An Oncidium Mouse Rant Story...
 

I thought it was time for a little bit of lightheartedness for newer folks to the forum. Thus, posting on the Beginner Thread instead of Pests and Diseases. I don't need a diagnosis. I have years of experience dealing with the particular pest. This is just a Mouse Rant. Yes, we older OBoard members can be serious, but most of us do have a good sense of humor. Sympathy will also be well received.

I have an Onc Tsiku Marguerite. A year ago I divided it while it was in tight spike to share with my son in law (obviously I like him). His part did great, and of course my part blasted.

Fast forward a year, and I have five spikes on my little portion. Now...ya'll don't know me, but I do keep a clean house. I'm three-fourths German. :lol: But we have lots of outside animals, and woods. So, each year we have the Great Mouse Fight in the house. I moved all house plants outside (one tried to take up residence in the soil of a large pot). But the few orchids inside, in LECA, well of course that wouldn't be a problem.

So I have this Onc sitting on my desk, watching it, enjoying it. I'm just so darned proud of it.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cture13008.jpg

Then one morning I look, and half a pbulb plus leaves is gone. Of course the spike it was getting stalled out.

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cture13009.jpg

I'm mad. I KNOW it was a mouse. I can feel it in my gut. But at least the rest is okay, and continues to grow out spikes. I put it on a higher buffet in my living room to keep it safe, putting it inside a very tall big glass vase just to make sure.

It's getting ready to start blooming. I take it to the kitchen to water and give a little TLC. I rotate it around...

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cture13010.jpg

And realize the whole back side of the other pbulb is hollowed out... by a you-know-what I'm sure.

I will update if it actually blooms. It is surviving though... already pushing out a new pbulb. :blushing:

Looking forward to the triumph of the orchid over the rodent. And any news of the (hopefully horrid) demise of that nasty little critter?

Yes, we had mouse problems in the greenhouse in PA also. Fortunately for me, some corn snakes and garter snakes were happy to keep them at bay.

So far, the only critters I've dealt with outdoors in NC are like this, and they're good!

http://firstrays.com/Pictures/IMG_1349.jpg

http://firstrays.com/Pictures/IMG_1350.jpg

But they look cute in the foliage. Is it a type of gecko? Do they do damage to the orchids?

The Great Mouse Hunt of 2019 season has already commenced. Several have died by the guillotine method. Several more in a black plague sort of way. (we use several methods) Not sure if we've captured the right one yet... have seen no pbulbs in anyone's clutches upon demise. But we sure can hope.

---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:09 PM ----------

Oh MY Ray!! If you only knew how much I love and am obsessed with anoles. A good friend in Texas sends me weekly pictures of her crew. When she fails to send, I nag nag nag until I receive new pictures. One of my (reachable) goals in life is to have an orchid room in my house, with free roaming anoles and a chameleon or two.

If I could just get the husband to move his computer elsewhere, and seal up a set of french doors a bit, I'd already be there.

Paphluver... they're anoles. They eat bugs, not orchids, and they're absolutely wonderful creatures.

Corn snakes don't occur in PA. Milksnakes are the most common of the larger species of snake in the SE part of the state, and are fairly similar in appearance to corn snakes.

Around these parts, blacksnake is king of mousers. I have one shading around in my basement again. Old house, stone foundation, lots of places to come inside and get warmed up.

Oh, my! I was sympathizing with your story of having mice in your house. We have them occasionally. We get rid of them. They've never bothered the orchids that I can tell. I did find a little tree frog in one of the orchid saucers one time. :biggrin: I captured it carefully and returned it to the outdoors.

But snakes in the house! Now that's another thing all together. I am absolutely not someone who is afraid of snakes (except for a healthy respect for poisonous ones), but I'm pretty sure I would not want to come across one anywhere inside my house. :yikes:

Ah yes, but which black snake, a racer or a ratsnake? If you can't tell on sight, just grab it. A racer will bite you 3 or 4 times before you can blink, the ratsnake will probably only get you once or twice in the same period of time!

