Night of the Rats

[chris.oz]

My large Chamaedorea collection and other palms like Pritchardia have been decimated. All this happened in one night.

I went out the next morning to water to find mass destruction, sort of like a Pearl Harbour in my container ranch.

They had mainly stripped the leaves off some palms which were up to 5 years old, in other cases they had eaten the

palms down to the ground in yet others they gnawed through the stem to the growing point, but left the leaves.

I have lost about 50% of my chamaedoreas.

Now I am at a loss to know why, because these palms have been in my garden for up to 5 years and I had never had rat attack there,

but I did get a rat attack at my factory once 3 years ago.

I am not posting photos. I havent taken any ...... I am very disappointed.

Main palms effected:

Chamaedorea ernesti-augustii, hooperiana , potchutlensis, schippii, microspadix, costaricana,

One good thing, they left the C. deckeriana, the pinnatifrons, alternans, metallica, and they dont like Kentias its seems.

Now I have shared how folks are effected by freezes or gopher attack.

[Walter John]

sorry to hear Chris. Once you calm down (in about 3 years) what will you do to prevent future rodent attack.

[DoomsDave]

CHRIS!

Ouch!

Your plight is mine, mate!

Seriously.

Maybe a while back.

Oh, yeah, I remember how this bunch of perfectly vile (!@#$%^&*()!@#$%^&*()!!!) rodents clipped the leaves off my various Chamadoreas, and I was, well, ready to go to the cophouse and pick a fight. With the cops AND the robbers! With clubs, machetes, old red shoes (well-weighted with lead), dirty underwear, etc.

I was annoyed.

(Yeah, we get it!)

I only saw after I was sitting one night, under the Brazilian Pepper tree and saw those [expletives] swarm.

Could be worse. Could be sharks on you and yours after a shipwreck, but, well, gee, it still hurts, OUCH.

There it is.

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Doesnt it make you mad when some unforseeable force attack your palms . So unusual that it happened after all this time and only the Chamaedoreas. Ratsack or something similar might be useful. Sorry to hear about all this .

[palmislandRandy]

Were they possibly chased or driven from a neighboring area? Anyway sorry for your loss.

[Tyrone]

Chris, I'm sorry to hear of this terrible tragedy. That really hurts that sort of stuff. Maybe your neighbours have used Talon baits which makes them thirsty and go on a biting rampage. Anything with a bit of juice gets attacked. I have had similar things happen here when I've baited. It takes about 1 to 2 weeks to kill the offenders, in the meantime they're as thirsty as anything and chop anything juicy up. Melbourne has been very dry too, so maybe it's starting to effect the vermin.

That's no good. On a positive note, if they haven't chopped the growing point they can recover. My mother-in-law had a rabbit eat her C ernesti-augustii, and chewed all the leaves off. Today it looks fine and robust. Chamies are tough. Time to get a 44 magnum.

Best regards

Tyrone

[BS Man about Palms]

Big bummer. Start trapping/baiting and put out a bowl of water on a regular basis now.

On a side note, when I had my "chew down" about half of the plants came back, so there is some hope.

Knock on my wood head here, hope they don't come back.

[Kris]

Dear Chris

iam sorry to hear about the loss,i did have similar problems but from the squrieals..i lost many of my young palm saplings this way.but now i use a cage for my palm saplings..and also constantly catch these squrieals using wooden boxes and later taken them away to the neigbouring area which is 6 to 8/Kms from our house and let it go..

But for those growing palms in large scale the rodent attack or squrieal menace is very annoying..

Kris.

[Charles Wychgel]

Start trapping/baiting and put out a bowl of water on a regular basis now.

Nix water, give them beer :rage:

Seriously, the alcohol will accelerate the effect of the poison and/or they will drink themself into a stupor and will be easy to catch :rage:

[quaman58]

Diito what everyone else has been saying Chris. I've had the same thing happen, although not quite on the scale you seem to have suffered. What I can't figure out is why it seems to happen all on one night only, and why they do it in the first place. They never seem to do anything with the "clippings" other than to just leave them there to piss you off. Sorry to hear it.

