The dreaded Bandicoot strikes

[pmrid]

Does anyone have any suggestions for controlling these pesky blighters?

I have an area of about 2 hectares on my farm that I have set aside to be a mixed fruit and natives garden. Lawns separating clusters of citrus, apples, nectarines etc and various lovely native trees and bushes.

It's been going now for about 2 years and everything was going nicely. Until recently when I seem to have been invaded by bandicoots.

I did a rough count today and stopped when the number of freshly dug holes in the lawns and garden beds went over 5 hundred. They're everywhere.

Of course, these wee beasties are protected so anything terminal is not on. But I would be delighted to learn any effective method for discouraging them - or better still encouraging them to emigrate - perhaps to NZ.

Peter

[el_draco]

Dump the lawn and garden and call it "land for wildlife"... No mowing, no weeding and you get to enjoy sharing the land with the "rightful owners". Fence your trees and call it detente. ;);)

[LewisM]

Rule 303.

Oh, you said non-lethal.

No idea.

[raymo]

My daughter has about a hectare, and has a resident family of bandicoots.
They have been there for years. They come out morning and evening, and she either feeds them by hand or sprinkles the food on the ground.
They LOVE sunflower seeds. Periodically, the latest young ones come along
too. Strangely, their numbers don't seem to increase, and they don't dig
obvious holes, just disappear into the bush between feeds.
raymo

[csb]

Do bandicoots live in burrows?

Perhaps you have seen some bandicoots and assumed naturally assumed they live in the holes.

[pmrid]

No, Craig. We're at cross-purposes. These holes are not habitats. They're semi-conical in shape and are about the size of your hand, and about 50mm deep. They're foraging for grubs, spiders etc I suppose. But the sheer scale of their earthworks would put a coal-mine to shame.

Peter

[RB]

Cheeky..... :lol:

[LewisM]

They make for tasty souvlaki

[multiweb]

Doctor neo cortex should take care of that one.

[LewisM]

How about cages Peter?

Then relesse them over the bridge somewhere

[multiweb]

I'd get all sort of little wheels and ladders make a mini circus and charge people for admission then get a bigger mount and a bigger scope. :thumbsup:

[guipago]

LewisM is on it, go to a local vet & get the phone no. for your wildlife services & see if they can supply some traps or come up with a better idea.

[LewisM]

Oh, yeah mean like a scale model of Parliament?

[AstralTraveller]

Yep - no bandishoot allowed.

[Kunama]

I have been pressing the 'LIKE THIS POST' button but nothing happened so here is a :thumbsup:

[Kunama]

Vivre et Laisser Vivre !!!

[Nebulous]

Yep, that's pretty much what we've done... :) We have learned to "reframe" the hole digging as "soil aeration", and have grown fond of them.

The hole digging isn't confined to bandicoots either. Galahs and Corellas, etc are also enthusiastic miners for edible roots (?), nodules (?) or other unspecified goodies.

As Raymo said they're fond of sunflower seeds, and they are reputed to love peanut butter too. So perhaps laying out a very long trail of sunflower seeds and peanut butter heading over the hills and far away could lead them out of what has clearly became a bandicoot paradise and into a new Promised Land? OK, maybe not...

Bandicoots rely heavily on their sense of smell so there may well be a particular smell that deters them (EDIT: The ammonia smell of chook manure is supposed to be a deterrent, as are bright lights, but the sheer size of the area to defend is a problem. Fencing off smaller key areas might be one answer.). Possums dislike the smell of mothballs for instance, but that would be far too expensive and ecologically dodgy on a large scale. "Our" bandicoots are fairly easily spooked by sudden movements too, so maybe some sort of scarebandi that was triggered by motion sensors might be devised?

Or engage the services of the local "police" - they enjoy chasing off the "Bandits" (see attached pictures) ;)

[multiweb]

Nah... bandicoots know better than to lower themselves to that level.

[multiweb]

Bien sur. :lol:

[pmrid]

Lewis, I just did the math. 500 holes, say 5 holes per beastie per night equals how many cages? And can you imagine emptying out several hundred angry bandocoots at once. Even transporting them., Besides, it's illegal to even trap them - like snakes and kiwis - they're sacred unto the Gods and you can't even think mean thoughts about them.

Peter

[LewisM]

Ultrasonics?

[multiweb]

I'd capture the sexiest female of the bunch and put her on the neighbourg's property. Time will tell.

[darrellx]

Peter

I have (or had) a similar problem. But I did what Nebulous has suggested - fence off key areas. I now have four fenced "gardens" that contain my fruit trees. I went to Bunnings and got a few of the 30 meters of Dog Wire rolls; 1200 mm high and cut them in half. So I had twice as many 30 meter rolls 600 mm high. I then ran this around the bottom of the fences.

I have also noticed, on the trees outside the fenced areas, that the mulch I use makes a significant difference. If I use any of the wood chip or bark mulches, the diggings are so bad that the trees actually get dug out of the ground. Where I have used a straw or grass mulch, almost no diggings.

As a bit of a decoy, I have setup two small composting areas that just has some of the above bark chips with cow manure. They absolutely pound that area and seem to get their fill.

All up, I seem to have a comfortable balance now.

Good luck.
Darrell

[Tandum]

Hey Peter,
https://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/livingwith/bandicoots.html

These guys recon they are after lawn grubs so kill off the grubs and they'll go elsewhere.

[pmrid]

Thanks for the input guys. I broadcast a ruddy great heap of dynamic lifter pellets yesterday. The ammonia smell may be sufficient to discourage temporarily. But in the long run, I think it's Bandicoots 1, me zero. You gotta know when to fold ém.
Peter

[rally]

You need to advertise "Bandicoots available for relocation" - for the purpose of repopulating areas of extinction and genetic endangerment of low population.
Perhaps you could also sell them your "secret recipe" for repopulation and then open it up as a Bandicoot Park and make some money out of it from tourism !

Maybe that wasnt helpful
What sort of dogs are you breeding their anyway C-: - suggest some Hungarian Vizslas would be effective deterrents

[Hoges]

I've got some ultrasonic rodent deterrents around the place - they seem to work for rats & mice - not foolproof by any means but may be worth a try. Also, some farmers in my area have lights that go on and off during the night (setup in the paddock) to discourage foxes - I have no idea if bandicoots don't like lights but it could be worth investigating.

Blood and bone? Chilli flakes? If they're following a particular path in, maybe some chicken netting strategically placed around the fence lines and dug in a little?

[xelasnave]

Poor little things.
You are blessed to have such visitors.
If you wish to claim exclusive use of anything it is best to fence it off.
Try getting some photos of the little darlings so you can make a list and give them names.
Alex

[Boozlefoot]

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/australian/possum-bandicoot-soup1.html