Glove Chewing Critter

[3RRL]

BB TX,
I guess I'll try that too. I tried the mothball thing and got no results...they just build their nest right next to them. Now I leave the hood up on the tractor and that works. Of course, my gloves are chewed though.

 

[knute_m]

Maybe my gas guzzling and de-con eatin' critter moved from the East Coast to the West Coast and is now into gloves.

I first suspected a rat because the chicken coop adjoined the tractor barn. I frequently thought the chickens were eating way too much. I'm sure they thought I wasn't feeding them enough.

After the gas guzzling incidents, I set out some de-con. Overnight, several boxes were emptied. I bought a case -- 24, maybe 48 boxes -- I don't remember. I set out two boxes everytime I checked the chickens. About half-way through the case of de-con, I set out two big wooden rat traps. They both disappeared, never to seen again. I set out a #1 Victor long spring trap from my muskrat and weezle trapping days. It was anchored down with a piece of U-shaped re-bar that was pounded about six inches into the barn's hard dirt floor. It too disappeared, but I did eventually find it about 50 feet out behind the barn. No trace of anything.

This all happened about 10 years ago. I don't remember who gave up first, but I think it was me. More and more things got put into 5-gallon buckets with lids, metal trash cans, and into a few metal lockers. Then we moved.

Good luck.

Knute

 

[3RRL]

When I arrived the following weekend, I immediately went to the tractor canopy to check the trap. Approaching it, I could see I had finally caught something! It turned out to be a California Ground Squirrel. It was dead. It had eaten all the food and drank the water.





I read about ground squirrels that they eat vegetation but also bird eggs some meat when they can. They are also known to canibalize their own dead. I saw a program on Discovery that has on tape...a mother ground squirrel raiding another ground squirrel nest. Killing and eating those babies. It's called emphanta...something?? They do it to get extra protein that is missing from their diets. They wait for the other mother to out and find food then raid that nest....weird, huh?
So I think it could have been a ground squirrel? Here's a quote describing their diet from this link.
"Diet: Green vegetation, seeds, mushrooms, fruits, birds, eggs, and insects. The ground squirrel has been observed cannibalizing its dead. Stores food in underground dens."
http://natureali.org/CaGS.htm

 

[dfkrug]

We are down only one set of gloves here. I am sure it was mice.

My JD gets a nest of "gorilla hair" in it if I do not use it every 3
days or so. The mice just love to nest above the radiator and
have chewed thru a couple of wires that dared to be in the way.
My Kioti gets to stay in the workshop, which is mouse-proof.

Around here, most of the neighbors mostly complain about the
peacocks. Mice or deer are prob #2.....

 

[3RRL]

Hi Dave,
Try leaving the hood up to keep the mice from building their nests in your tractor. That works for me. I'm thinking about spraying the wires with panther pi$$ or snake oil?? Think that would work if I found some??