Bret

[paulgila]

thats a bummer,chris.hope some recover.

[Wai`anae Steve]

Chris,

Bummer man. Ouch!!!!

I hate to say it but maybe you need a few cats.

I don't like them, but my wife does and we have about 8 outdoor cats right now.

They take care of all the rats and field mice in the area.

Wai`anae Steve

[_Keith]

Your rats are famous. There have been several TV documentary shows on channels like "The Discovery Channel" featuring overnight types of rat infestations in Australia.

[tjwalters]

I feel your pain. My in-ground palms are always threatened by freezing temperatures (winter) and voles (year-round). Potted plants that spend the summer outside are menaced by squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and deer. I lost a whole batch of Dypsis leptocheilos this year - all nibbled down to stubs. Dead and gone. Also lost a couple Johannesteijsmannia altifrons and a few other miscellaneous palms. I've lost several in-ground Trachycarpus palms over the years - more to voles than freezing temperatures - and also lost a Sabal minor 'Louisiana' to voles. It's very aggravating!

[chris.oz]

Your rats are famous. There have been several TV documentary shows on channels like "The Discovery Channel" featuring overnight types of rat infestations in Australia.

Thanks all for the condolences.

Keith, Unfortunately, rats have an underground system for travelling long distances..... its called the stormwater drains. Then these rats are agile tree climbing rodents. I saw them running through the trees one night. Very fast. Definitely not possums

Bret, Yes it happened all on one night, so it all points to itinerant, not resident rats, but they must travel in packs because the scale of the damage was so high. Especially when I have never identified damage of this type before at my house.

I put most of the rest of the palm seedlings on a table, but there are still some on the ground. Lets hope they dont return.

By the way. I cant see any damage to planted palms. Maybe theres a message in that !

[Walter John]

Chris, are you near any shipping wharves/docks ?

probably sailed here from overseas, maybe central america, hence the chammy indulgence.

[chris.oz]

Wal,

No we are not near the docks, but there are rats around and are in our area from time to time.

We live 300 metres from the bay and they do get infestations along the beach, and the local city council have a continuous eradication

program. Thats probably the Talon bait that Tyrone has talked about.

It looks random. Lets hope its years before they come back.

[bubba]

Chris,I think Jack Nicholson said it best in the movie "The Departed" when he said "It's a whole nation of rats"!

[chris.oz]

Chris,I think Jack Nicholson said it best in the movie "The Departed" when he said "It's a whole nation of rats"!

Bubba,

Just ask Australian women, most would say only 51% of the nation are rats.

[Kris]

Chris,I think Jack Nicholson said it best in the movie "The Departed" when he said "It's a whole nation of rats"!

Bubba,

Just ask Australian women, most would say only 51% of the nation are rats.

[palmtreesforpleasure]

HI chris

Have some of those species as seedlings, as well as some others, will send them to you, as replacements if you wish

regards

colin

[rozpalm]

Hey Chris, I totally can relate to your loss. I had 12 Tahinas destroyed that way in one night. What made me even more upset is I found out what they used them for, which was nest bedding. I now have my remaining Tahinas in a more protected area that they can't get to. If its not the rats attacking my small palms, its the Iguanas.

[simona]

I'm really sorry Chris....just imagining as you watched the damage ...as if you were struck by lightning....

God bless you didn't get a stroke yourself...

[gsn]

Chris,

Sorry for your unexpected overnight loss, damn rodents.

Roz,

Tahinas gone overnight, that really had to hurt?

But on a lighter note, I thought the movie was NIGHT of the IGUANA, not Night of the Rats?

[chris.oz]

Hey Chris, I totally can relate to your loss. I had 12 Tahinas destroyed that way in one night. What made me even more upset is I found out what they used them for, which was nest bedding. I now have my remaining Tahinas in a more protected area that they can't get to. If its not the rats attacking my small palms, its the Iguanas.

