thanks for all the replies on this. i know that it is not a new issue for folks
i am not sure yet what all of our own strategies are going to be, but definitely it would fall within a characterization of "integrated pest management" which will probably mean limited poisoning by some means and i definitely want to choose those that do not pass thru the food chain. i am going to start with some traps though, and see how successful that is
we will also try to create some owl nesting sites. probably not daytime raptors though as they already hunt the chickens, and don't seem to bother the rodents much.
i am not a fan of cats, as i like the songbirds too much (as do they)
we will also do more trials of various plantings that are rumored to deter the burrowers like voles, which are our biggest problem, and i would love to hear more suggestions about this. we'll try them all, so please pass them along!
mostly we will do our best to limit the rodent habitat through cultural practices, though that will be tough with close to an acre of mulch.
part of our issue of course is scale. even though we are tiny compared to most commercial growers, we have some of the largest mulch bed systems i have seen, (maybe i don't get around enough) and that comes with real challenges in trying to achieve the kind of ecological balance and predator habitat needed to keep the rodents down. we are working on this, but it takes time
a big piece of this seems to me to be in what kind of ecology you have to start with. the areas that we grow in that were already wild, with a lot of existing diversity have much less problems than the plot we have that is attached to what is essentially several acres of lawn. this is the situation with by far the worst problems, ....and the least predator habitat.
thanks again!
kevin
Regeneration CSA
High Falls NY
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