Wierd Pests

[cloudswinger]

I have most of my plants outdoors, and I've had wierd things going on. Potting media all dug up and tossed about, smaller pots overturned, plants pulled up(only one, but 2 times!?), tags gone missing. I thought it was squirrels, but yesterday I found one of the missing tags across the other side of my property, so now I suspect birds. It's annoying.

[digitalgate]

squirrel, i suspect.

[Hummer344]

I vote for those fury tailed critters.

[Sharyn]

It's not the birds. It's those crazy squirrels.
The little buggars are quite destructive. And, they love messin' with our stuff.

Pic: compliments of Guzer.com

[solay]

Ha! Ha! Ha! The squirrel with the guitar is soooo cute. Hee! Hee! Hee!

Yup, I vote squirrel too. They've been out and about lately in my yard too.

[katrina]

I vote for both. They both did a job on my 'chids this year.

Lots of dug up media, pulled sphag, upset pots, broken growths AND last but not least...although most ugly-fying (my word)...little peck holes in the leaves of my phals. Didn't know what was causing these little holes in the leaves...until I saw some sparrows having fun in the plants.

Oh and if you have raccoons down there...they like to turn the pots upside down too and dig around looking for food...or something...maybe they're just playing I don't know. ?? Such curious little buggers. I had 2 babies having fun in the phals earlier this summer.

[fred]

yeah I would say its squirrels as well

hehehe Sharyn that squirrel is playing music because he/she has a full belly of members orchids.. Bang not any more lol

[patlee]

I had my Tolumnia on my back deck and I also had four or five squirrels that visited daily. They never touched my orchids because there was a fully stocked bird feeder (with peanuts in the shell for the bluejays).They buried those peanuts in my giant flower pots,and ruined some plantings, but I can live with that...Those critters never touched my orchids!!

Why mess with orchids when you can fill up on the "good stuff" like seeds and nuts!! Whatever it takes to keep them from the chids

[articuno75]

AaAAHHhh! Ebil squirrels I tell ya!!! Ebil!!!

[brookn]

OMG it's the ebil squirrels again!!!!!!!! I am hiding.

[BillC]

I vote for squirrel also, they are very clever at avoiding obstacles to get what they want.

Sharyn, I loved the pic. Thought it was hilarious!

Bill

[NancyG]

My vote is for the nasty bluejay!

They stole my tags to build nests and like to dig with their beaks.

NancyG

[mgfree]

Do you guys get they annoying indian myna birds over there? They are the biggest pest. I've had quite a few orchid seedlings go missing from those little mongrels. I also once bought some red adenium seeds which once sprouted, lost every single one. My BF has taken to shooting the little bastards, however, they just don't die! They only run off flapping. They are a menace to our native birds too.

[markclkk]

Originally Posted by patlee

I had my Tolumnia on my back deck and I also had four or five squirrels that visited daily. They never touched my orchids because there was a fully stocked bird feeder (with peanuts in the shell for the bluejays).They buried those peanuts in my giant flower pots,and ruined some plantings, but I can live with that...Those critters never touched my orchids!!

Why mess with orchids when you can fill up on the "good stuff" like seeds and nuts!! Whatever it takes to keep them from the chids

Ohh, they love durian and papaya too. But they were not taught to finish their food. So i think that is to satisfy their curiosity rather then their stomach.

[markclkk]

Originally Posted by mgfree

Do you guys get they annoying indian myna birds over there? They are the biggest pest. I've had quite a few orchid seedlings go missing from those little mongrels. I also once bought some red adenium seeds which once sprouted, lost every single one. My BF has taken to shooting the little bastards, however, they just don't die! They only run off flapping. They are a menace to our native birds too.

Maybe you should get a cat to play with the myna bird?

[articuno75]

With birds I've tried hanging aluminum pie pans with great sucess as a scare tactic. As for squirrels, they are relentless little boogers. Here the past few years I've noticed that there are more Black squirrels coming into the area. Used to never have these and they are not a native to this part of Indiana. These are more aggressive than the Grey or Fox squirrels that are the common.

[mgfree]

Originally Posted by markclkk

Maybe you should get a cat to play with the myna bird?

I have 2 dogs already. Occasionally they will chase them, but usually they just ingnore them. They like to let the birds eat there leftover food.