Yes, of course! However, to look for a better control at our orchards, that we keep grassed with spontaneous and legumes periodically controlled with a mower, I imagined to create safe shelters for ferrets, so that they can help me doing the work. And my question is: anybody knows how long and wide should be a tube (or two tubes) that can lead to a local shelter, stuck in the land where they can reproduce? Alberto Santos
On 12/03/25 18:53, "John" <jdbeli...@hotmail.com> wrote: Mice are the food chain of the carnivore would. It is my experience they cannot be eaten in enough numbers to help. Coyotes, cats, owls, hawks, all get fat up on rodents. However rodents reproduce faster than they can be eaten. It is nature's way!!!! Eat a few rodents , food supply increases, rodent infant mortality decreases and they out produce the hungry creatures around them. It is food supply and natural population fluctuations that control rodent numbers. My trees roots, and bark are flavorful desert under a blanket of snow. No matter how I build housing for rodent eaters the rodents keep out in front. So what to do??? A clean orchard helps because rodents cannot afford to live where there is no cover. Instant death and they know it. Then there is the final solution. ROZOL discreetly hidden under bait stations. Or even better a spoonful in the rodent hole. Just my experience with the natural way. Mo, Congratulations on the new grandchild. John Belisle BelleWood acres From: apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net [mailto:apple-crop-boun...@virtualorchard.net] On Behalf Of maurice tougas Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2012 9:26 AM To: Apple-crop discussion list Subject: Re: [apple-crop] How to deal with field mice We have similar mouse concerns with much forest nearby and stonewalls. I've found not much beats good orchard sanitation. Keeping row middles mowed and tree rows clean. We rake all debris out from under trees in fall and remove any root suckers. Mice need a place to hide, they love weeds and leaf litter. Of course any dropped fruit or trash of any kind needs to be kept out of orchard. Owls, hawks, coyotes, and wild cats seem to also enjoy hunting where there are few places for mice to find cover. Mo Tougas Tougas Family Farm Northborough, MA 2012/3/24 Alberto Da Silva Alvares Dos Santos <asan...@utad.pt> Hi All ! Fruit growers in this region often have problems with field mice (Microtus lusitanicus), which seriously damage the roots of the trees. In an attempt to control this pest using biological means: 1 * The presence of wild ferrets may be a good method, but we need know how to create safe havens for them. Which size (diameter) should be a plastic tube to be used as protection against its predators? 2 * Are there any other effective biological means of struggle against field mice? Sincerely, Alberto Santos Agronomy Departament University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) Tel.: + 351 259 350 447 <tel:%2B%20351%20259%20350%20447> _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
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