adairedarling
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Keeping rats out of raised bed - help!

Hello all,

Last year, I gardened in containers on my back patio. Unfortunately, I had almost no yield--rats ate or chewed on most of my fruits & veggies (from lemons to tomatoes). This year, I am getting rid of the containers and have 2 2x12 raised beds that are each 20" high. My concern is all the time and effort to build them, fill them, and then plant them might be again ruined by rats.

I've done a lot of research online, but the information seems to all be focused on eradicating the rat population as the measure to address this. Unfortunately, I don't feel like that's a true option for me. Our neighborhood just has a lot of rats. I don't know all of the reasons, but the giant field of tall grass at the end of the block probably doesn't help, nor does the chicken coop next door that borders our property. I might be able to get rid of a few, but I can't get rid of them all.

I want to focus on how to keep the existing rats OUT of my raised beds. Options that may work?
* Building covers for the beds (only certain types of materials would be acceptable to be rat proof. This might be the best option but the cost is my concern, as is finding someone to construct it.)
* Metal sheeting around the beds (my concern is rats jump, the beds are only 20" high, would this really do anything?)
* An adapted "tree guard" along the rim of the beds (I read this would have to extend 18+ inches out from the structure, which would make it difficult to use the beds as we have a narrow walkway around them as it is)
* ??

Does anyone have any experience with this? Success or failure stories? I can learn either way. I just want to eat my own veggies and not have to share them with those disgusting, disease-infested creatures.

THANK YOU FOR THE HELP!

imafan26
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I only had problems with mice in the garden when I did not have a cat. They came and dug up every one of my corn seeds and ate them. My neighbor laughed at me because I had never had to buy a mouse trap before and I got a really big one and the mice just ran right over it without triggering it. I had to get smaller traps and put them in their path baited with corn seed for it to work.

With the field of grass down the street and chickens next door you will need to bait or trap mice. Mouse bait does work but you need to be careful if you have children and pets around that eat the bait or the dead mice. Otherwise, get a good mouser.

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applestar
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What are you growing? 2ft wide bed doesn't seem to me like many larger vegetable crops (or lemon trees) would stay within the width, which would make it difficult to cage your plants to protect them....?

I would start by putting up a 24-28" high chickenwire fence around the beds. 1" opening should be sufficient to exclude rats but not mice... Perhaps not young or baby rats? If this is a concern, you could go with deer or heavy bird netting which come in smaller opening size. These should be fairly simple to put up -- posts at intervals and wire at the top. You could probably staple the bottom to the edge of the raised bed box or use earth staples. At this height, it should be possible to tend the plants from over the top and step over to get inside if absolutely necessary, and it will allow the plants to grow out wider than the box.

Then put your traps all around the base of the bed and hope the bait is more attractive than what's geowing inside.

If this doesn't work, then you'll need to build the fence higher and even completely enclose in a cage, with provision to easily open and close for access. And you'll need to keep everything pruned and/or tucked inside... Or build your beds wider.

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rainbowgardener
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I think the 20" was high, width unspecified.

But I agree. We have outdoor cats, that we feed. They were strays that adopted us, but they are tame and like to be around us and be petted. But they make sure we have no rats, mice, voles, etc on the property. And deer netting or the cheap plastic fencing that comes in rolls is what I do to keep the rest of the critters (deer, raccoons, woodchucks, squirrels) from eating my veggies. The plastic fencing comes with metal stakes with hooks, so you just hook it on. Then you can easily unhook it to open it up to work on your plants. Since I also garden in raised beds, I just put the stakes down in the beds at the outer edge and then wrap them with netting/ fencing.

imafan26
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Mice here climb up on telephone wire and climb coconut trees so scaling a fence may not be that hard for them if they really want what is inside. If you ever come to Hawaii, look at the coconut trees. You will find a band of metal flashing around the tree trunk. Sometimes it is low sometimes it is shoulder high. The band needs to be wide enough that the rat cannot jump over it to the other side and it prevents the rats from getting traction to climb the tree. They will nest in the top of the tree and eat the small palm fruit. They even will hoard and eat macadamia nuts.

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GardeningCook
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adairedarling wrote:Hello all,

Last year, I gardened in containers on my back patio. Unfortunately, I had almost no yield--rats ate or chewed on most of my fruits & veggies (from lemons to tomatoes). This year, I am getting rid of the containers and have 2 2x12 raised beds that are each 20" high. My concern is all the time and effort to build them, fill them, and then plant them might be again ruined by rats.

I've done a lot of research online, but the information seems to all be focused on eradicating the rat population as the measure to address this. Unfortunately, I don't feel like that's a true option for me. Our neighborhood just has a lot of rats. I don't know all of the reasons, but the giant field of tall grass at the end of the block probably doesn't help, nor does the chicken coop next door that borders our property. I might be able to get rid of a few, but I can't get rid of them all.

