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
Senior Member
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.
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!
