I have just four pepper plants enclosed in 1/4 square inch hardware cloth, its actually wire/metal.
Its the really small stuff used for hamster cages.
They might chew thru the nylon netting and 1 inch chicken wire they can get thru.
Lowes has it in the outdoor garden section.

The bird netting is quit effective..... perhaps a bit too. The one year I double-netted the raised beds I did get The coveted Ripe Tomato.

However, I also got: a variety of snakes, lizards and birds. If I happened to find the critters right away I'd put on the gloves and used a bandage scissors to free them; if not... well.... I'm certain their death wasn't nice.... no food or water and all that.

I haven't put up the bird netting since.

Try a rag soaked in ammonia in an old plastic butter tub. But don't let the ammonia fumes burn your plants.

Come on, westelle. You haven't LIVED until you've spent a half an hour trying to remove embedded bird netting from an eighteen-inch long alligator lizard's head. They have very sharp, tiny teeth-like things in their jaws. You wouldn't deny that experience to Laura now, would you?

You are doing the right thing, Laura. The traps are the best way to get rid of the rats. The other option, as gobluedjm says, is to build a large ugly cage around your plants out of 1/4 or 1/2 inch hardware cloth (very expensive).

But wait- have you considered tying the dachshund up on top of the veggie bed at night? They are supposed to be great ratters...

Do you know why you have a rat problem?? I mean do you have a lot of overgrown palm trees in your area,or a lot of stuff that would cause the rats to come for a visit:(??

I didn't even know rats liked tomatoes and veggies!!Then again i never really thought about what they eat out in the wild.
Kathi

Rats like the same food humans like. They also are attracted to bird feeders for the spilled seeds. Try baiting more traps with peanut butter. Put them along the fence and along the base of the raised beds because rats travel along right next to walls and fences. It helps to wear gloves and not touch the traps with your hands. Rats will avoid the human scent.

Thanks guys! Unfortunately the daschund is asleep on the down comforter at night, spoiled dog! We have rats, as most housing tracts do! Most people just don't know it! I know I have neighbors that leave dog food out at night! I used to have bird feeders, but that just got to be too bad, so now just have hummingbird feeders. Up until a years a go a neighbor behind us had never landscaped his backyard! That is where they lived!

I do have a fountain, but we try to keep everything cleaned up. The backyard fences are just like a freeway! Makes real interesting dinner conversation with your guests when a rat runs across!

We have them hidden along spots along the house and fences and in the raised bed underneath the plant! I have to keep them hidden because of the dog and birds. We caught a blue jay once. I cried!

spoiled dog
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costa's hummer
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We trimmed up the plants today and hopefully will be able to harvest some bounty. We did get one small eggplant!

Thanks again,

Oh yeah. That dog is a stone killer. I can see it in the eyes.

Lovely shot of the Costa's. We have only seen one in our yard in ten years. I thought it was a bug at first.

Here is an article I copied on how to trap rats. It works! We caught our first rat within ten minutes of baiting the trap:

"How to trap a Rat

Buy at least a half-dozen Victor Rat Traps
Buy bacon or ham

Rats travel up against walls, not out in the open, and sometimes you can spot droppings. Rats take the same route over and over again, and anything new gets them very suspicious, and they avoid it. Once a rat sets off a trap without being caught you will never catch that rat, so plan carefully. Best results come from using a dozen traps at a time.

In areas that you suspect may be rat routes, set out your traps without baiting or setting them. Place traps perpendicular to walls with the opening away from the wall. Place a trap at least every 20 feet.

Leave the traps for at least one day and one night without setting or baiting them. The rats will become accustomed to the traps.

In the late afternoon, at least two hours before dusk, place a nice, fresh juicy piece of bacon on each of the traps without setting them. Leave the traps overnight.

The next morning, check the traps. If the bacon has been eaten, place another piece on the trap without setting it. Leave the traps overnight.

The next afternoon, bait the traps with bacon and tie the bacon onto the spike with a piece of fishing line. Set the traps, and put them back exactly where they were. You should get your rat tonight. May God be with you."

The advantage to this technique is that you will not catch scrub jays or dog noses, since you only have the traps set for one night.

Renee

An effective twist to "set out your traps without baiting or setting them." is to set out the traps, bait them, but not set them. Repeat for several days, then bait & set.

Oh yes, wire the trap to something solid/heavy/immovable so that a trapped-but-alive rat doesn't leave w/a trap attached.

I will tell DH about the bait but don't set idea.

Here are a few more pics of hummers:

Rufous
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sharing
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so maybe it was RATS who ate every one of my asclepias, nothing else, and left only the stems!
to add to the mystery and my frustration, i went out this morning to find that the stems had all been chewed to bits right down to the ground and the bits were scattered all around them, like the little stinkers were thumbing their pointy wet noses at me. i am gonna pick up some traps and bacon tomorrow. thanks for the info renee! amazing photos laura. min