5 ms·

I had a neighbour who did a permaculture front yard that was ridiculously beautiful, but unfortunately the tall grasses etc became a haven for rodents which cau

I had a neighbour who did a permaculture front yard that was ridiculously beautiful, but unfortunately the tall grasses etc became a haven for rodents which caused problems for multiple neighbours. Sometimes there are good reasons why a regular grass yard might be ok.

bmitc 4y ago
That's an example of part of the problem though. By originally cutting everything down and destroying the ecosystem, it pushed out the predators that would keep the rodents in check. We have rodents here for sure, but there are also foxes, coyotes, fisher cats, hawks, raccoons, bobcats, and owls.
- LegitShady 4y ago
  I dont want coyotes and bobcats around my house. neither does anyone who has pets or livestock. There's a reason they were pushed out. We still have owls and other birds of prey. We have raccoons and they are annoying and can damage property.
  - nibbleshifter 4y ago
    > We have raccoons and they are annoying and can damage property. Nothing a .22 can't fix, surely?
    - bombcar 4y ago
      You basically have to hit them multiple times and keep shooting night after night if you don’t eliminate the food sources.
    - LegitShady 4y ago
      unfortunately my municipality does not allow it.
      - everforward 4y ago
        If you're in the US, you may want to look at air rifles. They're not a firearm due to the lack of combustion, and you should be able to get some powerful enough to take down raccoons and other small game.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    That's why it's important to leave areas completely undeveloped so that these animals have somewhere to retreat to.
  - anthomtb 4y ago
    >I dont want coyotes and bobcats around my house. neither does anyone who has pets or livestock Only people who do a poor job of looking after their pets and livestock fear natural predators the way you do.
    - Kon-Peki 4y ago
      I’m adjacent to a large natural area. We’ve got plenty of coyote and fox, hawk, owl and other predators. The coyotes are pairing up for mating season, so they start to do crazy things like chase deer through my yard. During the rest of the year, when they tend to be solitary, they stay far far away from people and even mid-size dogs. Get a fire pit and use it occasionally, and they’ll generally be pretty shy near your yard; its a smell nature has taught them to keep away from.
    - LegitShady 4y ago
      I live on the very outskirts of a mid sized city (1.1 million people) and we have tons of coyotes on the outskirts who wander into the city looking for dogs, rabbits, cats, etc every night. Everyone who hears or sees coyotes multiple times a week is careful about things, but also aware that they are a risk to small animals.
- dahfizz 4y ago
  A simple proposition for homeowners - trade your lawn for a bunch of coyotes and raccoons. I wonder why more suburbs don't do that.
  - bmitc 4y ago
    I have all sorts of predators in my area, and the only time you see them is from the security camera picking them up at night, and even that is rare.
  - frereubu 4y ago
    That's a false dichotomy. I'm sure you could come up with something better than that if you put your mind to it.
- nonethewiser 4y ago
  The real problem is living close to your neighbors and wishing you could escape things that entails.
  - schiffern 4y ago
    Vegetation can make an excellent screen against undesired views. A food hedge makes a great fence to screen over an ugly warehouse, bright street, vacant lot, or pesky neighbor. You can also use some kind of structure, of course. Sometimes that will involve more rules, and some people just prefer using plants. Ideally this should be part of a complete sector analysis, which also considers things like sun and wind direction. https://www.greenpathherbschool.com/greenpathblog/permaculture-101 https://www.greenpathherbschool.com/greenpathblog/permacultu... (scroll down to "Sector Analysis") https://smalldesignstudio.wordpress.com/a-permaculture-project/ https://smalldesignstudio.wordpress.com/a-permaculture-proje... (scroll down to "sector map")
empyrrhicist 4y ago
Are you in a city with rats? Otherwise I feel this is often overblown/misattributed. Like, mice are everywhere, permaculture or no.

bmitc 4y ago

That's an example of part of the problem though. By originally cutting everything down and destroying the ecosystem, it pushed out the predators that would keep the rodents in check. We have rodents here for sure, but there are also foxes, coyotes, fisher cats, hawks, raccoons, bobcats, and owls.

LegitShady 4y ago
I dont want coyotes and bobcats around my house. neither does anyone who has pets or livestock. There's a reason they were pushed out. We still have owls and other birds of prey. We have raccoons and they are annoying and can damage property.
- nibbleshifter 4y ago
  > We have raccoons and they are annoying and can damage property. Nothing a .22 can't fix, surely?
  - bombcar 4y ago
    You basically have to hit them multiple times and keep shooting night after night if you don’t eliminate the food sources.
  - LegitShady 4y ago
    unfortunately my municipality does not allow it.
    - everforward 4y ago
      If you're in the US, you may want to look at air rifles. They're not a firearm due to the lack of combustion, and you should be able to get some powerful enough to take down raccoons and other small game.
- bmitc 4y ago
  That's why it's important to leave areas completely undeveloped so that these animals have somewhere to retreat to.
- anthomtb 4y ago
  >I dont want coyotes and bobcats around my house. neither does anyone who has pets or livestock Only people who do a poor job of looking after their pets and livestock fear natural predators the way you do.
  - Kon-Peki 4y ago
    I’m adjacent to a large natural area. We’ve got plenty of coyote and fox, hawk, owl and other predators. The coyotes are pairing up for mating season, so they start to do crazy things like chase deer through my yard. During the rest of the year, when they tend to be solitary, they stay far far away from people and even mid-size dogs. Get a fire pit and use it occasionally, and they’ll generally be pretty shy near your yard; its a smell nature has taught them to keep away from.
  - LegitShady 4y ago
    I live on the very outskirts of a mid sized city (1.1 million people) and we have tons of coyotes on the outskirts who wander into the city looking for dogs, rabbits, cats, etc every night. Everyone who hears or sees coyotes multiple times a week is careful about things, but also aware that they are a risk to small animals.
dahfizz 4y ago
A simple proposition for homeowners - trade your lawn for a bunch of coyotes and raccoons. I wonder why more suburbs don't do that.
- bmitc 4y ago
  I have all sorts of predators in my area, and the only time you see them is from the security camera picking them up at night, and even that is rare.
- frereubu 4y ago
  That's a false dichotomy. I'm sure you could come up with something better than that if you put your mind to it.
nonethewiser 4y ago
The real problem is living close to your neighbors and wishing you could escape things that entails.
- schiffern 4y ago
  Vegetation can make an excellent screen against undesired views. A food hedge makes a great fence to screen over an ugly warehouse, bright street, vacant lot, or pesky neighbor. You can also use some kind of structure, of course. Sometimes that will involve more rules, and some people just prefer using plants. Ideally this should be part of a complete sector analysis, which also considers things like sun and wind direction. https://www.greenpathherbschool.com/greenpathblog/permaculture-101 https://www.greenpathherbschool.com/greenpathblog/permacultu... (scroll down to "Sector Analysis") https://smalldesignstudio.wordpress.com/a-permaculture-project/ https://smalldesignstudio.wordpress.com/a-permaculture-proje... (scroll down to "sector map")

empyrrhicist 4y ago

Are you in a city with rats? Otherwise I feel this is often overblown/misattributed. Like, mice are everywhere, permaculture or no.