Ok....What's Eating my Drip Lines

[epicure3]

What kind of animal likes to chew on drip lines......this keeps happening to me. A few times a year, I go up and check all my lines only to see that some of them have been knawed through. What kind of moron animal would do that? Any one know?

[fastfeat]

My vote would be for ground squirrels. They devastated the drip system at my folks place in Nellie Gail Ranch, Laguna Hills. After years of shooting and poisoning the squirrels, most of the trees finally wound up on rainfall alone.

[Okie]

rabbits

[epicure3]

Well, the good news is that water still comes out the lines and they appear to be chewed right near where the sprayer would be. Still, that's pretty darn dumb.

Funny thing is that I never see any animals at all up there. They must work at night.

[bgl]

John,

I don't know about 'dumb'. They probably just want to get to that water. Sounds pretty smart to me, even though you may not like it!

Reminds me of a situation many years ago, when we owned a vacant piece of land inland from Rancho Santa Fe. We had water installed, and I planted a bunch of palms and installed above-ground drip lines. At one point we were gone for almost two weeks (trip to Europe), and when I came back some animal had chewed up some of the drip lines, and the water was just streaming down the hillside, and had obviously been doing so for a while. We received a $500 water bill....

Bo-Göran

[Aneuploid]

Coyotes do.  I live close to a wild life preserve in Riverside and have had them chew through the lines a few times and also knock over fruit trees and eat the fruit.  I had to put up a rabbit fence to keep the rabbits from eating my plants, palm seedlings included.  The rabbit fence seems to also deter the lazy coyotes from slipping though my wrought iron fence.  Since then havent had problems.

Darren

[tropicalb]

how 'bout:

any local wildlife that's thirsty.

time to put up the chicken wire John...and don't feel like the lone ranger, I have to do it soon myself  

[palmmermaid]

Rats.  I used to leave my lawn tractor in the barn aisle.  One day it wouldn't start so I called a repair man.  He found the starter wires chewed up.  Evidently rats like rubber and silicon.  So now I keep my tractor indoors.

[freakypalmguy]

I have had coyotes chewing thru my drip lines. With the low rainfall this year, they are thirsty as can be. I it is amazing that they can smell or sense that there is water in the lines. I fixed it by spraying wasp spray (only thing I could find in my garage at the time) on the lines and have not had a chewed line in months.

[George Sparkman]

They are going for water,mostly coyotes but other species as well.We put out buckets of water (about two per acre)That really helps until spring when the young coyotes are teething and start chewing the lines regardless of available water elsewhere.

George

[epicure3]

(freakypalmguy @ Oct. 29 2007,09:07)

QUOTE

I have had coyotes chewing thru my drip lines. With the low rainfall this year, they are thirsty as can be. I it is amazing that they can smell or sense that there is water in the lines. I fixed it by spraying wasp spray (only thing I could find in my garage at the time) on the lines and have not had a chewed line in months.

I did the same thing yesterday, except with some ant spray. Quite by accident, though. The drip lines are the autobahn for ants at my place so I spray them when I see that their crusing along the lines.

[epicure3]

(palmmermaid @ Oct. 29 2007,07:55)

QUOTE

Rats.  I used to leave my lawn tractor in the barn aisle.  One day it wouldn't start so I called a repair man.  He found the starter wires chewed up.  Evidently rats like rubber and silicon.  So now I keep my tractor indoors.

That's another possible culprit for sure.

[epicure3]

(bgl @ Oct. 28 2007,22:57)

QUOTE

John,

I don't know about 'dumb'. They probably just want to get to that water. Sounds pretty smart to me, even though you may not like it!

Reminds me of a situation many years ago, when we owned a vacant piece of land inland from Rancho Santa Fe. We had water installed, and I planted a bunch of palms and installed above-ground drip lines. At one point we were gone for almost two weeks (trip to Europe), and when I came back some animal had chewed up some of the drip lines, and the water was just streaming down the hillside, and had obviously been doing so for a while. We received a $500 water bill....

Bo-Göran

Well, when I say "dumb" that comes from a human mind not knowing what an animal thinks mixed with some frustration.  ::

[Alan_Tampa]

Here in Florida I would guess rats and/or squirrels.  They both chew all manner of frangible materials as if compelled by some powerful unholy demon.  

A squirrel once put an acorn in my water softener timing doodad and caused the mechanism to seize and strip the teeth from the gears.  Bastards.  So chewing drip line irrigation tubing seems a likely way to pass time for some tiny little butt-hole rodent(s).

Alan

[MattyB]

John, I'd say at your place it's rats.   You probably don't see many rabbits around your neighborhood except maybe in the canyons.

[Mats]

I once asked Steve in SoCal if he had any problems with critters chewing his poly tubing looking for water (he didn't).  I was surprised as Fallbrook is much dryer than Epicure's amply irrigated neighborhood.

[epicure3]

(MattyB @ Oct. 29 2007,11:37)

QUOTE

John, I'd say at your place it's rats.   You probably don't see many rabbits around your neighborhood except maybe in the canyons.

I think you're probably right, Matt. I don't see any other evidence of another critter. I doubt it's a squirrel as I have never seen one anywhere near me in the 6 years I've lived in the 'hood. Probably not a zebra either but I'm not totally counting that out.