Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
unable to find its way out again and survived by eating the fruit trees and
bushes. The fence did keep out the cow moose, however.
Small Mammals
Rodents and rabbits can cause serious damage to an orchard by girdling
trunks or feeding on roots. Because they are small, exclusion is generally not
an option. Even if you use a small mesh fence to the ground, rabbits and oth-
er pests can tunnel under the fence. These pests can be managed in several
ways.
Traps. Hand trapping is effective against pocket gophers and other larger,
burrowing rodents. Trapping has generally proven more successful than us-
ing poisoned baits, as the pests learn to recognize the baits and avoid them.
Anchor the traps firmly to the ground to prevent dogs and other predators
from carrying away the trap after a gopher has been caught. Check the traps
at least three times a week, from spring through fall.
Bare ground. Maintain bare ground within the tree rows using weed barrier
fabrics, organic mulches, thermal weeding, organic herbicides, mechanical
cultivation, and hand weeding. If this strategy does not fit into your orchard
management plan, you can keep in-row cover crops and alley crops mowed
short, particularly going into and through the winter. During the growing
season, mow alternate rows every two weeks to reduce rodent habitat. If you
blow mulch into the rows or grow in-row cover crops, plan an aggressive ro-
dent control program.
Mice guards. Install wire mesh mice guards around fruit tree trunks to a
height of at least 3 feet (these pests can use snow as an elevator to reach
quite high up on trunks). Use galvanized hardware cloth with about -inch
4
1
mesh. Bury the bottom of the guard several inches in the ground and make
it large enough in diameter so as not to girdle the trees. Use easy-to-remove
fasteners to hold the edges of the hardware cloth together to allow easy re-
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