I want to focus on how to keep the existing rats OUT of my raised beds. Options that may work?
* Building covers for the beds (only certain types of materials would be acceptable to be rat proof. This might be the best option but the cost is my concern, as is finding someone to construct it.)
* Metal sheeting around the beds (my concern is rats jump, the beds are only 20" high, would this really do anything?)
* An adapted "tree guard" along the rim of the beds (I read this would have to extend 18+ inches out from the structure, which would make it difficult to use the beds as we have a narrow walkway around them as it is)
* ??

Does anyone have any experience with this? Success or failure stories? I can learn either way. I just want to eat my own veggies and not have to share them with those disgusting, disease-infested creatures.

THANK YOU FOR THE HELP!

WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED? This has definite possible resolutions to your problem. At least give us a vague idea of where you are.

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Francis Barnswallow
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My raised garden got raided by rats/squirrels/or mice last night. They butchered my still green tomatoes -wall- . Best believe I have the traps out tonight.... (not the mean ones, although that was my first thought after seeing the damage to my tomatoes).

Before the traps I tried everything; pet/rodent repellents, fake animals around garden, bloodmeal, etc....none worked. If it gets bad you might want to look into traps.

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rainbowgardener
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When I am really having trouble with raccoons, I turn the fencing into a cage, put it across the top as well. I just lay a piece across the top, not fastened down, for ease in opening everything up. That works well enough for me.

And now we have a dog as well as the cats. Dog patrols the yard a lot and stands guard and has really cut down on the critter issues.

imafan26
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Some dogs like terriers are diggers and will dig holes all over the yard for fun, but they are also good at catching vermin.

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jal_ut
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D-con

imafan26
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D-con works but you got to keep the kids and dogs away from the stuff and the dead rats.

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Francis Barnswallow
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D-con works but the dead rats always find their way into my attic.....and they reek, especially this time of year.

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GardeningCook
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The biggest problem with using poison or traps or whatever to kill rats (or other rodents) in the garden is that all you are really doing is creating a vacuum. For every rat (or whatever) you manage to kill, there are more than likely 20 or more just waiting to take its place. It's not like eradicating them from a building where you can block the areas where they're entering - a garden is open season.

Frankly, if you have an infestation of rats &/or mice devouring your garden, I'd start looking at what's attracting them to it. Because it isn't primarily the vegetables. Do you have trash piles, old buildings, or other areas of shelter close to your garden area? Because this will be the main draw - NOT your veggies.

meshmouse
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Cat, dog, fence. Best?, all three. I personally would leave the poison alone. It's not selective in who it will kill and any dog or cat or child that eats it or that might eat a poisoned prey will die as well.

While a cat can be very effective, the right dog (any mutt with some lab in it) is even more so.

When I first moved to this neighborhood it was common to see moles, mice, rats, squirrels, racoons and groundhogs right around the house. My cat saw them too and would leave them for me on the front stoop. OK, not the racoons or groundhogs, but he did once drag in (at about six months old) a nearly decapitated squirrel that was bigger than he was.

When we got the cat a puppy to raise, that was the end of the racoons and groundhogs. Dog brought in a mole, then a mouse, then a squirrel and then a groundhog. Still hasn't got her racoon yet. Point being, they also hunt small as well as large, and will run off deer given a chance. Dog also loves to eat slugs.

I walked down the street this morning and saw three different neighbors with upended trash cans and garbage strewn about. Surely racoons. So, I know they're still around, just not in my yard. Get a dog (if you have the time to devote to it) or a taller, tighter fence.

meshmouse

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Cats!!

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Allyn
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The chicken coop shouldn't automatically draw rats. I would talk to the coop owner to see if he is experiencing a rat problem. If he is, he might need to better secure his feed stores. Is the overgrown field owned by the town? It needs to be mowed. I'd call the town/township/county -- whatever entity owns it --and bring it their attention. I have a vacant pasture next to me that is getting overgrown and I anticipate a rise in rodent activity. I use great big rat-sized snappy traps. I bait them with a thin smear of peanut butter and put them out in the evening after the chickens are secured in the coop and the dog is in the house, then I pick them up in the morning before I let the chickens out. The garden isn't drawing them, but if they're in the area for other food sources, they don't mind hitting the vegetable buffet while they're around. The traps are reusable and peanut butter is cheap.

imafan26
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It will be hard to keep them out of the property without baiting or traps. If there are no children or animals around baiting works better. Traps can only trap one at a time and they have to be in the right place. You also need to clean up any trash or places where they can hide. Fencing the garden will help but rats can chew through plastic, wood and nuts and they can dig under other things and probably scale a fence. You could put up an electrified fence around the perimeter of the garden. It would keep them from climbing over but you would have to make sure there is a deep enough underground barrier to keep them from going under it.

I have had mice in the garden before that we found nesting under the mulch and in pots under the tree. Once some rats got into my car and they went after the dog biscuits. I put out bait and there were five dead bodies the next day. Once I got rid of them the problem stopped. A good mouser actually does the best job of keeping them away. Unfortunately you have to get used to getting "presents".

Asica
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To protect the fruit before you get cat, dog, or fence put plastic container on a fruit. Trader Joe's has a lot of fruits in those plastic containers that have a little snap. You know what I am talking about? The containers are usually clear, a lot of products gets sold in them, like kiwi.



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