Of monkeys and bananas
 

Hello, I'm new to the forum and in fact new to growing bananas.
Would appreciate some help to get me started.

The problem I face is that I have some land on a slope that already has some wild plaintain. However, there are a lot of monkeys living nearby in a reservation nearby that will go bananas :goteam: if I were to start cultivate proper edible Musa banana species.

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with monkeys when starting a banana plot for self consumption?

Thanks a heap


Allan

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Welcome to bananas.org! No i don't know how to deal with monkeys, we don't have them here in Las Vegas. I would think perhaps some of our members in the tropics could give you some ideas, if any exist.
Good luck!

Well I did a little searching under "repelling monkeys" and came up with something practical that you may want to investigate. It seems simple enough to me. Chile-Heads Archives Volume 2: [CH] Monkey Repellent

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Heres a short term remedy for 4 legged pests:

Walmart.com: Charles Daly Cantilever 3" 12/22 Camo ERCT Pump Shotgun: Hunting

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Interesting problem.
Never had to deal with that before!

Welcome aboard though... :)

This thread might get a lot of fun!

By the way I fixed the image in your post for you!

Keep us posted please how that goes!

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

First of all, where are you? And second of all, what kind of monkeys? These are actually important factors in dealing with your monkey problem....

I live in Ecuador and also have monkey trouble - I deal with Squirrel Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Wooly Monkeys, and the occasional roving Howler. I also have to watch out for Tamarins. I have given up actively trying to repel them, because short of actually shooting them, which I do not want to do (and which is illegal here), they will not go away. My final solution was to grow them their own bananas, a bit apart from mine, and build them a convenient snacking platform, then sort of negotiate an agreement with them. Anything I can't eat from my own bunches before it goes black goes on the platform, and they are completely free to whatever grows on their banana plants and their papaya. If I catch them in my vegetable garden, or on the bananas I have designated as mine, they understand that I will sic my cat on them. So far, I've only had a real problem with the Howler, which is big enough to scare my cat. They're not scared of my dogs at all.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

I know I usually joke about this but would an electric fence that they use for cattle help?..I don't know but the thought just came to me.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Nope. They'll come in over it unless you maintain a 30-foot clearing around it, which is well nigh impossible in tropical conditions (weeds etc grow so fast that the monkeys will have a walkway within a week of clearing.) I know this from experience. They'll find a way to fling at least one over the fence, and after that they'll figure out a way to short it. If you use a plain, cattle-style fence, they'll just come through the gaps in the wire. If you electrify mesh, they'll go over via the trees, or short it out with old nesting materials.

Stumpy - think about dealing with unreasonable humans who don't speak your language. That is what it's like dealing with monkeys. Some species can be real trolls when they get their minds set.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

I'm with Stumpy on this one regarding the 12 gauge. It's actually a lot more humane than how their dealt with in South Africa where several types come in and eat the peanut thatch roofs.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Which is why I asked where Allan was. In some countries, shooting monkeys with a 12-gauge (or anything else, for that matter) is illegal. In others, they're fair game. Personally, I've been able to bargain with my local monkeys and they leave the garden alone for the most part; certainly I'd advocate the peaceful approach first, and buckshot as a last resort.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Over here in M'sia, these pests are protected by the govt's wildlife law. So we gotta live with it. They can be so annoying that they will even break off combs of hard unripe 'naners. Ripe ones, I understand, hard and unripe? Dang! I think they take them back and make fried 'naner fritters later.:ha: On the serious side, there is nothing we can do about it except hope that they raid my neighbor's patch instead of mine!

Monkeys are one thing, wild boars are another. They take the whole plant down whatever the size. Solution - put a wire perimeter around the plant and drape it with black plastic. For all their intelligence, it seems what they can't see, they don't bother. I learnt this from a guy down south who had a whole plantation taken down by wild boars until he came up with this. Interesting?:ha:

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

visit this thread:
http://www.bananas.org/f9/more-pics-...four-3042.html
or go to your nearest zoo or breader and get a small feline that you can train to be your friend and not theirs. i dont usually advocate violence against animals but ive heard how "evil" primates can be.....when food is involved.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

I see,,I deal with that all night long down here.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Thanks guys for the warm welcome, and helpful suggestions. As a newbee to forums, I'm quite overwhelmed really by all the so many friendly tips and knowledge you guys have.http://www.bananas.org/images/smilies/bananas/02.gif

I live in Malaysia, and I'm not sure what species the monkeys are. Maybe Tog Tan fr M'sia would know. they are small grey critters that swing around the trees and shrubs, and sometimes creep along the walkways to scavenge for food near dwellings.

