Bamboo shoots - 2018

[Rich Z]

I think the shoots for the Phyllostachys vivax bamboo is coming up early this year. Connie first spotted a few a couple of days ago when she was running down compost to dump among the big bamboo grove. Now I'm seeing at least a dozen poking out of the ground already. I had planned on putting the hunting blind out before the shoots came up in order to try to wipe out as many squirrels in the area as I could before they could get a chance to destroy those new shoots. But so much for that! I thought I had another month to go before we would be seeing new shoots.

I guess I'll be putting out the blind this week, even though I haven't seen any squirrel damage yet. Maybe they weren't expecting the shoots this early neither. But I seriously doubt they won't be showing up sooner or later. Last year I had to kill around 15 (confirmed kills) of them, and there were still more chewing up the bamboo when I had to take down the blind because Connie and I were going away for a bit. In previous years it was only one or two problem squirrels, and once I killed them the problem stopped. But last year was REALLY bad for the bamboo, as the squirrel population seemed to have exploded over the Winter months.

I had to get a new squirrel rifle as my Remington 597 in 17HMR exploded on me. Come to find out that Remington has had a recall out on the gun for years, but I never heard of it. In any event, I sent the gun back to them, and while waiting for them to send me a bolt action (ugh) Marlin as a replacement, I bought a semi-auto Savage model A17 in the meantime. Sighted in the gun yesterday after mounting a scope on it, and I think it will do the job nicely.

Honestly, I don't really like killing squirrels, but the declared war when they started tearing up my bamboo. You just don't mess with my bamboo. If they would just leave it alone, they would be welcome to stay, but they made that choice, and there have been consequences to pay.

Anyway, took some pics of the new shoots coming up. Still trying to get the hang of getting the most out of that 15mm to 30mm lens I got recently.

 

[Rich Z]

Got more bamboo shoots coming up in this particular grove, but so far not seeing any damage from squirrels. Maybe the big hawk we've had hanging around here lately has chased the squirrels off.

I'm going to be putting out the hunting blind tomorrow anyway, just in case, however.

If the squirrels start in on those bamboo shoots, I want to be able to get out there on guard duty against them as quickly as I can.

 

[Twolunger]

Have you ever tried using hawk or owl decoys in the bamboo grove? Wonder if that would deter the squirrels?

 

[Rich Z]

No, haven't tried that method. Probably worth a try, but the problem could be just the extent of the bamboo grove I'm trying to protect. I would probably need a half dozen or more of them, and from what I have read, I would have to relocate them every few days to keep the squirrels from getting used to their being there. Honestly though, squirrels are pretty smart, and I would think that this wouldn't work for very long before they figured out they weren't going to get hurt by the fake birds.

I tried a couple different types of liquid repellents that I sprayed right on the shoots themselves as well as all around them. One was specific to squirrels, and the other was a general animal "Repels-ALL". Neither of them worked at all. I tried a pepper spray one year, but unfortunately I got downwind of it, and even with just barely a whiff it about took ME out. My windpipe just literally snapped shut. That is some nasty stuff!

Years ago I spoke to a biologist I worked with at FWCC and asked her about how to deal with the squirrels. She told me that nothing works short of killing them. They learn very quickly to stay away from traps in very short order, which I also found out via personal experience. I was only able to catch only one squirrel, and all the rest knew then to stay away from it.

It's a shame, as I actually enjoyed having the squirrels around up to the time they decided that my biggest bamboo was really good eatin'. I have lots of smaller types of "fishing pole" bamboo that they could eat their fill of, but no, they want my Phyllostachys vivax. So war it is.

 

[Twolunger]

My son gave me a Dragon Fruit cactus, which is supposedly a fast grower. Every time it sends up a vine the rabbits chew it off. I have my own war going on here. LOL. I gave him a couple starts off mine to plant in his yard and the rabbits got to his also. I was over there yesterday and he has a mass of chicken wire protecting his cactus. Rather unsightly, but it is protective.

 

[Rich Z]

Yeah, nature and the great outdoors is all just a seemingly wonderful thing until you find it in your underwear or into things and places you really don't want it to be. Seems I'm always fighting something around here. Whether it is squirrels into the bamboo, raccoon and possums into the bird feeders and then into the fruit trees when the fruit is ripe, bears in the bird feeders, or just darn fire any mounds popping up underfoot (sometimes literally), nature up close and personal isn't as warm and fuzzy as it seems from afar. And that isn't even considering the mosquitoes and yellow flies that can make all the difference between a pleasant walk on our paths, and an arm flapping run back to the house as quick as we can muster. But would I REALLY want to live in some place like downtown Baltimore or New York? oke:

 

[Shiari]

something I used to stop my dog chewing on stuff to great effect was wasabi paste. Dilute it with a little water and brush it on. Don't know if it will work, but it might be worth a try.

 

[Twolunger]

something I used to stop my dog chewing on stuff to great effect was wasabi paste. Dilute it with a little water and brush it on. Don't know if it will work, but it might be worth a try.

I'll have to research that product. My little dog recently had stitches and I didn't want her licking the stitches out. The vet gave me an inflatable collar, which the dog hated, thinks she was being punished. The vet sprayed something called bitter apples on the wound, stating that dogs don't like the taste. Nobody told my little dog, she loved the taste.

