Build Mouse Traps to Protect your Garden

Mouse traps are cheap and easy to build, easy to use and easy to service. They are if you follow the instructions below to build a home made mouse trap of your own. Once you see how effective they are, you’ll want to build more than one as part of the defensive measures for your vegetable garden that supports your plan for frugal living.


Mice are everywhere, and they focus on only a few activities; they constantly look for food, make nests, make more mice, and leave their droppings and urine everywhere. Mice can crawl up a wall or under the crack of a door, so don’t underestimate their ability to invade.

Building cheap mouse traps is a good way to control these dirty little invaders that focus on nibbling away at your produce and stripping leaves off your seedlings. It’s time to build mouse traps that kill mice and halt the invasion. The choice is simple - work to feed them or work to feed you and yours.

Here's the idea

Let’s look at how this cheap home made mouse trap works to kill mice:

• Mice crawl up a wooden incline in search of food. The incline has a thin film of peanut butter to attract them.
  
• At the top, there is a level landing that enters a 5 gallon bucket filled with 2 to 3 gallons of water. The mice hop onto a can that has a thick layer of peanut butter all around it on the far end.
  
  
• The can is suspended in the middle of the bucket by a rod. The can is level with the landing, so it isn’t difficult for the mice to get on. The can is a little bit away from the landing so the mice have to jump onto the can to get the peanut butter.
• When they land on the can, it spins on the rod and dumps the mouse into the deep water. They paddle around for a couple of minutes, tire of going around in circles and drown.

Mice continue to hop onto the can and drown until there are no more mice in the area.

Here's how it's done

Below is a cross section diagram of the mouse traps that I build for my greenhouses, gardens, garage and shop. Using a 5 gallon bucket, they are portable. I have even brought them indoors when the occasional mouse-in-the-house needs a midnight swim.

Okay, let's build this mouse trap.

Follow these general steps. Don't worry if you don't do it exactly right. The mouse trap will probably still work just fine. You'll notice the photos of my mouse trap show that it isn't built exactly as I describe how to do it. So, even I can't follow directions (and this I have been told, many times).

1. Take a 5 gallon bucket and drill one 2.5 inch diameter hole in it about 3/4 up from the bottom on any side that isn’t obstructed by the handle. (My finished product has the bottom of the hole 7.25 inches from the bottom of the bucket, and the top of the hole is 10.5 inches from the bottom of the bucket.)
   Leave the handle (bail) in place to carry the trap because it is a little heavy once you have water in it.
   Keep the lid handy. It will keep other animals out of your mouse traps once you have them baited with peanut butter.
   
   
   Notice in the picture above, that there is one elongated hole, instead of a large hole. This is my goof. Mice don't care if you make mistakes or improvise, they just want the peanut butter.Here, an elongated hole allows the ramp to fit, and the smooth round notch at the bottom allows the metal rod to rest there. Look closely and you'll see a couple of out of focus holes on the opposite side of the large entry hole. This is where the rod will fit on the other side of the bucket
   Only one hole is necessary. Use two if you want to show off your goofs to others on the Internet.
   
2. Find a small diameter metal rod (about ¼ inch or less) that will span the diameter of the bucket plus 1 inch. You can even use a coat hanger if it will hold the can in place without sagging. (My finished product uses a 3/16 inch rod that is 12.5 inches long.)
   
3. Drill a hole slightly larger than the diameter of the metal rod, centered about 1 inch below the 2.5 inch diameter hole. (Unless you have goofed up, like in the photo above and drilled a large elongated hole. In that case, just use the drill bit to make a smooth notch at the bottom of your elongated hole.) Drill another hole the same size and level with the second hole (or the notch), but on the opposite side of the bucket.
   So, you should now have one large hole and one small hole below it on one side of the bucket, and a matching small hole on the opposite side of the bucket.
   (My finished product, if you care to call it that, has the small holes drilled about 7 inches up from the bottom of the bucket.)
   
   
   
   
   
   If you find that the hole on the opposite side of the bucket is a bit higher than optimal, then you can drill another hole just below it, as shown in the photo. Again, the mice don't care about mistakes, and I don't care if you see mine.
4. Take a soda or vegetable can (or something similar) and drill a hole in the center of the top and bottom that is the same size as the hole you drilled for the metal rod. If you use an opened vegetable can, you’ll have to drill the holes in the bottom and lid and then reattach the lid with duct tape.
   (My finished product uses a 4 inch diameter powdered lemonade container. This is the maximum that I would recommend because anything larger will start to limit the amount of water you can put into the bucket without having the can drag in the water.)
   
5. Build a ramp for the mouse traps out of wood lath. You can use any kind of wood, but wood lath is easy to work with and just the right width. Wood lath is what snow fences are made of. If you don't have something suitable, an old broken wooden yard stick will do just fine.
   Ideally, the ramp should be made of two pieces; one piece makes a gentle incline up to the large hole, and the other piece provides a flat landing that goes from the inclined piece through the large hole and into the bucket a couple inches.
   (On my finished product, the ramp is 10 inches long and the horizontal portion is 6 inches long, with 2 inches sticking inside the bucket.)
   
6. Notch the underside of the ramp so it will grip the wall of the bucket in the large hole. This will allow it to stand securely on its own. (My notches are about 4 inches from joint, and 2 inches from the end.)
   
   
   In the photo above, you can see that the ramp is made with a metal reinforcement piece (optional) to extend its useful life. Instead of metal reinforcement, you can use brads and glue to make the joint. Notches are made to help keep the ramp hooked onto the bucket.All this work is done with a chop saw, but it can be done with a hand saw as well.
   Use a 45 degree angle to make the bottom of the lath ramp lay flat against the ground. Use a 45 degree angle to make the top part of the lath ramp fit under the small notched lath piece that will be in the horizontal position as it enters the bucket.
   Another 45 degree angle on the horizontal piece allows this to match up with the 45 degree angled ramp.
   It all sounds complicated, but making these mouse traps is quite simple and doesn't require any special skill. Just hold the pieces of lath in place and you'll quickly figure out how long they should be and how to cut the angles.
   
7. Insert the can on the metal rod and make certain it turns freely. Insert the metal rod into the small hole on the bucket and then through the can and into the other small hole on the opposite side of the bucket so it is level.
   Make certain the can turns freely. There should be no dip in the rod that will encourage the can to slide around or prevent the can from spinning.
   
   
   If you mess up with the holes, just drill new ones off to the side a bit. The mouse traps work even if they have unnecessary holes in the bucket (see my many examples), as long as they aren’t below the anticipated water line.In the photo above, the rod is just about 1/2 inch below the horizontal piece of wood, so it can turn freely if needs be. Ideally, the can will be level with the horizontal platform, but can be a little above or below. Mice don't care, they just want to get inside and get at that peanut butter.
   
8. Disassemble everything and fill the bucket up with a couple gallons of water. Add some anti-freeze if you are going to use the mouse traps outside in the winter. (My water line is about 4.5 inches from the bottom.)
   
9. Smear a little peanut butter up the full length of the ramp. Not too much, just a thin film will do it.
   
10. Spread peanut butter around the far end of the can (the end nearest the single small hole, not the large entry hole). Try not to glob it as this affects balance of the can. The peanut butter should be about the width of your index finger, but not more than ¼ inch thick.
    Make certain the amount of peanut butter is evenly distributed to retain a balanced spin to the can. The can has to freely spin on the rod without any serious “flat spots” where it might come to rest.
    
11. Reassemble the metal rod through the small holes and through the can so the can hangs in the middle of the bucket and spins freely. Redistribute the peanut butter if the can is heavy on one side.
    
12. Place the flat part of the ramp into the 2.5 inch hole using the notches in the wood to hold it still.
    
13. Position the clean end of the bait can about 1.5 inches from the ramp.

Set the mouse traps on a level surface in your greenhouse or garden and they will kill mice for months without needing any help from you, except to empty the dead wet mice every couple of days.

You might be surprised at how many mice this cheap contraption will catch. If you have a healthy mouse population to deal with, catching 5 or 10 mice in one night with mouse traps like this isn’t a challenge. I have heard of a man catching 18 mice in a single night with one trap.

Here are the results

Ready for the results of one trap set in one greenhouse overnight? I thought you might be, so I took some pictures to show you how this mouse trap works, in spite of my goofs while creating it.

Above is a picture of tracks in the peanut butter from mice as they attempted to hang onto the round can. With no edges to speak of, and the can being a spinning object, there just isn't much of an opportunity to hang on.

The only hope for the mice is an ability to balance carefully while feeding. This is why the peanut butter needs to be placed on the far end of the can. The mice have to balance well on the way there and the way back. Something I think few are capable of.

Below is what you will likely find in the morning. Here are three mice in the drink. The one on the right is completely submerged. The one on the left is floating on top. And, there is one underneath the can that can't be seen in the picture.

Okay, it isn't pleasant, but you can't just ask them to leave. Besides, I thought you might like to see that this mouse trap works as advertised. Built one day, setup the same evening, and voilà, a continuously operating mouse trap that catches mice.

It's cheap and effective.

If you don't like this approach, you can smash their heads and necks in a traditional spring trap, or you can have them die a slow death stuck to a glue trap. The other alternative is they dehydrate slowly inside a spring-loaded mechanism that catches and retains them.

Any way you choose, they won't be bothering your vegetables again.

By the way, I set this up in the shop and caught 15 one night. There was so much activity from mice jumping onto the can that they pushed it over to the side of the bucket and that stopped it from spinning. Since it didn't spin, the mice ate the peanut butter off of the top of the can.

Now I have to re-apply peanut butter to keep the can in balance. Even an out of balance can, and one with no peanut butter on the top, could still work okay. The mice lean over the edge to get the bait, and the out of balance situation allows the can to move enough to dump them off into the drink.

Here are a few tips for those interested in using these mouse traps:

• If you put a little bleach in the bucket, it will keep the water fresher for quite a while. What with peanut butter, mice and mouse droppings in there, it doesn't take too long before the water is unpleasant.
  
• Use a screened serving or dipping utensil that you found at a garage sale to dip out the mice and put them in a suitable container for disposal. Don't use something from the kitchen or you might find yourself living in the garage, shop or greenhouse with the mice.
  
• Dump the water out of the trap every week or so, much less frequently if you use some bleach in there. If you use anti-freeze, it will likely stay usable for a very long time, so no need to dispose of it on a regular basis. I've had mine for years with anti-freeze, and I just keep adding more water as it evaporates.

Good luck and happy mousing! Part of my frugal living plan is to share my food and housing with those of my choice, and mice aren't on my list. That's why I build and operate mouse traps like these.

Common Citrus Pests

Unfortunately citrus, like many plants, do get attacked by some pests and diseases. Below are the most common problems and their solutions.

Citrus Leafminer

This nasty pest, mines through the leaves on the fresh young growth, leaving distorted curly leaves. It is a small nocturnal moth that lays its eggs on the underside of the new leaves, these hatch into tiny little grubs that mine through the leaf leaving a little silver trail. They then curl the edge of the leaf over and form a chamber to pupate. They hatch into a little moth and the cycle begins again. Leafminer will not kill the tree and does not affect the fruit; it only distorts the new growth. When establishing a young tree it is critical to prevent leafminer. On and old established tree, leafminer is not a major problem. In Sydney, leafminer is only around from Christmas to the end of April. Spraying with ‘Eco-oil’ or ‘Pestoil’ every 3 weeks during this period will prevent a leafminer outbreak. It is important to cover all the foliage including the underside of the leaves. Once damage is done, you can only prune this new growth off and spray to prevent more damage.

 

Caterpillars

There are a few different caterpillars that attack citrus, chewing large irregular holes in the leaves. They can vary in colour, from black to green with colourful stripes or spots and have small fleshy spines on their bodies. Length can vary from 15mm to 50mm long depending on their larval stage. Can be controlled by hand removal or spraying with a suitable insecticide, such as, ‘Maverick’. Although it should be noted that these caterpillars turn into lovely large citrus butterflies and a few chewed leaves are not going to kill the tree.

 

Snails

The common garden snail can cause extensive damage to the leaves and fruit of citrus, especially oranges. They start by attacking young leaves by chewing holes in them leaving a skeletonised effect. As fruit ripens they can also attack the skin, chewing right through to the flesh. Control them by using regular snail baits following the instructions on the pack, and be careful of your animals.

 

Bronze Orange Bug (stink bug)

One of the most common pests known to the home citrus gardener is often referred to as ‘Stink Bugs’. They start out small and green developing to orange and finally to a bronze shield shaped bug up to 25mm long. When disturbed they spray out a foul smelling liquid that can irritate peoples eyes and skin. They generally only attack the young shoots of a tree causing them to wilt. But in large infestations they can also attack flower and fruit stalks causing a reduction in fruit numbers. If numbers are small, hand removal (make sure you wear gloves and safety glasses) and squashing is an easy solution. We have even heard of gardeners using their old vacuum cleaners, very successfully. If numbers get to out of hand then sprays, such as ‘Eco Oil’ or ‘Pest Oil’, are a good first alternative to stronger insecticides, such as ‘Confidor’.

Scales

There are a number of different scales that affect citrus trees and include both soft and hard types. They attack most parts of a tree, from the stems and trunk (White Louse Scale), to the fruit (Red Scale). Soft scales produce large amounts of honeydew, which ants love, and this can lead to Sooty Mould forming. Hard scales do not produce honeydew but can blemish fruit or cause leaf drop. High populations can cause the death of trees. Less toxic sprays such as ‘Eco Oil’ and ‘Pest Oil’ can help to stop this problem, repeated sprays will be necessary.

   

Sooty mould as a result of previous scale and aphid infestations.
   

 Aphids

Aphids affect many types of plants including citrus. These small sap sucking insects, usually green or black normally attack the fresh new growth, distorting the leaves and excreting honeydew, which then causes the secondary problem of sooty mould and ants. They attack in plague like proportions, with literally thousands gathering on the ends of new shoots. The safest chemicals would be “Pest Oil’, ‘Eco Oil’, pyrethrum based sprays or ‘Yates Natrasoap’.  

Grafting Citrus Trees

Bud Grafting, T-Budding

Many of the fruits we eat come from trees. Fruits are an important human food, rich in vitamins. Some fruits, such as papaya and passion fruit, grow easily from seed. But if you have tried growing citrus fruit from seeds, you may have been disappointed with the results.

These trees will take many years to produce fruit, and the fruit is often not very good. These problems can usually be avoided by raising grafted fruit trees. Many people think that bud grafting is too difficult for them and needs to be left to experts. In fact, with practice, it is very simple.

What does bud grafting mean?

Bud grafting means taking a small bud from an excellent mother tree and joining it under the bark of a young seedling (called the rootstock) which will provide the roots for the new budded tree. The budded tree will have the stem, leaves and fruits of one type, and the roots of another type.

How does budding help?

• Budded trees combine the good points of both the mother tree and the rootstock.
• They start bearing fruit after only three or four years.
• Some types of citrus do not have seeds, so they can only be produced from buds.
• They do not grow so tall, so they are easier to pick. 

How do you raise budded citrus trees?

You must first raise rootstock seedlings. The seeds from large, rough-skinned lemons, or sour oranges are grown in nurseries to provide the rootstock. All types of citrus – orange, tangerines, grapefruit, limes and lemon – can be budded onto these rootstocks.

1. Choose only the best seed from fully ripe fruit. Cut them carefully and plant the seed straight from the fruit. Do not store this seed.

2. Plant the seed in large, strong, plastic forestry bags (20cm x 30cm) or in large tins with holes in the base. Grow in a tree nursery for about a year. Allow only one strong stem to grow; rub off any small side shoots (A).

3. When the stems of the rootstocks are as thick as a pencil, collect budsticks from healthy, high yielding citrus trees of the kind you want. Cut off the leaves carefully (B). Use immediately or wrap in a damp cloth to store for up to two days.

4. With a very sharp knife or razor, remove each swollen bud, starting just above the bud to 2cm below, to make a “tail”(C). Don’t touch the cut face of the bud – hold it by the tail.

5. Cut an upside down T shape into the bark of the rootstock about 30cm above the soil (D).

6. Open the bark gently with your knife. Push the bud gently upwards into the cut, under the two flaps of bark (E). Cut off the tail (F).

7. Wrap a thin strip of plastic (cut up bags) firmly around the bud (G). Remove the plastic after three weeks. If the bud is still green, you have succeeded in citrus budding! Congratulations! If it is brown, try again a little lower down the stem.

8. Cut off the top of the rootstock just above the bud. Remove any lower buds that start to grow (H). When the new bud is one metre tall, remove the top and allow four strong branches to grow. 

Before you start, practise grafting buds from an older citrus back onto itself.

By Mike and Isabel Carter


Original Post: http://tilz.tearfund.org/Publications/Footsteps+1-10/Footsteps+5/

Pandan in Sydney - Where to buy Pandan?

Where to buy Pandan?

So I was walking around Cabramatta, Sydney on the weekend and I saw a shop that had the pandan plant for sale (also called daun pandan, pandanus amaryllifolius, screwpine).  The shop is located near the multi storey car park in Cabramatta.  He’s selling it for $35.  It's very difficult to find the pandan plant in Sydney and he had two pandans for sale, I purchased one and he said that he would have more in a couple of weeks.

If I successfully propagate mine, I’ll try to make some available. For those interested, please leave a comment.

If you know of any other places where you can buy Pandan in Sydney please share and leave comment.

Here is the picture of the Pandan Plant I bought.

Check out www.mypandan.com for info about how to care for your pandan plant.

Laksa Plant

To grow your own daun kesum is a great way to start a herb garden. Daun kesum is an essential ingredient for making laksa. Without daun kesum, there is no way your laksa can be complete. At some places in Malaysia, daun kesum is refered to as "daun laksa" or laksa leaves. The English name for it is most probably Vietnamese mint but I am not really sure because the real Vietnamese mint is maybe slightly different but still belongs to the same family. Daun kesum is a member of the mint family.

The leaves are elongated, with soft stalk, each segment of the stalk has the potential to grow into another bunch of mint leaves because roots sprout from the stalk itself.

The leaves are green and will turn yellow and then brown when they start withering. The stalks will grow and grow if you let them but usually I trim the tips to let them branch out. 

The herb needs very little maintenance except for enough water to ensure the earth it is planted in is always damp. Oh yes, also plenty of sunlight. You can place the herb pot at the window sill or if you have a balcony, place it there. It grows well in your backyard too.

Fertilizer made of compost is good for the leaves. Old wives have this tip to nourish your herbs: use the bloody water that remained after washing and gutting your fish to spray on the leaves and earth, it is supposed to be full of nutrients for plant. Do this treatment every two weeks or so.

Daun kesum grows very fast. Given good care and enough water, within a week you can already have a bunch filling up your ice-cream tub already. 

Among all the herbs in my garden, vietnamese mint is the easiest to grow. They like lots of water and i feed them seasol or charlie carp once every 3 weeks or less. They grow really well whether under direct sunlight or shade. They hardly have any pest invasion of any kind. Yeah I harvest them by cutting off stems rather than pinch off leaves..They are good is Asian food such as spicy laksa and vietnamese rolls..love their 'spicy' taste.

If you can find a store that stocks this plant and you would like to get your hands on it, drop me a message below.  I’m in Sydney.

Where to buy a Pandan Plant in Sydney

Buying a Pandan Plant?

Aka Pandanus Amaryllifolius, Screwpine, Daun Pandan

If your living in Sydney and looking to buy a Pandan plant, I will most likely have some in December 2010.  I will update this blog to let you know if I have some.


Update (24 Jan 2011): I have just bought a plant in Cabramatta, Sydney see Pandan in Sydney - Where to buy Pandan? for more details. See www.myPandan.com for info about caring for your pandan.

Otherwise you could contact:

Canley Vale Nursery – 62-68 Canley Vale Rd Canley Vale – 02 9723 2688

            They may have some stock in September (2010)

View Larger Map

Bonnyrigg Garden Centre – Corner Elizabeth Dr and Wilson Rd Bonnyrigg Heights – 02 9610 5366

            They may have some stock in October (2010)

View Larger Map

I haven’t bought any from these stores, so I can’t comment on the plants they will have, but I found all this out by calling around.

Please let me know if you know other places around Sydney or NSW that sell Pandan (Pandanus Amaryllifolius)

Propagation by Air Layering

Propagating plants by air layering

How to Graft a Plant Tree - Propagation by Grafting

A video on how to graft a tree.

http://video.about.com/treesandshrubs/How-to-Graft-a-Fruit-Tree.htm

Pandanus amaryllifolius

aka Pandan, Screwpine, Daun Pandan

I love the smell of pandan and I think its great in foods.  I bought some fresh pandan’s from my local markets and tried to grow it but was unsuccessful so I decided to research on how it is grown.  This is what I’ve found…

Pandan is a tropical plant often used in Southeast Asian cooking

You can grow pandan by propogating through water.  Let you pandan plant sit in water until roots grow and change the water regularly.

Pandan usually grows in tropical weather.  It takes plenty of care and attention.  If you are growing them in winter or in colder places, you need to cover them from wind and rain and don’t water them too much – they may start to suffer below 15 deg.  Some die not only because of the cold but because of receiving excess water.  You can shade the plant from wind and rain with a cloth and be sure not to get water on the crown of the plant.  Watering once a week is good with seasol clost to the base of the plant.

If you life in regions that experience cold months, its recommened that you grow your pandan plant in a pot so they are portable

Pandan does to like to be in full sun, so plant them were it will get some shade during the day.  In summer, you can water your plant much more. 

In the right conditions, when the plant is well established, it will grow well and spread.

For more info on pandan care and how to propagate pandan, visit www.mypandan.com

Where to buy pandan? click here

http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/pandanus-amaryllifolius/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_amaryllifolius