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Post by tom 🕊 on Feb 26, 2019 17:10:09 GMT -5
It is difficult to tell the difference between rabbit and squirrel tracks without study. www.wideopenspaces.com/tell-difference-squirrel-rabbit-tracks/I am not a woods person, but I need to come to know these things for the sake of better gardening. Based on the article, Rabbit pattern: * * * * Think rabbiT. Squirrels, on the other hand, tend to place their smaller front feet side by side in the set, though still behind the larger rear feet. squirrel pattern: * * * *
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Post by SpringRain🕊️ on Feb 26, 2019 22:44:41 GMT -5
tom 🕊 , same here - 3 varieties of squirrels. My city originally placed a lot of emphasis on trees everywhere, including one on each resident's berm. This created a smorgasbord for squirrels, but there was a very negative side effect: the tree roots invaded sewer systems, and still do.
As to the difference between rabbit and squirrel tracks, in my area the rabbits change their movement patterns enough that it's easy to see when a rabbit is merely hopping or when it's really leaping and the tracks are farther apart.
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Post by Mumsey on Feb 27, 2019 4:44:28 GMT -5
tom 🕊, It is rabbits visiting our deck. Thanks for the foot print pattern!
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Post by octave1 on Feb 27, 2019 10:18:21 GMT -5
I live in an urban subdivision in the city, not in the outskirts, and a few years ago, as I was driving home, I saw some 6-7 deer standing in someone's front yard. They ran away as soon as my vehicle approached. Never seen since, but it was a really surprising encounter.
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Post by binnylou on Feb 27, 2019 20:09:08 GMT -5
Head count today was 15...possibly 16. They’re hungry and everything they might eat is buried and encrusted in hard snow.
I’m not sure where they are coming from.
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Post by James on Mar 4, 2019 13:18:35 GMT -5
Deer tracks all over my yard this morning. They seem to like to nibble on the bushes and evergreen trees.
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Post by Mumsey on Mar 5, 2019 5:23:50 GMT -5
binnylou, There is a herd of deer hanging out in the wooded areas along a road on the way to Dad's. Hwy 175 is noted for deer in this area, but I've never seen this many at once. It's wise to go only about 35 mph. They are hungry. As are pheasants, they come out to the edge of the road and just sit there as cars go by.
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Post by James on Mar 19, 2019 11:09:49 GMT -5
There are some deer coming through my yard at night. I don't see them, but see their tracks in the snow. They chew on all the trees and shrubs.
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Post by deckman22 on Mar 19, 2019 13:51:58 GMT -5
Whitetail deer are foragers unlike some of the exotic deer the high fenced game ranches have that are mostly grazers so the different species can inhabit the same land. The whitetails will even eat the cedar trees here in the winter, they must be desperate cause those have to taste awful. I'm told if they eat cedars their meat will taste bad, can't personally verify that.
Any kind of fruit tree here must be protected from them or you won't have a tree. I've been amazed at what they will eat, roses, blackberry, and even prickly pear cactus. In the winter when they are hungry almost nothing is safe from them.
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Post by binnylou on Mar 19, 2019 14:05:56 GMT -5
We have left our fruit trees unprotected for two winters, I think. However, if I put out a few more trees as I hope, they will be protected by cages.
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Post by tom 🕊 on Mar 19, 2019 15:24:23 GMT -5
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Post by James on May 17, 2019 10:37:15 GMT -5
In winter the deer will come across the yard and they prune all the trees and shrubs. Come morning you will see their tracks in the snow. They are a pest. Best to scare them off if you get the chance. A wrist rocket (slingshot) and a bag of marbles will get them moving.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 10, 2019 21:19:00 GMT -5
tom 🕊 ... as I understand, and in my experience, pepper/capsaicin-based repellents only work on mammals, dag-nabbit. I'm looking for a reliable turkey repellent myself.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Jun 11, 2019 18:21:59 GMT -5
My next-door neighbor keeps a big garden, puts alot into it, and has an ongoing problem with groundhogs tearing up everything from tomatoes to squash to beans to okra. He's had to shoot several already this year, then drag the carcasses and bury them. I never see them or have any problem with them on my lot, knock on wood.
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Post by binnylou on Jun 12, 2019 19:58:09 GMT -5
While fixing the evening meal, I’m at the kitchen window. I see two deer coming from the walking path and make a bee line for one of the areas where the deer have been eating the soil. I treated the two areas a week or so ago and the soil doesn’t taste so good to them now. It’s been my understanding that they eat the soil in search of minerals for lactation. These deer were a young buck and a young doe. When they discovered that the soil tasted bad, they went directly to the limestone wall and started licking it.
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