Laura, thanks for your results on the Satsuma fruit. Did the Xie Shan fruit have the top knot? Nice looking cocktail grapefruits. I will be following this thread as I have a cocktail grapefruit with fruit on tree for the first time as well. The fruit are not as large as yours and will not be ripe until sometime this winter, but I am interested in knowing when to pick for optimal flavor. All the literature I have read said that the fruit can be ripe while green, but it is best to pick when at least half of the fruit is flushed with color. It should be heavy, and have give all around the fruit, but still remain firm. It will turn sweeter the longer it is left on the tree. I wonder if the fruit of the Cocktail Grapefruit need cool night temperatures to help with that sweetness?

Thanks Jinny! I think I’ll leave it on a bit longer till the weather turns cooler that way it ripens as much as possible. I hope it’s better than the oroblanco. I can’t say I loved those.

The rats survived your attempts 100%. Glue traps in the tree's container will do the job. Cheese and snap traps work and for squirrels use peanut butter. Fruit that is not quite ripe and from young trees will be of lesser quality than ripe from older trees.

Thanks Steve. Part of the problem is that, although the squirrels drive me crazy, I would rather not hurt them. The mice/rats are not bothering my citrus, but I worry they will start. I have these great snap traps, but I don’t want my dogs to get hurt.

Steve, is there anything I can put down into the hole to kill them?

Rat poison. but the rats will wander off and get eaten by an eagle , fisher, marten, or Fox

If the rat is not a danger to your garden or trees then you might want to leave it alone for it is part of the food chain.

Steve

If you or your neighbor s have bird feeders your problem will never end, besides mice, rats and squirrels have several Young’s. No poisons if can avoid them. Go to google and they might have an answer, how to trap a rat. I just bought a trap for chipmunks, well it is a piece of s......!

Nice you are starting to pick some fruits of your hard earned efforts, patience it is getting better.

They will probably go after your citrus eventually as they love my navel orange tree. They probably got 40-60 navel oranges last year (they punch a hole and eat out the middle) before I got them. We use peanut butter on snap traps but that is harder with dogs as you don’t want them to get snapped.

Laura, for rats or mice, these things worked for my sister. The , oh, I will be back. gota run...OK, back. Place them where you see holes and when they come out they think it's a tunnel..For chipmunks and those critters, the safe non toxic granules keep them from my yard. I stopped using it a while back and should not of since this is the first summer I have had to deal with possums. I threw some down again a few days ago and none since, thank God,. If you decide to go with any of these, good luck. It can be a bit pricey but well worth it.

Nice looking fruit by the way. What a reward for end of summer. Geez, I can't believe I saw them selling snow blowers already outside of Lowe's yesterday. Great job on those unusual citrus trees and I hope you get rid of that pain in the but problem)

https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Natural-Repellent-10lb-Granular/dp/B01FWGWHIO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1535393929&sr=8-3&keywords=i+must+garden+mole+and+vole+repellent

https://www.amazon.com/Rat-Zapper-RZC001-Classic-Trap/dp/B010RJ7VPA/ref=asc_df_B010RJ7VPA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167116476898&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14053606958420268588&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001881&hvtargid=pla-305298429779&psc=1

RATS

Thanks guys! Steve and Mike...I’m going to try the zapper. I’m also going to use the idea in the video Steve linked to put the snap traps in a shoe box so that my dogs don’t get hurt. Steve, I’d not thought about something eating them. I’ll try to avoid the poison. Bob, I think it was my bird feeders that attracted them. I also used to have a compost pile. I think that’s what started the problem. I love feeding the birds though! I may need to stop temporarily though. I have one feeder on a window that they cannot possibly reach unless they can climb on glass!

there may be one for rats

Thank you Steve! I bought the one for mice and hope it works! You guys are awesome. I also bought the zapper...this is war!! After my last response, I saw two come out of the hole I put the hose into...ugh...you were right Steve! They’re not huge, and normally I would not care, but it freaks me out that come winter, they will try to come inside my warm house...

I use to feed birds but don't anymore. I do gave them 2 watering pools, very shallow, they use them for drinking and bathing, they come at noon and then again around 5.Bunches of them, all different kinds.By evening no water left.

Laura, my cocktails usually mature by mid to late December. As far as the rats go, you must stay relentless - - because they are. They will keep coming.

I use a combination of snap traps and bait stations placed strategically in the yard, in the garage, and anywhere I think they might hide or sneak into. peanut butter as well as vanilla extract soaked cotton pads tied to the trigger seem to work rather well.

Owls and cats do a fine job and so if you can get them to work for you - better yet!

This video shows the importance of having a good cat to control rats

Steve, where the heck do you find these awesome videos. All I've been doing for the past hour is looking them.lol

Laura, let's hope it all works. Nothing worst than having them inside to feed on all that fruit and leaves. I hate them. The thought of them coming inside makes me sick like you. Also, check your foundations before your trees come inside to make sure there is no access into your home...Please keep up updated. Those should know what they are going up against with you, ha!

