I was wondering the same thing. Did a quick google search and came up empty handed. Surely this scenario isn't isolated to my tiny vineyard.
Vineyard Rodent Control
- Thread starter vtoddw
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FlamingoEmporium
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I know several of my favorite wineries in the finger lakes had cats on staff. Instead of poison, put out several cans of cat food and some cat condos
An outdoor cat is definitely the best possible rodent control option, although we do have Coyotes around here so not sure how long that'd last. I've also been considering an owl box, although not sure if an owl would see it once it's installed and just show up and live there or how that actually works.
Owl boxes do work - we have several in our immediate area and they are all occupied. Doesn’t help with ground squirrels as they are mostly daytime creatures. We also have a pair of red tail hawks but they view themselves as too good to hunt ground squirrels.
For me that might be the best option then, since ive got the squirrels under control. There appears to be Great Horned Owls in my area but all the boxes I saw on Amazon seem to be for smaller screech owls, so im not sure which box to buy, it's gonna take some digging.
The owl boxes here are normally for barn owls - and the opening is smaller to keep great horned owls out as they will eat the chicks.
If you want great horned owls, they nest in nests built in the crotch of trees, typically 30+ feet high. GH owls typically just move into a nest built by hawks rather than building their own. I’ve seen a couple of vineyards build cones out of chicken wire and filled with sticks which they then installed in trees. They said it took a year or two for birds to find and use the nests - and it wasn’t always owls as hawks also appreciate the help.
If you want great horned owls, they nest in nests built in the crotch of trees, typically 30+ feet high. GH owls typically just move into a nest built by hawks rather than building their own. I’ve seen a couple of vineyards build cones out of chicken wire and filled with sticks which they then installed in trees. They said it took a year or two for birds to find and use the nests - and it wasn’t always owls as hawks also appreciate the help.
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Just a report back on the squirrelinator traps. I’ve caught 18 so far and the activity has dropped off markedly. The hit rate in the traps went up when I started placing freshly cut apples in the traps - I use about 1/6th of an apple per trap, cut into three pieces. I also have rolled corn, oats and barley (aka COB) sprinkled on the ground inside and just outside the trap.
Oh wow, that's really great information, seems like it's going to be unlikely I'll be able to get a horned owl to move in as there are no trees in my yard taller than about 12'. I was planning to put in a 4" x 4" x 16' post to host the owl box, but 30' is pushing it. We have a bunch of red tailed hawks around here, but they come and go as they please, which doesn't keep the rodent pressure consistently down. Still undecided how to best approach this problem, possibly just going to use poison bait stations after harvest if the ratx doesn't work and then put away the poison during the growing season in hopes that the rodent population will be non-existent by then.
Wow, 18 squirrels this time of year? Sounds like you've got quite the burrow under your property, glad you have a solid solution.
Todd,
I applaud you for not giving up!
I applaud you for not giving up!
Thanks David!Todd,
I applaud you for not giving up!
The saga isn't totally over this year, I've already harvested the zin and merlot but my cab is still sitting up there, at 21 brix today and it's been cloudy and raining. I just saw small amount of clusters that have been getting chewed at the top so it looks like those little monsters found the cab. I've got some traps with peanut butter on them up there right now, so hopefully that'll slow em down. I have seen some of the ratx I put out is missing so they seem to be slowly eating it. Fingers crossed these grapes will reach 26 soon so I can get this yield harvested.
Just a scorecard update - up to 28 fatalities in six weeks using three traps. I’m really happy with the squirrelinators. We’ve harvested 16 of our 26 rows. Hoping to pick the rest later this week - pH remains stubbornly low so will have to let fruit hang into upper 20s.
Nice work! Maybe they'll find safer territory next year. The rodent pressure here definitely ebbs and flows, I had at least one season where I didn't see a single squirrel.
In regards to fruit, I had the opposite problem, my cab sauv was still stuck at 21 brix last week, but it had reached 20 brix in the first week of September. Really weird, as it's usually close to 24 brix by then, and by the last week of September it should have been around 26. The P.H. was also high, at 3.8. I got tired of the mice / rats eating it every night so I went ahead and harvested, crushed and now I'm fermenting on day 2 of primary. My target was 26 brix, so I chaptalized with dissolved table sugar to get it up from 1.090 to 1.113 SG before pitching yeast as I like a nice 15 % ABV wine. The wine is for personal consumption plus family and fields, so no shame in chaptalizing IMO. It's got great color extraction so far and the fermentation smells great so I'm not worried about the chemistry at the moment.
In regards to fruit, I had the opposite problem, my cab sauv was still stuck at 21 brix last week, but it had reached 20 brix in the first week of September. Really weird, as it's usually close to 24 brix by then, and by the last week of September it should have been around 26. The P.H. was also high, at 3.8. I got tired of the mice / rats eating it every night so I went ahead and harvested, crushed and now I'm fermenting on day 2 of primary. My target was 26 brix, so I chaptalized with dissolved table sugar to get it up from 1.090 to 1.113 SG before pitching yeast as I like a nice 15 % ABV wine. The wine is for personal consumption plus family and fields, so no shame in chaptalizing IMO. It's got great color extraction so far and the fermentation smells great so I'm not worried about the chemistry at the moment.
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No, get the Ratinator! Rats can get out of the Squirrelinator. The entrances are different. I have both
