Fun with Trees and Rodents #club100
This is my plum tree. I planted it 2 Summers ago and it is struggling in the drought.
I carefully water and mulch it. There are stakes that prevent the wind from pushing it over. I pull any weeds away from the base. I spritz it with water to help increase the ambient humidity. I give it fertilizer. I even have a little plastic tube around the base to ensure that rabbits will not strip the bark off. I do everything that I can to try and ensure this poor tree will live.
This Spring, it took a really long time for the leaves to bud out, and as you can see, the top branches remain bare. I am worried it will not make it, although, there is so much rain this year that I have hope.
Then something new happened.
Some horrible animal decided to make a home in the roots.
WHY? Oh woe is me! Why am I so cursed when I try so hard?
I do not know what type of animal is trying to kill my tree, but it is bigger than the usual ground squirrels that leave little holes all over my land.
If you look close, you will see little foot prints.
As you can see, the rotten little beggar is making my poor tree suffer, chewing on the tender roots, exposing them to the drying winds, sucking up the water supply.
It makes a person want to give up trying to grow trees altogether.
This si a 100% POWER UP! post for #club100
Tin!
If this tree grew in my garden, then I would say that an earthen or water rat eats its roots. This creature likes to gnaw young roots, especially in spring. I have had cases - a tree begins to bloom and suddenly begins to wither, the leaves fall off. I look - and it's already starting to fall, because the roots are gnawed off. Once, in a similar way, a rat passed through 3 young trees in one row overnight and gnawed their roots. This is very bad!
try to set some kind of trap.
or maybe you have a cat? show her this hole.
I filled it with water tonight. Nothing emerged. Then we filled it with mud. The problem is that it is likely a ground squirrel. Their tunnels go for miles and they live in huge colonies. It is impossible to get rid of them. They are smart, too. They actually build decoy tunnels!! Both the cat and the dog know where every single hole is. I think they are scared.
It's good that gophers don't live in our area. But we have a lot of mice in the garden. In the spring, you can see how the whole earth is pitted by their moves.
Do they have gophers and ground squirrels in any part of Russia? Maybe I should send a couple to pay Russia back for the thistles.
Ahahah. :) in the Southern regions they definitely are.
In one movie there is a phrase: "Do you see a gopher? No? And he's definitely there."
The gopher is always there.
It is a very clever animal, it definitely enjoys the roots, the squirrels may be, I hope you find the culprit, if not, unfortunately, it will continue looking every time you plant!
Cheers!
It is sad.
I would just set traps and eat meat for breakfast. Hares are also rodents and they have delicious meat))
Some of these animals are endangered and it is illegal to hurt them. :-P
I also have a soft heart and do not normally mind co-existing with them. I have limits though.
There are laws that people write. They do not take into account the specifics of situations. I mean such laws, but I don't always follow them. Sometimes circumstances require other actions.
There are laws of nature, according to which everyone has a protected area and there is a struggle for it. And the one who is stronger wins. It's okay if moles dig the ground under my beds, I'll just set traps...even if moles are listed in the red book.
Poor moles! :-P I actually have had some luck with coyote urine. If you spray it around, the animals get worried and move on. The trick is getting the coyote urine :-P
To get coyote urine...tano manages to get him drunk with beer... lots of beer :)))
HA!
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