True enough. We see all sorts of snakes down here. Found a 4' timber rattler on my patio a couple of autumns ago. Made a noose, grabbed him and dropped him into the intracoastal waterway. Two days later he showed up at my neighbor's doorstep, where he was summarily dispatched.

If it wasn't eaten I have a real problem with that. Timbers are shy, retiring animals that rarely bite unless disturbed. They often don't even rattle when closely approached, preferring to rely on their cryptic camouflage to avoid detection. On a camping trip in World's End state park many years ago one of my campmates discovered one coiled up alongside a trail adjacent to our campsite. We had walked by it repeatedly, within striking distance and it never moved a muscle.

Old house, stuff sometimes happens with a stone foundation. Never seen one other than hiding in basement. Last one was dispatched by guys delivering a new water heater. They were excitable. I AM afraid of snakes. But they eat mice. Mice carry disease. Thus, we occasionally co-exist as long as I don't see them.

---------- Post added at 01:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:27 PM ----------

Western black rat snake. I know the difference. And touching one, let alone grabbing one, is a hard NO! Ain't happening. I scream and run like a little girl.

And if a rattlesnake showed up knocking at my door, or canvassing the neighborhood as Ray's appeared to be doing, I would never answer the door again.

Brilliant new idea!!!

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cture13011.jpg

Barbecued mouse! How droll...:biggrin:

This forum could definitely use a "Love this post" button!

Right?!? Saw this on a different venue today, and thought to self... Hmmmmmmm. Frankly, still haven't decided if my skill set is good enough to go forward. But sure thinkin about it.

The 5 gallon bucket that spins at top was a semi-fail. Meanwhile, we're having best luck with the ol' tried and true mouse trap. Go figure.

On it!

This mouse story is unacceptable. 100% German here, never mind the state of my household, it's an OLD household (old for the midwest) and mice come with the deed to the house.

Just to preemptive rant: So far no plant damage AND THERE HAD BEST NOT BE. As if the bugs and fungi and bacteria aren't enough.

Our cats are fantastic at catching mice, transporting them to all areas of the house, and showing them off. They have no interest whatsoever in killing them.

We also have mice, or perhaps voles, at work. These burrowed in any potted plants that people had brought to work, but turned up their mousie noses at peanut butter, donuts, roasted nuts and crackers. They did go for a small potato that I partially buried in dirt.

Maybe I will encircle the orchids with a protective ring of potatoes.

Voles eat plant roots, and I'm thrilled that my cats are extremely interested in killing them!

You have good cats! I can't believe that with three, there isn't a one that knows how to deliver the merciful killing blow :(

You have my sympathy.
Its time for some out of the box thinking for this rodent! It seems smarter than the average, just chewing out the back of the pbulb.
What about one of those glass domes or maybe an upside down glass vase to place over this precious plant overnight? If you can find one large enough, it looks like a tall plant!
It would be worth setting up a camera to get the rodents reaction when it tries to leap onto the pot for another go at the pbulb....lol

---------- Post added at 05:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:12 AM ----------

Well that is certainly out of the box thinking! :)

WaterWitchin is the only witch around with no cat. I'm horribly allergic to them. And four house dogs over 65 pounds each see them as fetch and throw toys, which wouldn't help.

And correct... that was one smart-aleck mouse to select the back side of pbulb only. Pretty sure that particular one left the building... with assistance... and won't return.

Now two tiny little blooms on poor Marguerite. We'll see what else finally blooms out instead of blasting. More than four, I'll take a picture. :rofl:

You've not really had "fun" with mice until you have raised a community pot of paph seedlings to the point of most of them finally budding together (with faint hopes of an AQ in the future) - then have all of the buds grazed right off the top.

And likely the final chapter for this poor orchid. Told ya if I got more than a couple of blooms I would share. Here's a photo off Hausermann's website showing what Tsiku Marguerite is supposed to look like:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cture13026.jpg

The fragrance of them is fantastic. And here's what a Mouse Rant Tsiku Marguerite looks like, blooming in all its bud-blasted glory, with hollowed out pbulbs, looks like:

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...cture13024.jpg

Nope, no fragrance here. It's going into a recovery cloche now. Its sad tale?tail? complete. Recovery is doubtful.