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Indian Myna - more of a pest than I thought:

The Indian Myna has been rated by the World Conservation Union as one of the world’s 100 most invasive species. It has been rated an Extreme Threat in Australia and won the dubious distinction of receiving the Pest of Australia award in the Wild Watch Quest for Pests 2005. It beat the cane toad and feral cat to get this award!
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Info here: http://www.indianmynaaction.org.au/

I have a heap of these little ba@#!*ds that keep damaging things in my garden and take dips in my swimming pool.

It's been nick-named the flying cane toad.

Anyone else have problem Myna's in their yard?
 

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Rowland, haven`t had any problems Indian Mynas native Mynas can get to strawbs and tomatoes here on the Central Coast NSW.

My major concerns are with bush turkeys and the dreaded Possum:eek:.

Have sprinkled hot chilli powder, cayenne powder, Poss Off to no avail. Thinking of going down the Wasabi trail, and if that doesn`t work it may be the electric
fence or the AK47.

Anyone have any solutions?:banghead:
 
roland said:
Indian Myna - more of a pest than I thought:



Info here: http://www.indianmynaaction.org.au/

I have a heap of these little ba@#!*ds that keep damaging things in my garden and take dips in my swimming pool.

It's been nick-named the flying cane toad.

Anyone else have problem Myna's in their yard?
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I have a problem with them, which is severely exacerbated atm, by the profuse red-flowering trees I have.

They like eating them.

For the last week or so, there has been a non-stop racket outside my window.

I went to find the cause, and what it is are Rainbow Lorikeets, which have been attracted by the red flowers, are in conflict with the mynas.

My "Field Guide to Australian Birds" describes the call of the Rainbow Lorikeet as "continuous screeching"

I can testify it is an apt description, but they shut up if the mynas are not there.

The problem is the mynas are territorial and stay.

They all shut up while i gave them a very serious looking at...it will be hose up the clacker time if they dont pipe down.

goddam possums ate every mango and peach, plus they sound like bears on my garage roof.

I would catch them, except my mate who is an environmental consultant, working on a possum project atm, told me caught and released ones usually die a pitiful death
 
awg said:
I would catch them, except my mate who is an environmental consultant, working on a possum project atm, told me caught and released ones usually die a pitiful death
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That information means that it better to shoot the b#^*#!* than catch and release. I knew I was doing the right thing all the time.
 
I agree with Buckfont. Don't get sentimental about possums. They are an absolute scourge. Just like the damn disease ridden flying foxes.

However much I hate them (being a Kiwi might have something to do with this where they are the country's no. 1 pest), I can't bear seeing any creature cruelly treated.

Shoot them if you can and if you're a decent shot.
 
Julia said:
I agree with Buckfont. Don't get sentimental about possums. They are an absolute scourge. Just like the damn disease ridden flying foxes.

However much I hate them (being a Kiwi might have something to do with this where they are the country's no. 1 pest), I can't bear seeing any creature cruelly treated.

Shoot them if you can and if you're a decent shot.
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Me too.

The damn things can multiply and become almost as big a pest as mice and rabbits where they can scrounge on plentiful food sources such as in
gardens or crops.

Fortunately for me, I got my cats to keep the rat and mice problem from the neighbouring bushland under control, (I got tired of laying poison baits) but they don't discriminate and have a field day when the young possoms start scrounging around the house and scrambling up the screen doors and roof. :D
 
Possums are like rats. I'm generally an animal lover, but if i could, i would shoot a possum. But not before I'd taken out a few minah birds - i don't have possum problems here, thankfully, but the minahs drive me INSANE digging everythign up, throwing everything about the place, making that awful noise they make... eating all the tomatoes and strawberries just as they become ripe.

I actually took the bell off my cat's collar in the hope that she would kill a few, but she hasn't. More's the pity. Is a gun licence the next logical step? ;)
 
roland said:
Corriander - had a huge crop, now all turned to seed, but haven't had to buy corriander for 6 months. Just waiting on a new batch.
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I see Rolands reference to corriander, I grew some from a punnet, eventually went to seed which I collected. Threw some into the garden (a while later) but nothing grew.
Any tips?
 
jb , I hate coriander so don't know anything about growing it, but with other herbs, especially basil, I've found the best results come from allowing the plants to go to seed, just dropping that seed directly onto the ground, rather than collecting it and planting later.

When a seed head looks dry, if you just gently rub it between your fingers and let it fall, water very very lightly, you should be rewarded a while later with little new seedlings. It's a lot simpler than doing the whole collection/replanting thing.
 
My wife and I have set up a vegetable patch in our backyard in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The pigeons are going nuts digging up the seeds from the patch and it's reducing our crop quite significantly. We've tried to stake and rope off the patch, but that hasn't really detered the pigeons, so we tied balloons with faces to the twine. However, that still hasn't really worked.

Short of shooting the rat-birds, anyone else have any bright ideas we could implement?
 
McCoy Pauley said:
My wife and I have set up a vegetable patch in our backyard in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The pigeons are going nuts digging up the seeds from the patch and it's reducing our crop quite significantly. We've tried to stake and rope off the patch, but that hasn't really detered the pigeons, so we tied balloons with faces to the twine. However, that still hasn't really worked.

Short of shooting the rat-birds, anyone else have any bright ideas we could implement?
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Try old cd's hanging from string the movement / reflection often keeps them away or a bit otherwise shoot the rat-birds
 
jbocker said:
I see Rolands reference to corriander, I grew some from a punnet, eventually went to seed which I collected. Threw some into the garden (a while later) but nothing grew.
Any tips?
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I've never grown corriander, but I have a "Plant Breeder" qualification for one particular crop, but the fundamentals are the same across all seed producing crops.

The first thing that defines the quality and viability of seed is the nutritional health of the host plant. Low nutrition = less viable seed.

Secondly, many have some form of germination inhibiter around the seed to protect it until the right circumstances for germination occur. Often its a fluid encapsulated in a sack or some form of shell or husk. This is cleaned/washed off for commercial seed production and storage. But if you plant the fresh seed straight away or even just let it dry on a plate or paper towel in the kitchen for a few days first, it will still grow fine.

The seed moisture content is vital in determining it's viability and shelf life. It it is dried out too much it dies. A general rule of thumb is dry in the shade to avoid cooking in the suns heat, stirring ocassionally until they stop sticking together. If too wet they will grow fungus and die when stored.

Storage life varies widely with varities and preparation. Once properly grown and prepared, seed is usually placed in an airtight bag or container and optimium storage is achieved in a stable cool, dark enviornment, often a fridge.

I have never grown corriander, but with shallow or surface plantings, I would keep moist until germination and, or cover with a light mulch or shade blanket. An old tactic for carrots, is to cover with a hesian bag until the first sign of germination.

As for birds in the veg patch... you need a cat to keep them at bay ;) :D

You can put a collar around trees to stop the cats climbing to get birds in their nests or perch if you want too.

roland said:
I made a slingshot and after a week or so I now have no more bird problems :)
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Get a cat... you can then plead ignorant for any collatoral damage. ;)
 
I took this picture of our vegie garden on Saturday. Good thing we hadn't put anything in yet!

Vegiegarden.jpg
 
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