DEAR JOAN: A couple of months in the past, we constructed a nest field for a screech owl as we had heard some in our space. Now, a number of months later, after mounting the field in a tree and filling it with wooden shavings, nature has taken its course, and we've got some chickadees in there.
The very first thing they did was to attempt to take away all of the wooden shavings. Now they're placing nesting materials again into the field to make it their very own.
My query is, ought to I attempt to scale back the 3-inch opening within the field in order that bigger birds, jays or different predators, can’t get in?
David, Palo Alto
DEAR DAVID: These chickadees have to be caught within the housing crunch, too, as a result of they apparently took no matter they may discover, whether or not it match their wants or not. Both that or they're the Kardashians of the chickadee world.
Chickadees sometimes nest in a lot smaller lodging. A chickadee nesting field is 4 by 4 inches, whereas a screech owl nesting field is sort of 3 times that dimension.
They'll exhaust themselves making an attempt to get sufficient nesting materials to fill the field, and sure, that large door might spell hassle, permitting predator birds inside.
Merely lowering the scale of the opening received’t be sufficient. The doorway, which ought to be 1-1/8 inch large, must also be 7 inches above the ground. In case your field was initially constructed for screech owls, the doorway gap is 9 inches above the ground, which could, or may not, make it tougher for the younger birds to fledge when the time is true.
However right here’s the issue. Because the birds have already got began nesting, you legally can’t do something that might disturb them, even for their very own sake. Federal legislation prohibits interfering with nesting birds.
If you happen to can scale back the scale of the opening with out bothering the birds, that is perhaps the perfect you are able to do at the moment.
DEAR JOAN: Our tree broccoli was decimated, each floret was gone. The neighbor misplaced all his peas. We suspect rats.
Along with the perennial broccoli tree, all of the buds on some ranunculus flowers, all of the tops of parsley, all the information of shoots from water hawthorne and all of the leaves of coriander had been all sheared off with no seen droppings, no chewed items as litter.
What to do?
Sandi, San Jose
DEAR SANDI: It definitely feels like rats, particularly if the injury is happening at evening.
Aside from understanding who to shake your fist at and curse, it doesn’t matter a lot what animal it's. The options are the identical. You'll be able to strive some deterrents, resembling spraying the vegetation and perimeter with sizzling sauce, however you’ll most likely have the perfect luck with a bodily barrier that forestalls the animals from attending to the vegetation.
Construct sturdy cages across the vegetation. Hardware material, which is a heavy obligation materials, is your greatest guess. The holes within the fencing are small, and the rats can’t get via them. It’s moderately priced, however relying on the scale of your backyard, it could actually get expensive.
Additionally have a look round your property for different issues that could possibly be attracting rats, together with locations for them to dwell. Eliminating these issues will even discourage the rats from visiting.
Contact Joan Morris at jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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