OMG that was funny! I'd so love to do away with my tree rats but I think I die of guilt if I actually managed to shoot one of them! I need someone else to come by and shoot them for me. DH actually managed to hit one with a stick - there was a minute of "OH NO! You didn't!!". Then my anti-squirrel side reassreted itself and I was more upset that he didn't hit it hard enough to kill it :-) I'm actually going to rearrange my backyard this fall so I can grow my tomatoes inside some netting. Maybe they'll go pick on someone else's tomatoes... BP

This plant, sometimes called "The Green Dragon", apparently is a very invasive plant in many areas because it grows quite fast and seeds very easily, as you have discovered. The best means of control is to remove the parent plant(s) that are producing the seeds that are growing everywhere and repeatedly dig out any new seedlings as soon as you see them. Vinegar, not the normal grocery store 3 to 5 percent actic acid stuff but a stronger horticultural type, may be something that could help, although it only kills the top growth of any plant it contacts and not the roots.

Msgirl asked very good questions that I always learn from her. Sam, thank you for the reply. Looking at Hawaii's rose park: vivid & deep color, indicative of DEEP & fertile soil rich in volcanic ash. Plus roses in public parks are GRAFTED on Dr. Huey which can reach deep below for nutrients. Chicago Botanical Gardens' hybrid-tea roses are grafted. Even with their loamy fluffy soil: their Old Garden Roses (most are own-roots) can't go down deep ... and their blooms become 1/2 size in our record-rain this year, due to calcium & nutrients leaching. It's worse in my heavy clay, only 1 foot of top soil, below is ICKY sub-clay that no plants can grow, not even weeds. With wimpy own-roots, really tiny like alfalfa sprouts, in 1-foot-soil, and 40 inch. of rain, plus 32 inch. of snow per year ... that will leach out nutrients UNLESS solid stuff is added on top. I see own-roots like babies: if they are really tiny like Jude the Obscure, they can't handle solids, and have to be spoon-fed constantly with tiny, diluted amount of SOLUBLE fertilizer ... tiny roots can't hold much at one time, and die if too much is given. That's why slow-released organics, low NPK 2-1-2 & low-salt like alfalfa works well with own-roots. Re-mineralization on top works for own-roots, since they can't reach deep down. Even with aggressive own-roots like Romantica French roses: it's thick & woody surface roots, rather than a straight stick down like Dr. Huey. Frederic Mistral died after many years in my garden, when I dug that up, thick & woody, but within the top 6" of soil ... I put 1 bag of sand, 1 bag of organics, and 2 bags of top soil. The soil is deep & fluffy & loamy soil ... it's just the nature of the root expanding across, rather than a straight stick down like Dr. Huey. Mirandy is known to survive zone 5a for decades, when I killed it on purpose, the root was a straight-stick deep down, very much like Dr. Huey. Dr. Huey is a huge & woody straight-down stick. He doesn't need to be fed nor watered that often. Dr. Huey is so aggressive that within one month of planting, it reached deep down to the sub-clay beneath, I broke 1/4 of Dr. Huey when I dug up Pink Peace ... but the rose was perky after I re-planted. So re-mineralization is NOT needed for Dr. Huey, he can extend 4 feet across to steal water and nutrients from elsewhere. I spent 1 and 1/2 hour killing Dr.Huey rootstock. Yes, the root extended that far: 4 feet across, and at least 2 feet deep. Someone in Colorado reported killing Dr. Huey, and 5-years later, it sprouted again. My neighbor spent $$$ to have a tree chopped down, but they did not dig up all the roots. Few years later, I saw a bunch of shoots where the tree was chopped off. My zone 5a is infested with ugly, tall Dr. Huey take-overs . Homeowners don't have the time to kill Dr. Huey.

I had some luck with squirrels and birds in the veg garden by installing three different bird baths for them to enjoy. Their favorite was also the cheapest -- a large flat bowl with a wide rim made from rough concrete. There was always a critter party going on there. I also fed birds using squirrel-proof feeders, and the squirrels spent hours every day trying to figure out how to get around the baffles and reach the food. They were especially fascinated by suet cages suspended from a tree. So, keep them busy...