Roses vs. Deer
theloud
13 years ago
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jacqueline9CA
13 years agoRelated Discussions
LawnBoy (10685) vs. Toro (20017) vs. John Deere (JS70)
Comments (10)I bought the 10685 last season b/c I had to have a Lawnboy and couldn't find a new 2 cycle close to home. I've since found a few, but still use my 10685 quite often. For mulching its great, side discharge is about as good as any I guess (never really heard of anyone proclaiming the discharge quality of their mower), and it bags well too, but... In my opinion the bag is a bit small. If you stay on top of your grass cutting, and don't let it get too high, then you should be OK. I was accustomed to a snapper hi-vac with a much larger bag and could go so much further before needing to empty the bag, however the LB does a nicer job of bagging than the snapper did. The tec6.5 has tremendous power also. There are many here that knock the newer lawnboys, and I can understand that with the cult following the 2 cycle LB's have... They are purists and thats cool. I wouldn't trade my 10323's or 10550 for anything, but I also don't mind having the 10685 around at all. **Personal experience story - following hurricane Katrina, we were cut off from returning to our homes for weeks. I had been way behind on cutting my grass (almost 3 weeks since last cut when the storm hit) and it was at least 3-4 weeks until I got home after the storm. The house had been flooded due to the local govt. deciding to not run the drainage pumps and we had an extreme amount of work to do. After a full day of removing furniture, drywall, etc. I felt the need to actually see an improvement in the house so I went out to the shed (raised 18" off the ground so didn't flood) and pulled out the 10685. The lawn was hideous to say the least, but I needed to get this done. I setup for side-discharge, jacked the wheels all the way up (4") and just walked through the lawn. The mower slowed/bogged down maybe 3 times throughout the whole cut. You can only imagine the windrows that were left behind... I made a 2nd pass with the wheels set a bit lower (3.5") and concentrated on running over all the piles of grass, and then made a 3rd run mulching with the wheels set just at my normal cut height (3") and finished up for the day. While my finished product was not a 'beautiful' manicured lawn, it was 100x's better than it was before. It at least made me feel like something was getting done and I actually got comments on how nice the mower cut over the next few days from neighbors. It's funny how something like a lawnmower can change a situation and attitude so drastically. Good luck with your purchase. -mike s....See MoreDeere LA140 vs. Sears (Monster) MTS 5500 vs ???
Comments (16)From what little I know, isn't it proper to say that Husqvarna, Sears, and Poulon are all made by American Yard Products? Maybe they come out of the same factory, but I believe AYP is the mother company of all three. Also, in the "for what it's worth" category, I've gotten far more than 10 years out of mower engines. Until I developed arthritis in my knee I was accustomed to walking my 1/2-acre front yard. I had two mowers, both Toros, one from 1975 and one from 1985. The 1975 3hp B&S lasted over twenty years, and the 1985 3.5hp 2-cycle with self-propulsion lasted seventeen years. I think those engines got more torture from use than does the 12.5hp engine in my Toro WH. John...See MoreDeer are eating my roses - suggestions???
Comments (42)The basic rule of thumb is rabbits and deer won't eat poisonous plants. They also tend to avoid very dry, very fuzzy, very scratchy and highly scented plants. Dry and fuzzy things get gummy in their mouths and require water to wash them down. They're eating the plants as much for the water as they are for nutrition. They avoid highly scented plants because it "jams their radar". They all rely upon their senses of smell to detect danger. Highly scented plants, not the flowers but the actual foliage, over power their ability to smell and they can't tell if there are coyotes or other predators in the area so they tend to avoid being so close to them to retain their ability to smell danger. Of course, a highly stressed animal is going to be willing to take more risks and eat things they normally wouldn't. And, they can't read, so are often not familiar with what is often on the "do not eat" lists. Sunset Western Garden book for a long time stated deer won't eat agapanthus, but they will gnaw off all the opening flower clusters, leaving them looking as if Ophelia Addams lives at your house. They tend also to avoid areas with the strong scent of blood as that 'tells' them a kill has occurred and Nature avoids death. Urine from predators can repel them because that indicates their predator has been marking its territory, and they know invading that territory can often result in them being dinner. The commercial and home repellants often work because of the "radar jamming" effects. They tend also to avoid areas where they feel too exposed, particularly where they don't have a fast, easy escape route or where they can easily become trapped. Given their choice, they will usually eat things easily accessed via their entrance and more hidden from view. Increasing stress results in them foraging deeper and deeper into normally considered unsafe areas and their taking greater risks to find food. Using the raised boards or sticks as Strawberryhill suggested is like a cattle guard. Cows see the parallel lines on the ground and instinctively know they can get their hooves caught in them, so they avoid them. Deer need something they fear will trip them or injure them. They can jump a seven foot fence because they can jump high for short distances. They can't and usually won't try jumping two shorter fences placed four or five feet apart from one another. While they can go up high for a short distance, they can't jump long distances without a good running start. The trick is finding which combination works well in your situation and for long periods. They can quickly learn your repellant efforts have no teeth behind them, like the plastic owls on poles with rabbits. If the owls don't actually fly at them, chasing them, the rabbits will quickly learn they can continue grazing right under them with no consequences. So far, the best repellant I've found for all of them are the motion sensor sprinklers. You have to get them set just right to protect the area against the varmint you have to repel, and you have to constantly remember YOU are a "varmint" when seen by the motion detector. It's the surprise of the noise and being hit with a strong, fast stream of cold water when violating the area that keeps that system working against the rabbits and deer. Motion activated lighting works for a short time, but has no "teeth" behind them, so they quickly become accustomed to them and ignore the light. They never ignore a noisy rain bird full of strong, cold water. Get hit with it once and neither will you! The real trick for safety with the motion sensor sprinkler is not to turn the hose on strongly. Too strong and it may cause the hose to burst, resulting in wasting a lot of water and causing flooding should you not find the problem for hours after it occurs. Turning the hose on to a trickle usually allows the pressure to build when needed for that strong, thirty second noisy blast of water. If the hose bursts before the pressure is needed, you shouldn't waste much water at a trickle. Normally, all it takes is one blast an evening to keep the deer out unless you have herds of them to contend with. Kim...See MoreJohn Deere x300 vs Simplicity Reagent
Comments (24)Ive had a lot of simplicities and mostly broodmoors but some regents too and ive had 3 john deeres 2 x300 s and a 100 model that was probably was bad when I got it . The x300 I got new and it was a good tractor but I had a lot of money in it and I got it for a gift from my wife with the payment book so I sold it it was a good mower no problems . I bought used one to cut the lawn at my apartment building it has a crack in the seat and hood but only 241 hrs on it for 500 dollars I cut a good part of a 15 acre field to test it out and it did just fine . I had a regent with the hp kohler high output with the 44 inch deck and cut 3/4 acre for 10 years but it was getting hot lately when I was getting done cutting with it but it was 89 degrees outside . The brood mowers from the mid 90s had plenty of tranny problems I had a number of them that had weak trannys in them. The seats don't crack as easy on a simplicity and the metal hoods I think are better. I keep some broodmoors around because I have lots of leaves to bag and the power blower works good and there are more of them around compared to the john deere ones and used john deeres with power baggers are expensive. I do think they improved the k46 trannys from the ones of the mid 90s but they are just a lawn mower not a garden tractor not meant for hills and steep grades . Go to a garden tractor if you have those kind of conditions to cut it will cost you but you get what you pay for....See Moremariannese
13 years agotheloud
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12 years agoroseblush1
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12 years agojim_w_ny
12 years ago
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