Ouch Roz.... what annoys me is that as well as completely destroying some and eating them completely, most of the damage was stripping the all leaves and leaving them just lying there then maybe chewing into the stem and shredding it into little pieces. It was like part hunger/thirst and part just rodent vandalism.

[ariscott]

Chris,

Do you have dogs? I find them a good prevention against rats, or anything that will eat my plants.... (don't get a puppy, as it will eat your palms too.... I lost one D. pembana to my puppy).

Regards, Ari

[Tyrone]

A reticulated python would do the trick.

[Daryl]

Sorry to hear of your losses Chris. I had a 'Rat Attack' a few years ago, in the drought. I think it was brought about due to lack of food for them. They got into a lot of my seedlings and ripped them all out of the pots. They ate all of the seeds, fresh or otherwise, that were all below soil level. They especially liked Livistona lanuginosa, Dypsis sp and Chamaedorea sp. I found the seedlings chewed and scattered everywhere one morning. I used some Rat crystals the same day and never saw them again. Whether they just moved on or died, I don't know.

I did a little research and found that there are about 60 species of native rats in Oz! Male humans not included...

Daryl

[metalfan]

I am so sorry you lost your plants to the rodents, and I know how you feel. In my yard its wild boar and armadillos. They root up everything. They don't even EAT it, they just leave it uprooted and scattered all over the place to die, and the boar trample it. They have been worse this year than ever before.

I hope your remaining plants stay safe.

[SunnyFl]

I am so sorry you lost your plants to the rodents, and I know how you feel. In my yard its wild boar and armadillos. They root up everything. They don't even EAT it, they just leave it uprooted and scattered all over the place to die, and the boar trample it. They have been worse this year than ever before.

I hope your remaining plants stay safe.

Eeek! You have wild boar? That sounds bad! Nothing like that here, but between the squirrels and the fruit rats..... grrrr

I just got a new glauca this past October and it was gorgeous. It was out front waiting for a spot to be planted in - came home from work a couple of days later to find that something had jumped on it and it was lying flat in the pot. Hate those stupid varmints

Here's an idea we just recently came up with, for seedlings & small juvies: make a frame out of 2 x 2s and staple hardware cloth to it. Then put the thing over the little plants and put bricks, cinder blocks or large stones around it so the varmints can't get in. A hassle but it helps. Just wish I had a more protected place for the plants.

Chris, I am sorry about your loss - that's horrible losing so much to the rats. Must've hurt like hell.

[_Keith]

I am so sorry you lost your plants to the rodents, and I know how you feel. In my yard its wild boar and armadillos. They root up everything. They don't even EAT it, they just leave it uprooted and scattered all over the place to die, and the boar trample it. They have been worse this year than ever before.

I hope your remaining plants stay safe.

Eeek! You have wild boar? That sounds bad! Nothing like that here, but between the squirrels and the fruit rats..... grrrr

I just got a new glauca this past October and it was gorgeous. It was out front waiting for a spot to be planted in - came home from work a couple of days later to find that something had jumped on it and it was lying flat in the pot. Hate those stupid varmints

Here's an idea we just recently came up with, for seedlings & small juvies: make a frame out of 2 x 2s and staple hardware cloth to it. Then put the thing over the little plants and put bricks, cinder blocks or large stones around it so the varmints can't get in. A hassle but it helps. Just wish I had a more protected place for the plants.

Chris, I am sorry about your loss - that's horrible losing so much to the rats. Must've hurt like hell.

She doesn't have a wild boar. She has "pork." Can you say "pig roast, baby?" Or as we say it "cochon de lait." And as opposed to the Cali folks, I know in No. Florida, guns are no problem.

Unless you have a criminal record, that is, hahahahaha.

[millic]

Chris, sorry to hear about your loss. I know it has to be real frustrating.

