Hi all,
I have something(s) living under my 35 gallon preformed pond. I've even seen it's brown pointy face (rat? vole?). It had had an entry and an exit under the pond, beyond the rocks surrounding it, and then I saw it run for the fence, where I discovered 1/2 inch gap (which is now plugged). The pond is in a 12 inch raised bed with hardware cloth installed throughout under the bed, and I know the rodent is coming from above. the pond is currently sitting on dirt, on top of the hardware cloth, and I simply backfilled the dirt. the lip is 3/4 inches above the dirt level. And yes, "it" is eating some of my veggies and plants.
I just added 8 inches to the height of the bed, and next I want to move the pond and was thinking that I would like to make it less attractive to rodents. I was thinking of digging a hole, and placing the pond on several cinder blocks to raise it even higher (how high? maybe that doesn't matter?), and maybe line the hole with hardware cloth, and make a wire "collar" around the perimeter of the pond - all this so they don't live under the pond. I was also thinking of making a wooden support, which would make a sturdy frame to hold the hardware cloth barrier, but wonder if that's overkill? (I already cut 2x4s to make a hexagon frame)
In addition to wanting to keep the rodents from living under,what can I do to deter them from my garden plot, if anything? and is the water garden *attracting* them to my garden?
Thanks all!
SFOAnna
I have something(s) living under my 35 gallon preformed pond. I've even seen it's brown pointy face (rat? vole?). It had had an entry and an exit under the pond, beyond the rocks surrounding it, and then I saw it run for the fence, where I discovered 1/2 inch gap (which is now plugged). The pond is in a 12 inch raised bed with hardware cloth installed throughout under the bed, and I know the rodent is coming from above. the pond is currently sitting on dirt, on top of the hardware cloth, and I simply backfilled the dirt. the lip is 3/4 inches above the dirt level. And yes, "it" is eating some of my veggies and plants.
I just added 8 inches to the height of the bed, and next I want to move the pond and was thinking that I would like to make it less attractive to rodents. I was thinking of digging a hole, and placing the pond on several cinder blocks to raise it even higher (how high? maybe that doesn't matter?), and maybe line the hole with hardware cloth, and make a wire "collar" around the perimeter of the pond - all this so they don't live under the pond. I was also thinking of making a wooden support, which would make a sturdy frame to hold the hardware cloth barrier, but wonder if that's overkill? (I already cut 2x4s to make a hexagon frame)
In addition to wanting to keep the rodents from living under,what can I do to deter them from my garden plot, if anything? and is the water garden *attracting* them to my garden?
Thanks all!
SFOAnna
