Rats in my Pollytunnel grr

BertieUK

Recently i planted some peas in my Polytunnel, after soaking them overnight, only to find a couple of days later some creature, believed to be rats, had kindly dug up and eaten all the peas that I had planted, every single one.

I have just received a delivery of Grafted 'Turbo' Tomatoe plants which were intented for the Polytunnel.

My question is will the rats eat these very small plants, before they grow in size?

I did not think that rats went near tomato plants, but I do want to be sure.

Any comments would be appretiated.

Regards

BobUK

Lotus-eater

Rats will eat tomatoes, but not the plants.

It's probably mice with the peas BTW. Stick some traps out.

jammy_dodger

are you sure its rats ? is there evidence of a run or digging around the tunnel ?

i used to overwinter my chickens in my poly and had experience of rats (lesson learned ) i stoped overfeeding them ( the chooks ) and got a pet proof vermin box with bait in there to sort ratties out , they were storing food under a paving slab i had in there orrible things ...

i reckon too its mice i have successfully soaked peas in some paraffin to deter mice nibbles or sow more than you need to grow to "share" with the mice population

hth

BertieUK

Thank you both very much for your inputs.
I only assumed that it was rats because of the size of the hole I found under my fence from my neighbours side and we back onto the railway, I could not find any droppings anywhere to identify the creature. I planted 48 peas and they all disappeared in three nights, come to think of it the holes that were made were not very big mmm It could very well be mice. I put some rat poison down and a large amount had disappeared next morning.

Last year some creature bored a hole through the fence, from the same neighbour, and stole beetroot also nibbled my parsnips in the garden, not my day is it?

regards to all

BobUK

jammy_dodger

if the bait is disapearing keep topping it up until it stops disappearing and then you'll know youve got rid of the beggars ( and keep it safe from pets/birds etc
good luck

Farway

If it is mice they normally drop dead more or less instantly they have eaten rat poison

If no mouse corpses then it is rats, but the poison will work eventually but you may never see the corpses

quietheart

if you wait til your peas have chitted
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=active&sa=N&biw=1024&bih=643&tbm=isch&tbnid=Tl2sYQdH-SIdWM:&imgrefurl=http://onjustacoupleacres.blogspot.com/2012/03/chitting-peas.html&docid=ckDukzj-4vZH2M&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2rtu5vfvE4/T3XycOOAP_I/AAAAAAAANKo/XDtiLCnJnQ8/s640/chiting%252Bpeas-6.jpg&w=640&h=428&ei=AxCYT7OqEaqs0QXr94H_BQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=471&sig=102403685801579960344&page=2&tbnh=136&tbnw=181&start=12&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:12,i:112&tx=86&ty=36
they are said to produce an enzyme that makes them unattractive to birds and mice.
works for me, all germinated, none damaged by pests.

BertieUK

Farway and quietheart thank you both for your inputs. I have never seen and corpes at all, or even droppings for that matter, not that I have studied it that intensely

Wait till the peas have chitted sounds a great idea thanks for that one.

regards

BobUK

angelavdavis

Hi, I also read you can sprinkle poultry manure pellets over the surface of the soil and the smell will hide the scent of the pea seed so mice can't smell them and dig them up.

gibson123

My daughter keeps pet rats and they will do anything for peas (also hazelnuts), they are so mad for peas my daughter throws the peas into a bath of water and the rats will swim in after them and dive for the peas. Rats do not make big holes, they get through incredibly small spaces (the size of about 4 squares of chicken wire is enough even for the largest rats), so it could be that it is rabbits if the hole is a lot bigger than this.