I had an armadillo root around my yard a couple of times this year, but didn't do much damage to anything other than my grass. I am letting my neighbor deal with it though, since he is really into his nice green yard and has chosen to wage war against the armadillo race.

My biggest concern is the local beaver population. Do beaver's even like palms?

[avb]

I can relate, Chris. About 1 year ago I had 4 or 5 C. mettalica's chewed up so I went the next day after work and picked up some traps. Imagine how I felt when I discovered about 150 chewed off mettalica's and C. ernesti-agustii's scattered around my garden when I went to set the traps. It appears the little buggers get a taste for the palm heart and only eat a very small bit at the base of the stem, leaving everything else. Once I had about 20 C. oreophila's, one of which came up varigated. That time, the attack only killed the varigated seedling. How come he didn't like the others? Now, when I have something I really want to protect, I elevate the plants on top of 15 gal. containers to keep them out of reach. So far, this has worked for rats. Squirrels can easily circumvent 1 container, so I have used two stacked end to end which seemed to stop them so far. Squirrels love Brahea armata seedlings, by the way.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Chris, sorry to hear of your loss. I had similar problems with squirrels in Florida. They had a taste for my sprouting seeds and seedlings and I lost a whole bunch in one day. A real bummer when something like that happens.

[gsn]

Damn squirrels are nothing but RATS with cute bushy tails!

[chris.oz]

I can relate, Chris. About 1 year ago I had 4 or 5 C. mettalica's chewed up so I went the next day after work and picked up some traps. Imagine how I felt when I discovered about 150 chewed off mettalica's and C. ernesti-agustii's scattered around my garden when I went to set the traps. It appears the little buggers get a taste for the palm heart and only eat a very small bit at the base of the stem, leaving everything else. Once I had about 20 C. oreophila's, one of which came up varigated. That time, the attack only killed the varigated seedling. How come he didn't like the others? Now, when I have something I really want to protect, I elevate the plants on top of 15 gal. containers to keep them out of reach. So far, this has worked for rats. Squirrels can easily circumvent 1 container, so I have used two stacked end to end which seemed to stop them so far. Squirrels love Brahea armata seedlings, by the way.

Oh, thats really bad. They have now eaten all the metallicas in my small metallica forest. All the ernestii augustiis , costaricanas, all gone, many many palms eaten, off the top of the table I put them all on. Total losses so far over 80 palms ....... they dont touch Howea fosterianas though. I have 120 seedlings and they havent touched one. I have set up baited water buckets to drown them. That way you can kill more than one a night.

[Tyrone]

Chris, that's just awful and totalling depressing to even contemplate. I wish I could help you. I'd be resorting to fire and high voltage electricity at this point. That's just really really bad.

Best regards

Tyrone

[The Germinator]

I feel you Wal, I just had a Caddyshack moment with some rats in the green house. I new something was up when I saw all my spindle palm seedlings mowed down. They also got a hold of a bunch of another species to use for nesting. Unlike Bill Murry I won the battle. I used a two pronged approach and laid out poisen and rat traps. The rat traps won 2 to 1.

[The Germinator]

Chris, I lost quite a few seedlings too. Here is some of the battle casualties both palm and rat.

[palmcurry]

Chris, I'm bummed for ya. Those are some niece species to loose.

Allot of us reading this thread can feel lucky that local rats have not found our own palm treasure troves....yet! There are numerous rats where I live and they have claimed a few trees but not any palms, thankfully. My landlord sets out poison for them, we have had up to 6 cats, 2 dogs and laid out traps but the rodents continue to flourish and do what they will!

In our garden we also have allot of tomatoes, avocados and citrus that the vermin chew up regularly and I think that's why my palms have been passed by. Maybe one good thing to take from this is: have something in the garden the rats would prefer to eat rather than palms!?! I'd rather loose a bunch of tomatoes instead of my Chamaedoreas! I'd rather loose ALL of my tomatoes in fact!!

Good luck.