 

[Shiari]

I wouldn't put wasabi around a wound. It's the super hot green stuff you get with sushi. My dog also liked bitter apple, but the wasabi made him nauseous. He'd run from me if I brought sushi home.
Regarding your dog, Just keep the collar on. She'll get over it after a few days.

 

[Rich Z]

The problem with something of that nature is that the bamboo shoots grow so quickly that new, untreated, areas of the shoot would be quickly exposed, which would mean I would have to be out there in the grove at least every other day to re-apply the repellent. Spraying the shoots was bad enough, but I fear having to brush something on would be extremely labor intensive. The squirrels seem to prefer the actual tips of the bamboo shoots, but are not at all opposed to chewing in through the sides as well. Which, of course, will normally kill the shoot. I've seen them leap over from a nearby pine tree to get at the tip of a shoot 20+ ft tall and 5 inches in diameter, chew on it, and have that shoot die back as a result.

Truth be known, as is the case in most instances of a problem, eliminating the actual causative agent is usually the best solution.

Which reminds me, I want to put out the hunting blind today.

 

[Shiari]

well, squirrel stew is tasty I guess? XD
Good hunting.

 

[Rich Z]

Yuck. Tree rat stew. Sorry, you are what you eat, and I have absolutely NO desire to be part tree rat. I just leave them where they lay wishing that the squirrels were smart enough to recognize that dead squirrel bodies laying on the ground is a darn good sign for them to leave the area.

Of course, we do have some sort of clean-up crew around here that does haul off the carcasses over night. So something likely appreciates my efforts.

Still no signs of squirrel crews on the bamboo shoots. The day sort of got away from me, so I didn't set up the hunter blind today. Maybe tomorrow...

 

[Rich Z]

The rain we got the other day seems to be really beneficial to the bamboo shoots. Getting lots of them coming up. Connie and I walked down to our largest grove to check out the temporary pond down there and saw that some of the bamboo shoots were really getting some size on them.

Fortunately I'm not seeing any squirrel damage in that grove. At least not yet. The squirrels REALLY tore it up last year, even with me sending 15 of them on their way to the hereafter. I do have the hunting blind set up in there, just in case they do come back. I have another really small grove of the same bamboo in another area that has already had two shoots destroyed by squirrels. So I think it's just a matter of time before I start seeing squirrel damages in the big grove.

 

[Twolunger]

Hope Connie knows how to shoot also. You can take shifts standing guard.

 

[Rich Z]

Well, I took another walk about to check for squirrel damage in the big bamboo grove early this evening, and I found some damage, but not absolutely sure it's from a squirrel.....

Usually squirrels will chew right through the shoot, and this just looks completely different. Of course, it could be squirrel damage, just from a squirrel with a different idea about how to destroy bamboo shoots. This took place just a couple of hours in the afternoon between the time I took my walk around in the early afternoon, and then again in early evening.

Might have to start spending some time in the hunter's blind, just in case.

 

[Nanci]

Connie looks like retirement is agreeing with her!

 

[Rich Z]

Connie looks like retirement is agreeing with her!

Yeah, I think she is finally getting the hang of it. She has stopped lamenting that she wasn't very constructive for the day. She has worked all her life, from since she was very young, so this not having to work is a completely new experience for her. But she still seems to act guilty when she sleeps past 9 am.

She seemed to make a big turn in her outlook when we started collecting my social security and my retirement from the state of Florida. She has always worried about becoming, as she puts it, "poor again", since we decided to retire the SerpenCo business.

 

[Rich Z]

Well, looks like the "ground" rats are joining the tree rats in attacking my bamboo shoots this year.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuyfQ1bbYE

Not seeing any other damage other than those two shoots mentioned above, however, so nowhere near the damage we got last year from the squirrels. The ground rats will have to be dealt with some other way other than shooting them, since they seem to be mostly nocturnal, and unfortunately I don't have a night vision scope for my rifle.

Shame I've been having to relocate the gray rat snakes I find in the bird feeders, otherwise they would be helping out with the rodents.

 

[Rich Z]

Have you ever tried using hawk or owl decoys in the bamboo grove? Wonder if that would deter the squirrels?

This is interesting, because just about every time I go down to the bamboo grove and take up station in the hunting blind, a hawk will fly in and sit up in the trees pretty close to me. Perhaps last year's bounty of squirrels, both dead and alive, has made this an attractive feeding ground for hawks, and this year the squirrels know it and are staying away. So perhaps a hawk decoy would be very effective around here if real hawks weren't patrolling for squirrels for me.

So far beyond that one caught on video near the two side chewed bamboo shoots, I haven't seen any other squirrels at all in that bamboo grove. And have not seen any other damage to any other shoots, neither. Not that I am complaining, mind you. It actually feels quite weird to walk in that grove looking at the new shoots and not be disheartened by all of the damaged ones I would normally see from squirrel attacks. Heck, I don't even hear squirrels barking at a distance. We still see quite a few of them along the road a distance from the house, so they ARE still out there, but perhaps they have finally learned that them coming around here really isn't healthy for them.