I have my seedlings up in my desert nursery - currently about 200 in 1 gallon pots that I’m watching. They all have nice yellow markers on them with the cross and date. Well, they HAD…
A packrat decided these markers make wonderful building materials. So now there’s a pretty, bright yellow packrat nest near my nursery… and about 25 seedlings with no markers. :'[
Grrrrrrrrr!
Ouch! I’m so sorry! I’ve been there and it is NO fun. It won’t help tying anything to the canes, either, as the blamed rodents will simply chew off the cane to get the tag. Hopefully, they were in rows or blocks which may help determine what cross made what. I really do feel for you! At least they left the plants alone. I’d rather lose the tag (which I’ve had happen, MANY times. Rats and “Terrors” both LOVE them!) than the plant. That is precisely why the parentage of Nessie is my “best guess”. Desert rats got into the enclosed, raised planter I built to raise seedlings in and stole the blamed thing. Fortunately, I used such limited pollen selections on Montecito, it’s pretty easy to look at the plant and guess what was involved.
This is not a good story Judith, sorry for the loss of tags, but as Kim says you still have the plants. I know this sounds silly, did you keep any records of the crosses ?. this might help in ID when they flower, just a thought. I am not at your stage in breeding roses, but I am gaining knowledge from reading other members hiccups(sorry to put it that way), when I get to your stage I will be making a map of the potted area and with pot info.
Is there anyway of getting rid of the packrat family ?
Trap going out tonight. I’ve had my yard guy remove the nest several times. Unfortunately it is under a huge sprawling cactus.
As far as the plants go, I have lost some that I’m sure were from the rat defoliating the plants. As far as records go, yes, I do know the crosses I’ve made but I make so many it would be tough to tell. I can guess, but that’s about it. Tonight, rat stew!
If you can still find these Tomcat Secure-Kill Rat Trap (5 PACK) 888603036080 | eBay they are WONDERFUL! Easy to set and empty and the BEST “bait” is a sliver of the cheapest pepperoni stick you can find, SECURELY glued in the bait cup with peanut butter. No rodent can resist! I cleared them from the creeping fig on the 100’ of block wall in front of the Encino house using this trap. Two moving parts, no batteries and nothing to rust. Glue the pepperoni stick in VERY well with the peanut butter or they’ll snag it out every time.
[quote=“roseseek”]If you can still find these Tomcat Secure-Kill Rat Trap (5 PACK) 888603036080 | eBay they are WONDERFUL!
I use the Havahearts. I’m great with them, and no messy peanut butter. I find the rats love baby carrots, so I plop one in, set the trap and boom, next morning they are caught. I drive them to a wash about 4 miles away. Can’t kill them. Forgot to set it last night.
I use 3-M blue masking tape and put it halfway around the plastic pots. It sticks, then I label it with black felt pens, which lasts a couple years. The cheaper blue masking tape made in China doesn’t stick, so you have to use the 3-M brand. We don’t have packrats here, thankfully. People around Yosemite and Eastern Oregon are leery of packrats and kangaroo rats because they sometimes carry a virus that can be fatal in humans. It’s transmitted through their urine. The last outbreak was in Yosemite Park cabins.
Hantavirus. Nasty!
I’ve never heard of a packrat transmitting hanta virus and given the gazillion yard guys around here cleaning up a gazillion nests every day I’m not too concerned. Packrats (so far) have not been shown to carry it. (Rodents in the United States That Carry Hantavirus | Hantavirus | DHCPP | CDC) Anyway, I have been lazy about putting the trap out and now I only have about 30 plants that still have markers in them 
The masking tape is a good idea - but I think first I’ll try a white paint marker and write directly on the pot. Hopefully it will not fade too quickly.
If I recall correctly, the transmission was mainly in enclosed areas such as cabins. In any case, I have treated ALL rodent “results” as being HIGHLY suspect and with great care. I don’t want to be “case zero” for anything they may share. Neurotic? Most likely!
I’m so sorry to hear that your tags were stolen. I got fed up with lost and faded tags and no longer use them. I use paint markers to write on the sides of pots. The paint is very durable and doesn’t fade. When the label is for a seedling that I’m evaluating, I include some information about it. For example, the label below has the seedling ID, and indicates that the bloom is orange-red, very double, and fragrant.
The paint marker brand I like best is called DecoColor. I get it at a local art supply store.
Yes, mainly from sweeping up dried up mouse droppings but the sun kills the virus. When cleaning up a packrat nest it’s always a good idea to hose it down before attacking it. Anyway, I think I have a greater chance of being hit by lightning.
Tonight for sure! I catch the bastard!
[quote=“jturner”]I’m so sorry to hear that your tags were stolen. I got fed up with lost and faded tags and no longer use them. I use paint markers to write on the sides of pots. The paint is very durable and doesn’t fade. When the label is for a seedling that I’m evaluating, I include some information about it. For example, the label below has the seedling ID, and indicates that the bloom is orange-red, very double, and fragrant.
[attachment=0]label.JPG[/attachment]
The paint marker brand I like best is called DecoColor. I get it at a local art supply store.[/quote]
Thank you! I ordered one. Actually, I had one in my drawer, but it was black (and dried out).
[attachment=1]Portrait of a Rat_4236.jpg[/attachment]Put the trap out last night! I call this “Portrait of a Rat Bastard!” and his nest…[attachment=1]Portrait of a Rat_4236.jpg[/attachment]
Looks like a juvenile. Probably his mother is in the nest also. Trap out again tonight.
Mazel tov! You need gopher snakes, hawks, owls, etc., even coyotes!
Got em all plus bobcats! Pix outside my office yesterday morning:[attachment=0]IMG_4226.JPG[/attachment]
I had a talk with her, but I caught the rat before she got up 
Also we had a mountain lion saunter into our neighborhood last week. I haven’t seen him yet, though I saw one in our driveway a few years ago.
I sympathize had the same thing happen to me only it was ferral chickens that took tags off my daylilies.
Ferral chickens! I’ve never heard of ferral chickens. Where do you live?
I live in a small town in Central Texas. About 7 years ago someone in this part of town allowed some of their chickens to escape, the city ordinance allows 5 chickens to each household. They keep laying eggs and hatching new generations. Of course none of these chickens have had their wings clipped so they can fly over fences and roost in trees. If you mulch your flower beds the chickens show up and scratch it all out. Even though it is illegal to fight chickens it is not illegal to own and raise them so as I drive around town I see back yards with the little A-frame chicken houses for each individual chicken. It is disgusting and frankly, I find chickens a nasty animal. Just my opinion.
As for feral animals, the squirrels here in Gladstone, OR are well fed and don’t bother my roses hips. The neighbors put out peanuts, which are buried in my rose beds by squirrels and blue jays. I observed a crow that kept rooting out my newly planted Dusty Miller and threw it aside. There are Arucana chickens nearby that roost in the top of fir trees at night and lay light green eggs.
