Mice. Who knew!

[Dog's Life]

A bit of a backstory, a month or two ago I had a frozen pipe and had to remove a panel in my wall to access it. When I closed it back up, there was a 3/4 inch gap from a crawl space to the flowering room. I didn't think too much of it as the room was empty at the time. Last night, I was watering, and noticed some damage to the bottom of the stem of a plant. Upon further inspection, all three plants had been chewed all the way around. I've caught mice down there in the past. Little buggers. I remember the Frank/ Rosenthal book mentioning this.

They don't at the moment appear too damaged, as in the leaves aren't wilted. Today is day three of flowering, so they're just starting out. I sealed the gap with a 1x1.

Has this happened to anyone? Will the wounds heal and the plant return to normal? Or will they be stunted?

Over two decades growing. This one is new to me. Oh, well… Live and learn!

 

[mojave green]

this be the only mouse i like

 

[INDODRO]

Yea I had that happen one winter. Had a rat that would get into my grow and just chew like the first layer of the stalks of the plants. A couple of rat traps and peanut butter took care of that! I didn't notice any negatives effects on the plants and they grew just fine. I wonder what would've happened had I not killed the rat, like if he would've ended up killing the plant or maybe eat the bud.

 

[HidingInTheHaze]

I had a rat get in to my grow room once too, worst pest ever, it terrorized my grow for a few months before I figured out what it was and how to catch it. It ate some great genetics but at least it didn't get to my most cherished mothers.

The stupid thing would take down whole plants right at the base.

 

[Dog's Life]

That's exactly the case here. The first layer.

I found my mouse cube and placed it with reliable peanut butter (who can resist!).

I assume left unchecked, the offender would chew it down.

Thank you for a helpful reply! But I agree with mojave green, too!

 

[Dog's Life]

The Rosenthal/Frank book I grew up on suggested putting a tin can over the plant when it's small, to protect against chewers. I think I'll start that practice for my outdoor grows.

But in hindsight, it was really dumb of me to leave that gap.

 

[Ichabod Crane]

The stupid thing would take down whole plants right at the base.

Had this happen to a few plants as well. That is till one day he came flying out of a 6 inch fan and stumbled around in circles till I caught him.

 

[Dog's Life]

I would have loved to see that. Justice.

Indodro, I'm just hoping it's a mouse, mostly die to the gap it squeezed in. How do you think I'd know the difference between a mouse and a rat based on chew marks? I haven't seen the chewer I just assume it's a mouse from previous catches. Having a mouse in the house seems an acceptable nuisance. Having a rat seems unsanitary. I'm pretty far in the mountains, but you got me thinking…

Any other good rat stories?

BTW, the tin can thing is open at both ends so the plant grows thru it.

 

[aridbud]

Small mesh chicken wire type dome to base of plant....did that religiously living in rural mountains. Skinks (not skunks)....shiny hissing lizards....they were the culprit. Also bunnies, mice, squirrels.. To aid the limping stem....popsicle stick taped to allow support but not damage the stem surface. Pot is resilient if you gingerly care for what's ailing them.

Castor beans takes care of them too....give em something to chew on...just be sure your pets/kids do not chomp on them.

 

[FiveLeggedGoat]

Back when I first started growing, I had a mouse chew the tops off every one of my seedlings....ruined them all. A pack of Apollo Trip from Rez and a pack of Nebula from Paradise turned into rat shit....I was heartbroken.

 

[Dog's Life]

I think if I put up wire mesh the chewer might walk up it and chew at the next available stem… ?

Agreed - Pot is resilient. Incredibly so.

I've chased a bunch of them, but never heard a skink hiss. Ever heard a Cow Killer ant hiss?

 

[HidingInTheHaze]

Having a mouse in the house seems an acceptable nuisance. Having a rat seems unsanitary. I'm pretty far in the mountains, but you got me thinking…

Roof rats live in the woods and they are opportunistic feeders.

They are much smaller than what you think of when you think of a rat, Norway rats are the most typical large rats. Roof rats are in between a mouse and a Norway rat.

 

[Dog's Life]

How did you find your mouse?

Plant losses not due to your own neglect suck harder.

 

[Dog's Life]

They are much smaller than what you think of when you think of a rat

Just thinking I might need a bigger trap than my little mouse cube. This area of the house isn't the most "sealed" structure. There's several potential entry points. I have a live catch squirrel size trap. Again, as I assume it's a mouse I also assume it got in thru that particular gap. I could be wrong on both.

Great input. Thanks

 

[HidingInTheHaze]

Get some giant sized sticky traps they're better than the snap traps and you can catch anything in one trap.

 

[MrGoodBudz]

I had field rats in my grow killed 3 mature flower plants.

I had field rats in my grow killed 3 mature flower plants.

Live in mountain area. Noticed 20 or so of my 30 flower plants stalks chewed at base. After further investigations realized I had a small access hole into my flower room. 3 or 4 days later noticed that 3 of the plants were yellowing while rest of batch still green. A couple days after that most of the fan and flower leaves had dropped or yellow. 7 days later plants were completely dead! I did look into rats in grows. The plants are NOT a food source for rats and mice. They are merely found convenient as chewing toys because rats and mice front teeth never stop growing! They are really using your stalks as teeth files and in most cases nesting material as well. Oh and my plants did not technically die from the "chewing" damage. Rats and mice carry a bacteria in their saliva that essentially became a toxic systemic to the plant tissue. Killing the plant from the inside out.

 

[Dog's Life]

sticky traps

I've used these in the past, with great success. Great idea. If I can get to town tomorrow (snow!) I'll pick some up.

 

[Dog's Life]

MrGB

Great… So I may still look forward to a slow death.. lol

But great info. Thanks

 

[Dog's Life]

That's where the can might work. The teeth sharpening thing

 

[Dog's Life]

Is cannabis physiology different than a woody tree, like a pine, where if you remove all the bark in a circle, the tree dies? The xylem and phloem? or does cannabis route water thru the whole stem?