Mike I just googled Rat beats the S.,;' out of cat and then click on the videos only button or you can "youtube" rat beats -------.

You can find all kinds of ways to take care of Varmint.

Mike you will like this one

We have about 3 neighborhood cats that prowl our backyard and still have rats when the oranges are ripe. You certainly need the right cat if you go that route.

Oh no Laura, rats and mice are annoying, their population grows fast if left unchecked. Trap them and get rid of them, also watch your house walls and foundation. Couple of years ago one of my friends had a crack in her house wall in between blocks, the rodents took advantage of that. She got rid of them using traps.

City of Boston kills rats by dropping Dry Ice into the rat holes. It asphyxiates them and there is no problem with using poisons.

If you have rats, then there must food food for them somewhere. Try to eliminate the food source.

Thank you guys. Bob, I am going to stop feeding the birds :( but will leave the bird bath as you suggested. Molewhacker (are you George or is it Bacon??LOL) thanks for the fruit advice. I will wait to pick it then. Sunshine and Mike, thanks for the thoughts and advice. I will keep you updated. Steve, you crack me up!! Vladimir, is dry ice toxic? Can I put it down the hole without it hurting my dogs? I would gladly go out and buy some! I have a nice shoebox that I am going to use to put a snap trap into as in one of the videos Steve suggested. These snap traps are amazingly effective, but watch your fingers!!

fibevon Mouse Trap, Rat/Mice Trap That Work Humane Power Rodent Killer 100% Mouse Catcher [Quick & Effective & Reusable & Sanitary] Safe for Families and Pet - 6 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DC9MDRP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_-GsHBbZDPAN93

Oh and unfortunately I can’t get a cat. In our weather, the cat has to come inside during winter and one of my my daughters is extremely allergic to cats. However, my Australian Shepherd is a great hunter - she has caught one rat and several mice. She does not eat them, just proudly displays and guards her kill :)

Laura, Dry Ice is solid carbon dioxide which turns into carbon dioxide gas at ambient temperature and is not poisonous. It will asphyxiate in a confined space, so it is best stored outdoors. Handle it with gloves because it is very cold and can damage skin. Here is additional safety information: http://dept.harpercollege.edu/chemistry/msds/Dry%20Ice%20Praxair.pdf

I have used Dry Ice in the lab many times without incident.

Dry ice Where does one get dry ice or make it them selves

Feeding birds is actually a bad idea, they are ment to control nature and doing a remarkable job. If you feed them they will do just a so so job.

Years ago in one of my posts l call squirrels tree rats and that is what they are, nothing less.

You can find a Dry Ice supplier by Googling. Usually companies that supply industrial gases also sell Dry Ice.

If you see small rodents in underground tunnels, you may actually have voles. But I set up small mouse and rat traps with corn and peanut butter when I can. I cover them over with a overturned plastic pot with holes cut out that the rodents can enter through. This way the traps are under cover. I place a rock on top of the pots. I suppose dogs could be curious and overturn them though.

Most of the mice are caught over-night. I catch many chipmunks as well, but in the daytime. They can be really damaging to my young seedlings in pots.

Dave and Vladimir, thanks. I will stop feeding the birds Bob, I had not thought of that. I just like to watch them come and eat. They’ll have to settle for a nice bird bath from now on. Dave, these are rats. I just looked up voles and compared them to what I’ve seen and caught...yep...rats. Ugh. I am going to look into the dry ice Vladimir.

My dog does a good job in it's younger days, she is going on 15 now , still runs if called.

Bob, hahahah. I just love it. Can I rent him? And you are right about feeding birds. I use to do that until I had bird seeds growing on me all over my yard and squirrels in massive amounts digging up my pots and mulched beds. Mice too were a problem.

Laura, please if you can show us your set ups and prizes if they work. It never occurred to me that they like Citrus Fruit let alone other weird things.

Bob, I've got dibs on your dog!

Sometimes i have to worry about these guys, much bigger than a rat and they eat more, notice one something blue around its neck. It belong to a neighbor.

Most of the times there are a whole lot more.

My grocery store sells dry ice.

OMG Laura! At least your pups are earning their keep. One of my sisters has a tortie cat and a black lab and both of them will just stare at the zoo creatures in the yard when they are out on the deck chilling and won't budge. Then they will look up at you like "What? You want me to do something about that????? Humph...I don't think so."

I think one time the cat did bring back a chipmunk "present" but that was a few years ago. :-D

Yeah Jenny, they do try! Lila is quite fast and agile. Morning update: one rat caught! Yay! I felt bad bc I do think it suffered....those traps are usually very effective. Either way, it’s dead - one down...many to go.

House cats are worthless. They couldn't even take down a cucumber.

Steve

Steve that's hilarious! They have such sensitive hearing that I expect they believed they would have sensed (heard) something had "crept up" near them. So when they didn't hear/sense it and turned around to see that suddenly there, they freaked. Definitely good on-the-fly survival skills though. lol

Laura - congrats on getting one! Hopefully more to follow.

Steve hahahaha

Steve that is hilarious!