Gardening: berries, root veggies, flowers, trees - 2020!

[Catsumi]

Skunk's devilled eggs much cleaner and safer than the RATS that are expanding their territories here.

Either we smarten up and get rid of them as soon as we notice the damage they cause, not to mention the diseases they carry, or we live with their filth forevermore.

Didn't Alberta proclaim itself as RAT FREE Not many years ago? Their efforts were for a damn good reason which are now eroded with the complacency of us here in Ok.

Alberta got rid of RATS as the damage they did to stored crops; cost them millions of bucks (which means all of us)
Look at statistics of RAT damage worldwide to human foodcrops.

A sight that will always stay with me was being at an outside table in Granville Island, eating lunch, while people FED RATS as if they were pets. In broad daylight! That was 30 years ago. I strongly suspect that the same mindset has pervaded our up and coming thinkers which has now resulted in the ubiquity of RATS in our towns and cities in the interior.

These are not benign beasts as some think. They are destructive, costly and unclean.

This is my opinion only.

[alanjh595]

Yes, you are right.

Alberta is the only province in Canada that does not have any rats and is, in fact, the largest inhabited area on the planet that is rat-free. Rats had to come from Eastern Canada, and it’s a long walk, so it was not until the 1950s that they finally reached Alberta. When they did, the Alberta government was ready for them: They instituted a very aggressive rat control program that killed every single rat that crossed the Alberta/Saskatchewan border.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/597 ... e-rat-free

[Catsumi]

Alberta led by example and we shouldhave, couldhave, learned by their successful efforts.

What is going wrong here that we allow dangerous vermin to proliferate?

Are we so uneducated here in B.C. that we turn a blind eye to RATS in our midst?

If this issue isn't addressed aggressively very soon we will be overrun with these profligate rodents. It is up to us reasonable folk to put pressure on the government lawmakers that this rodent threat is not a joke.

Just barely skimming this ONE link of hundreds ought to make you upchuck

http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/step- ... orage-pest

[Nooby]

Agree, they are disgusting, destructive creatures. Having lived in Alberta for 40+ years and never once seeing a rat, I was sickened when I saw the first one here and it's only getting worse. You can't even grow a proper, healthy garden with these disgusting creatures around. I was actually glad that our beautiful plum tree didn't produce any fruit this year (not sure why, but I don't care). We do everything possible to protect our home and yard but doesn't help when neighbors don't do the same.

And you're right - the overall complacency about the problem is just not right.

[typhoon44]

Or maybe it's because we have ports where rats can arrive, and the border with Alberta has mountains to limit the rodents' range. Similar to how island countries have an easier time containing Covid.

[alanjh595]

[alanjh595]

Rat problem rising in Vancouver, pest controllers say

Source: CBC News
Posted: 08/11/08 11:59AM
Filed Under: Canada
Complaints about rats in Vancouver streets and households have increased significantly this summer and could spike in the fall, pest controllers say.

Patrick McLoughlin, owner of Mantis Pest Control, said calls to his company about rats are up 50 per cent over previous years.

John Mitten, branch manager with Poulin's Pest Control, said rodent-related calls are up 27 per cent, and he warns the number could spike as more rats seek shelter from the cold come September.

The three-month civic strike last summer is partly to blame for the increased rat population in the city, said McLoughlin, who has been dealing with rodents for more than 10 years. Garbage collection was halted during the strike, creating piles of trash on the streets.

"The young broods that were born in that time, they're all on their own now running about. So one year later, you can easily see the result," McLoughlin said in a telephone interview.

While the greater rat population may be a nuisance, it doesn't pose a health risk, said Domenic Losito, regional director of health protection with Vancouver Coastal Health.

"There's not a lot of evidence of direct disease transmission between our urban rats and the population," Losito said.

But Mitten said residents should take precautions.

"If you don't have a portal, or method or conduit for them to get access to the house, you certainly reduce the risk of exposing yourself to that problem," he said.

Vancouver Coastal Health spokesman Domenic Losito says the greater rat population may be a nuisance, but doesn't pose a disease risk.
(CBC)

[Catsumi]

Well, well. Here's something to be proud of:

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/310102 ... est-cities


Rodents do transmit some pretty serious diseases to humans, either by the fleas they carry or through bites or fecal matter

https://www.orkin.com/rodents/rats/rat-borne-diseases

It is no joke to find your tomatoes carrots and other items that you worked hard to produce only to see them chawed by these filthy rodents. At the rate they reproduce they can quickly turn into a huge problem if complacency rules the day. It is much easier and cheaper to exterminate a few rather than trying to cleanse whole provinces of rats.

