delonix87

Hi
Any tips on how to prevent mice from ruining crops? I have cavendish ripening and Ive had the bunch covered in a plastic bag on the plant and theyve chewed through..not sure what to do apart from mice baits!

Checker55

If the pseudostem can be isolated from other access points you can place a metal band around it . The idea is to keep them from climbing . The metal
will deter their claws from climbing up. Of course the band has to be wide enough and long enough to stop them .

cincinnana

Me......mice bait.
Tomcat works....very well.
I have used snap traps but they are indiscriminate and pretty darn effective.
Or wrap a few rodent stickies around the pstem...

I know fellas are getting the rodent crush......they will have better ideas...
Good luck ..

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twotallgirls

So in my neck of the woods are the darn iguana's. They worked over a Dwarf Cavendish that started to ripen before I could pick it. Lesson learned. They are a real nuisance in south FL. They only eat the ripened fruit so I have to make sure I time it right. Don't know if mice like them green. Can you harvest early and let them ripen in safe place?

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Blue Java, Raja Puri, Goldfinger FHIA-01, Mona Lisa FHIA-02, Sweetheart FHIA-03, Pitogo, Saba, Dwarf Cavendish, Super Dwarf Cav., Namwa, Brazilian, Mysore, Dwarf Red, and a mystery or two

pitangadiego

Get "rat bars" and wire them around the flower stem above the bunch so that rats/mice come to them before the reach the bananas. They are generally about an inch square and about 1-1/2 - 2" long and have a hole in the middle through which you can run a wire.

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Yug

I saw on youtube a trap made with a large bucket. There was a dowel on the top with peanut butter (or some other attractant) smeared on it. A ramp lead up the side to a weighted platform leading to the peanut butter. As the rats (or mice) walked out to get the peanut butter in the center, their weight would cause the platform to bend down, dumping them in the bucket. The bucket had about 6 inches of water in the bottom so the critters couldn't just jump out. I don't know if they eventually drowned or were still alive when he checked the trap. He was trying to keep them out of his corn crib. It was simple, yet very effective.

Iowa

Google Plantskydd, it's a pest repellent that doesn't wash away with a rain.
We used the spray this year and the herds of deer and squirrels stayed away.
It took a couple treatments, and spot spraying new growth. It will last up to 3 months', they have a spray and a granular. The granular may work for your problem.

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Growing Musa Orinoco since 1993 - Added 2018-Basjoo, Zebrina' Rojo, Ensete Red Abyssinian - Added 2019-Goldfinger - Added 2020-Kokopo (Short Cycle), Double (Mahoi), Highgate, Super Dwarf Cavendish - Added 2021-Pisang Ceylon(Mysore), Musa Margarita, Ensete Ventricosum - Added 2023 - Siam Ruby

Art_R

I had a squirrel problem. So I made a bag out of a roll of aluminum insect screening from the hardware store. Haven't lost a banana to vermin since.
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Here's what I'm growing: Grand Naine, Namwa, Blue Java, Raja Puri, Patupi, & a mystery nanner

Checker55

Nice job with the bracing.

Art_R

Thanks ! This is what happens when an engineer retires.

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Here's what I'm growing: Grand Naine, Namwa, Blue Java, Raja Puri, Patupi, & a mystery nanner

AaronTT

I have cats; no rats or squirrels stand a chance. Best solution if possible.

bananimal

What I do is cut down the bunch when the fingers are green and have filled in. Then hang it in the house or garage to ripen. The tree rats, aka squirrels, are the main culprits and will eat up the yellow ripe nanners fast!)

AaronTT

Your right, I and I do the same. I have plenty of raccoons close by, and its them I worry about. I have lost many tomatoes to them.