partys up on the pest control side of things.. was 99% sure of it being rats but your loads of rats comment maybe put me back down to 75% i seen your post on here and you know your stuff i hope the knew wire protection solves it regardless.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boblydan Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Great thread, this A gardener's tip in Norway is to boil stinging nettles and spray it on plants. This will give the plants a harsh/bitter/acrid taste that animals and slugs find displeasing. No stinging involved (unless you sting yourself gathering the nettles ) Not that I've tried it myself, just thought I'd share the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Frisian Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Heard of stingers being used in tea but never as an insecticide Use garlic me self and no prob so far just remember not to spray on forming bud as you dont want to create a new strain garlic x ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Penny. Posted July 15, 2009 Share Posted July 15, 2009 Heard of stingers being used in tea but never as an insecticide Use garlic me self and no prob so far just remember not to spray on forming bud as you dont want to create a new strain garlic x ? In the mid 1990's the americans had a strain called Garlic Bud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manky jesus Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 thought i'd pop in with the results of this years slug attacks. NONE!! i smeared vaseline with a little salt mixed into it round all the buckets and havent had any slug/snail damage whatsoever and never had to re-apply it. they cant get past the barrier at all. a little vaseline round the stems of a plant in the ground will work equally as well though if you dont use pots. i've had problems with slugs every year and am chuffed now i've got this problem sorted out as ive lost i dunno how many young plants to the wee feckers. was going to use silicone or grease but its too messy when you're 'on site' with no taps to wash yer paws in. i wont be using pellets or any other method to fight these slimey bastards ever again. vaseline all the way! ODB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakenbaker Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Do you rekon a ring of pennies around a plant would work in the same way as the copper tape you can buy, pennies are copper plated I looked it up on wiki. Only it would be a lot cheaper than that tape stuff? Next time I see a slug im gonna put a line of pennies in front of it and see if it recoils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeofsatta Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Nah man don't think that works as I'm pretty sure that coppers are actually made of copper plated steel and I think this changes the charge that puts slugs off. Just my 2p (had to say it ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Penny. Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Do you rekon a ring of pennies around a plant would work in the same way as the copper tape you can buy, pennies are copper plated I looked it up on wiki. Only it would be a lot cheaper than that tape stuff? Next time I see a slug im gonna put a line of pennies in front of it and see if it recoils. I never put copper around my plants,never have for a few years,I used to strip copper wire and put a ring around,never bother nowadays yet I never get slug damage One thing I have noticed,lots of people take all protective measures possible save watch-towers,spot-lights,barbed-wire,and guard-dog patrols but still lose plants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakenbaker Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I never put copper around my plants,never have for a few years,I used to strip copper wire and put a ring around,never bother nowadays yet I never get slug damage One thing I have noticed,lots of people take all protective measures possible save watch-towers,spot-lights,barbed-wire,and guard-dog patrols but still lose plants Do you use owt else instead bp like pellets or beer traps? maybe that pepper stuff you put on as an insecticide puts the slugs off?? Ive got slugs using my plant as a lavatory FFS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Penny. Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I never put copper around my plants,never have for a few years,I used to strip copper wire and put a ring around,never bother nowadays yet I never get slug damage One thing I have noticed,lots of people take all protective measures possible save watch-towers,spot-lights,barbed-wire,and guard-dog patrols but still lose plants Do you use owt else instead bp like pellets or beer traps? maybe that pepper stuff you put on as an insecticide puts the slugs off?? Ive got slugs using my plant as a lavatory FFS! Beer traps?I dont even drink alcohol myself,no way would I want a patch of pissed-up slugs kicking off Nope,just slug pellets at the beginning of the season and a once monthly spraying with pepper wax,thats it,no other slug deterent Have a look at the base,nowt special mate,but I dont lose any,might have to begin next year as I have something different planned but never once lost a plant to slug damage Had a few leaves stripped off but they soon bounce back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archangel Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 im looking into advanced protection for a grow next year...Some interesting ideas about... If your sites secure enough...pffft! These could be made quite easily out of willow etc... filled with a eco-friendly repellent powder • 3 Kit Sizes available - see below • Repellent effective in both the wet and dry • Protected by the small lip on top of the plastic wall • 45cm (18") straight sections and 15cm x 15cm (6" x 6") corner sections just clip together • Environmentally friendly • Non toxic • Not harmful to wildlife • Safe to use with children and pets • No poisons used • Barrier guaranteed for 5 years against weather wear • Repellent lasts for 6 months or more • Not washed away by rain • Protect individual trees or plants to entire beds - even surround your allotment! • Pack of 10 straight sections also available • Also supplied in packs of 6 circles for use around individual plants- each circle measures 15cm (6") in diameter Handy bit of kit for transportation... Im also gonna get some proper Tree Shelters, im done fucking around with wire cages... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakenbaker Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Next time I see a slug im gonna put a line of pennies in front of it and see if it recoils. I've been having evil fun with a slug I found I tried pennies, copper tape, crushed egg shells, salt, gravel and some Diatomaceous earth slug barrier i found in the shed. Pennies didnt even slow it down copper tape didnt even slow it down crushed egg shells did slow it down but it still crossed rather than turn around salt stopped it (but could hardly be used as a barrier just checking it wasnt the bruce willis of slugs) gravel didnt even slow it down Diatomaceuos earth stopped it So the winner is diatomaceous earth! I surrounded it with this stuff and it attempted to cross, but after it absorbed enough of it it died!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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