[alanjh595]

As much as I hate rates, and mice, and Voles, as the next person, I have reservations about accepting the subtle, fear mongering that this company is using to promote their business.
For example:
They only say that the number of "treatments" are at the top of their list for these areas. (If I call for a treatment, because I am afraid of getting rats, even though I have never seen one) that would register on their list for service.



Why did they not actually post the number of calls, as apposed to just ranking them? Why would that be? Considering that Kelowna is about 20 X the population of Terrace. Kelowna could have had 20 calls while Vancouver could have had 1000 and Terrace had 2, while there are no rats in the rest of BC.
I wonder if they are just ranking towns/cities by the number and size of the franchisees.

I also observed in the the ad quoted above, that the Logo is the same size as the picture of a rat, that is using psychology to think of their company whenever thinking of the potential of a rodent.

This is just a marketing scam to scare people into using their service.

[Catsumi]

Ignore what Orkin said if it doesn't meet with your requirements

This is from the CDC should there be any questions concerning the danger rats pose to humans:

https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html

Diseases directly transmitted by rodents
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
Lassa Fever
Leptospirosis
Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM)
Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever
Plague
Rat-Bite Fever
Salmonellosis
South American Arenaviruses (Argentine hemorrhagic fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Sabiá-associated hemorrhagic fever, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever)
Tularemia


None of these are fun to get. Should you have rats roaming in your garden, it is my hope you destroy them asap.

[Babba_not_Gump]

We started seeing rats in our neighbourhood last winter. It appeared that the dead ones we were finding had been poisoned.

I've got mixed feelings about poison and rats on the off chance some other (innocent?) creature will either eat the poison or the dead rat.
Anyways, a friend of ours who works for Orkin dropped off four bait traps for us, for free. We'll see if dead rats keep showing up in the neighbourhood. When/if it slows down, I'll remove the traps.

The bait traps are also meant for mice, which we have more than enough of.

But yes, they are disgusting creatures.

[I Think]

Made a "rolling log" mouse trap which works beautifully, got 7 mice one night,
They say it works for rats but you need a 5 gallon bucket.
Very easy to make, put a thin metal bar across the bucket and rig a pvc pipe with end caps on it drilled in the center of the caps so that the pipe spins easily, fix a small disk in the center of the pipe and smear peanut butter on the disk. Make a ramp to the edge of the bucket, fill the bucket about 1/4 to 1/3 full with water.
In the morning you will have caught mice.
A thought is that one might put automotive antifreeze in the bucket instead of water, that will entice the rats if any get in the bucket to drink, you will have to dispose of the rodents safely as they will be poisoned.
You can find lots of examples of how to make a rolling log trap on youboob.
The sides of the bucket must be shiny or the rodents can get enough purchase to climb out. You can use these indoors or out, but you have to stop bigger animals getting at the bait or drinking the antifreeze if you elect to use that.

[I Think]

PS, have taken to tipping the drowned mice (using water only) down gopher holes, as they do not like dead critters in their burrows.

[oneh2obabe]

We started seeing rats in our neighbourhood last winter. It appeared that the dead ones we were finding had been poisoned.

I've got mixed feelings about poison and rats on the off chance some other (innocent?) creature will either eat the poison or the dead rat.

I Died Today
DO NOT USE POISON TO KILL RATS AND MICE.

I died today.
I was found by a kind, sweet woman who does wildlife rescue.
I was so sick, I could barely open my eyes.
She took me inside, cradling me in her warm arms, and made me warm and comfortable.
I opened my eyes and looked at her and thanked her for making my last few minutes as comfortable as possible.
But i was too sick to keep fighting anymore.
I had eaten a mouse that was poisoned, and it made me very sick.
I closed my yellow eyes for the last time and went somewhere else.
Please, all I ask is never use poison to kill the mice.
Poison kills owls, like me.
All I wanted was a mouse for dinner.
I died today….

[Lady tehMa]

I may have startled a rat in my garden yesterday

A bright note in my day, was finding my goji berry bush actually has berries now! I harvested what was available. They don't taste all that great I think I'm going to have to start tasting fruits I want before I plant.