Thanks Chironex, for the "monkey repellent' solution, altho it doesn't seem that simple, if you need a sophisticated sensor to shoot out the red-hot chili powder to deter the monkeys.

I am wondering about some form of netting, the sort that golf resorts have to keep stray balls inside the driving range area.

What do banana plantations do anyway to protect their harvest? There must be a way that doesn't involve mayhem and murder!http://www.bananas.org/images/smilies/ha.gif

Lastly, (and I will be doing more research on this aspect - but if there is an expert out there on crop rotation to give a quick tip that would save precious time) if one also wants to plant other crops, are there any no-no's (other fruits and veges) that should not be combined with bananas in a small orchard?

So glad to be part of this warm friendly community!http://www.bananas.org/images/smilie.../nanadrink.gif

Wishing everyone a prosperous Chinese New Year of the Ox / Bull (Jan 26-27), despite the gloomy economic prospects - there's always a silver lining somewhere.

Allan

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Hi Allan, I have monkey problems here in Costa Rica also. We have three different species of monkeys that live here on the property and they can cause some damage. One thing I noticed is that they will not bother the bananas when green. They ignore the banana bunches until they start turning yellow. So if you cut down the bunches when the first of the fruit begins to ripen, you should be able to enjoy the entire bunch of bananas.

Just recently I cut down a bunch of plantains and brought them into the house to ripen. I leave the doors to my house open when I am here during the day and one day I heard some noises out in the living room so I went out to investigate and found 3 monkeys in the house pulling off the bananas that had turned yellow. They are around the house everyday and didn't bother the bunch until a few started turning yellow. Then they just couldn't help themselves and had to come in the house after those yellow bananas!

They will also climb all over the banana plants and break many of the leaves which leaves the banana plants looking messy.

I took this photo two days ago. This is a white-face monkey (Capuchin). They stop by the pool almost every day to cool off.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Thanks Jeff, or the most useful observation. Makes sense too as the sugar content of green bananas is very low till they are yellow and ripen.

Perhaps that is how banana plantations may not have monkey issues, as the correct time to harvest is just before the bunches turn yellow.

btw - you spoil your monkeys!http://www.bananas.org/images/smilies/ha.gif

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Hey Allan, I guess as much you are from M'sia!

Where exactly is your nursery located? The monkeys you are talking about are the local Long Tail Macaque, Kera. They are not so bad compared to the Short Tailed Macaque, the Beruk. My area has huge troops of Beruks which number more than 50 in a troop. They will even take the green unripe 'naner off the plant. These guys are not scared of dogs or human. Only non violent solution is to let them eat their fill.

What some one told me was he baited 'naners with small doses of sleeping pills regularly. It took a while for the Beruks to decide that the 'naners in his orchard were not good for consumption. Time consuming, but it did work for him cos these guys are intelligent enough to figure it out. Unless your area is small, 'netting' it up can be costly and you are cutting down the sunlight too.

For inter cropping etc, check Agroforestry on the web. I forgot which link.

I hope you are not in a wild boar area!

Oh yea, Gong Xi Fa Chai to you too! :nanadrink:

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh The life of a Monkey in Costa Rica....Warm weather,fresh Bananas, and a dip in the pool.....:woohoonaner:

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Allen - in Ecuador, at least, the banana plantations are on the coast, and the monkeys are on the other side of the Andes. That's how they avoid monkey damage.

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Yep! Darn Capuchins are plentiful there. I imported one years ago and ended up paying us$ 1,500! ....and it didn't like me!:ha:

Re: Of monkeys and bananas
 

Better to make friends with the Squirrel monkeys, I think. Using my monkey-appeasment method, I now have an 80-strong troop of trolls on my side when tapirs invade.