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momoese
12-21-2008, 03:11 PM
Last summer when it was hot and dry from the Santa Ana winds the little guys were thirsty so they nibbled on these fruit and the leaves. This is the tallest Hawaiian apple I've grown yet with the fruit bunch about 20 feet up. I was able to get them down by myself without getting hurt or damaging the fruits or the other plants including my ready to flower Heliconias growing under them! 87 fingers on this one! The whole thing from where I cut to the flower bud is about 6 feet long.

Here is pics of the damage.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14879&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14879&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14878&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14878&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14877&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14877&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14876&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14876&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14875&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14875&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14874&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14874&ppuser=42)
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=14873&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=14873&ppuser=42)

Tog Tan
12-21-2008, 03:20 PM
Nice bunch of 'naners Mitchel. Hey, the damage not so bad. You see what the darn monkeys, tree shrews, squirrels, birds, civet cats, bugs and what nots do to our 'naners here. Talking about monkeys, the worst is the short tailed macaque, they come in big gangs numbering to 50 heads! You know, papa's, mama's, uncles, aunties and the cutie babies! So, you are doing alright pal!:ha:

lorax
12-21-2008, 04:09 PM
Down here the biggest menace is the Squirrel Monkeys, which come in troops of about 80-100 individuals and can munch a tree down to the pseudostem in about 25 minutes if you don't go out and hoot at them.

tophersmith
12-21-2008, 04:41 PM
Down here the biggest menace is the Squirrel Monkeys, which come in troops of about 80-100 individuals and can munch a tree down to the pseudostem in about 25 minutes if you don't go out and hoot at them.

Sounds like you guys need some of my Banana Guardians
:lurk:

lorax
12-21-2008, 05:03 PM
That doesn't work for me at all. The monkeys know that the dogs (I have Akitas) can't climb trees, so they just stay out of reach and knarble away.

Bob
12-21-2008, 07:00 PM
Interesting. Here during the drought years the squirels will eat pumpkins during the fall when most years they won't touch them. If I get any banana fruit next year they'd better watch out!

island cassie
12-21-2008, 07:19 PM
Having lived in Africa and England - hate monkeys and squirrels!! tree rats!

Bob
12-21-2008, 07:28 PM
Having lived in Africa and England - hate monkeys and squirrels!! tree rats!

Yeah the South Africans HATE the vervets and baboons. A lot of their roofs are made of peanut thatch and the monkeys tear them up. No mercy on them there.

island cassie
12-21-2008, 08:35 PM
Yes Bob - in Kenya a number of years ago with my husband who thought monkeys were cute - he was astounded when I broke branches off bushes to thrash them with, when they were expecting to be fed or bite our legs!! Horrible things!

lorax
12-21-2008, 08:35 PM
Tree rats are another story altogether. bah! I live in rodent central!

Patty in Wisc
12-21-2008, 10:54 PM
Oooh, don't get me started! I call squirrels 'tree rats' too. You should see the scratch & claw marks in the stem of my IC!!! I set a trap for them this summer & caught a bunch of 'em. Last year they didn't leave me ONE concord grape - this year I got bunches because I eliminated the ones that ate them last year.
I hate when they take my figs & citrus when they aren't ripe...take a chunk out & drop them in a neighbors yard. Grrrrr

lorax
12-21-2008, 11:04 PM
Ah, but I am actually talking about a type of rats that live in trees. Ecuador has something like 20 varieties of them. And they're worse than squirrels because they're absolutely fearless!

Patty in Wisc
12-21-2008, 11:14 PM
Oooh nooo, hope they stay there! I only heard of roof rats from a friend in CA.
I also trapped racoons & possum. They can get mean.