Author Topic: Bad year for rats?  (Read 8172 times)

squeezyjohn

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,022
  • Oxfordshire - Sandy loam on top of clay
Re: Bad year for rats?
« Reply #20 on: September 09, 2017, 22:49:31 »
2016 and 2017 have been bad years for rodents and pests in general ... the reason being we have had no real hard frost for any length of time in 2 years (at least we haven't here where I am) ... A really decent cold snap will kill off a lot of the wildlife and we hardly had a frost in the winter 2015-16 at all ... 2016-17 had a couple of days with a little bit of frost but nothing too cold and it always went over freezing in the days which thaws out and gives the rodents something to eat.  That's the time they normally start trying to gnaw at tree bark if theres several freezing days.

The weather has been very unusual ... there were more frosts in May than there were in Dec/Jan/Feb on my plot this year!

ancellsfarmer

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,335
  • Plot is London clay, rich in Mesozoic fossils
Re: Bad year for rats?
« Reply #21 on: September 10, 2017, 09:42:33 »
Good time for a 'heads up'. Now the farmers have (at last) been able to take their corn ,the rat population seeks cosy winter accommodation, in your compost and shed. Be prepared! Nippers on alert!!
Freelance cultivator qualified within the University of Life.

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal