A Rat in the Garden

TreeBay

Today I went out to water my bonsai garden and discovered to my horror that a rat had chewed a hole in the trunk of one of my favorite trees, a california coastal live oak that stands about 3' tall.

I was at first really distressed about this. In the past, have put up with pests like squirrels digging in the yard and pots to plant their acorns and walnuts. They don't know any better, and they're kind of cute to watch run around. But here was another story - some animal bent on destroying what I had worked so hard to create, and one that had never offered any benefit whatsoever.

I am not a particularly vengeful person, but part of me definitely wanted to see that rat pay for what he had done. Some people might set traps and/or poison the offender, but I thought it over and decided the best thing I could do would be to take steps to make sure that he never returned, and if he did, that he would know that he was certainly unwelcome in my garden.

I felt bad for most of the morning about what had happened to my tree. It had been developing so nicely and this damage will take years to repair, and might even remain somewhat obvious even as it heals. Then, I realized that this incident was really a lesson about this forum, and the Rat in our Garden was not the four legged kind, but just as destructive and just as insidious. Today I removed that forum Rat, and everything he touched here. I hope we can forget about him, and continue to develop and protect what we have begun.

As for the tree? I wet the trunk with some water and dusted the lower trunk area thoroughly with Cayenne pepper. If that Rat returns, he is in for a surprise!

Regards, Your bonsaiTALK admin,

Matt

Attached Images

cayenne.jpg (48.9 KB, 240 views)

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Ceberon

I would like a study done on how long hot pepper lasts on tree bark/soil. I peppered all my plants to keep away the squirrels. It seems to be working, but I'm not sure how often I should repepper them.

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bonsaial1

Hey Matt, sounds like you 'seasoned it up" for him. If you find he likes chili peppers, send him my way. I got some stuff here that will take the wind from his sails.

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mfp1028

Matt,
you wrote:


You got rid of Old Mister Crow?
For a minute there i thought you were talking about me...

i swear in high school i would always be absent or 30 seconds late when there was some sort of fight. I have a feeling i know who the anarchist was, i saw a strange post briefly this morning while browsing, with a picture of some bloated witch doctor with his arms outspread like a bad impression of superman trying to fly. There's nothing like trying to start a revolution on a bonsai forum...

How about an full picture of that live oak pepper tree?

sincerely
mike

GaryS

Matt,
If he comes back and the pepper doesn't work, get some "Daves Insanity Sauce" and put one drop on it. I put one drop in a bowl of chile and I can hardly eat it.
It's billed as the hottest sauce in the universe, I doubt that but it is very dangerous in the wrong hands!

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GaryS

bonsaial1

You got class Gary. Dave's rules. This was a pic of me back in my chili days. My wife and I had just swept the Fresno fair for "Best Poultry on a Barbecue." We had a blast. Thats us showin off our booty. Thats the beginning of my hot sauce collection in the back. At the time I had about 275 bottles. In the end last year when I sold the whole thing I had over 500.

Can't beat the heat, Bonsaial

BTW, I made that chili pepper hat in case anyone's wonderin'

Attached Images

chilihead.jpg (27.4 KB, 192 views)

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I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

carmi

Matt,
I just hop the Rat will not register under another name.
Although he can be recognized by his "signature" it is very difficult to control everything on the net.
Anyway it was high time to take this action as I almost suggested it myself

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treenut

This sad episode has given me a jolt,I'm gonna be on my best behaviour now.I aint gonna go back to watching TV every night like I used to before I discovered Bonsaitalk forum.

Ceberon

You know, I'm going to need to try Dave's now. I have had such a hard time getting my chili to be hot enough. It tastes great, it just doesn't have the heat I like.

I have a massive bag of indian chili powder, bought it at the local indian store for like 3 bucks. It's not quite hot enough to spice up the chili, but it seems to keep the squirrels away, and there's enough in the bag to keep my trees powdered for years.

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It's not the size that counts, it's how you wire it.