A Hungry, Nocturnal Visitor

[Saitch]

Our sweet potato bed. 1st pic, night 1, 2nd pic, night 2. :o

I'm thinking Bandicoot? A bloody big one, at that. The boards have been forced apart in places. A witty friend suggested it may be a Bobcat. [biggrin]

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[trout1105]

Next time you want your garden turned over you now know exactly what to do[bigwhistle]
Maybe a very liberal sprinkling of white peper powder every now and then will deter the little rascal [thumbsupbig]

[B.S.F.]

Echidna ?
.W.

[trout1105]

Echidna ?
.W.

Echidna's eat ants, I don't think that sweet potatoes are their thing.

[B.S.F.]

The OP didn't say the sweet potatoes were eaten, he just said the bed was dug up.
.W.

[Saitch]

The OP didn't say the sweet potatoes were eaten, he just said the bed was dug up.
.W.

My apologies. The 'taties were definitely the target. [biggrin] A rather large one, house brick size, was devoured in one, overnight sitting.

[Gav 110]

Maybe rabbits? kangaroos? wombats? drop bears?[emoji12]

After drought and bushfire, sweet potato is among measures keeping wildlife fed - ABC News (https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.abc.net.au/article/11829064)
Any wallabies in your area?

[Don 130]

Rats. We had the same result from growing sweet potato. The buggers dug under the tubers and ate them from underneath. We had a bumper crop and most of them got nibbled or completely eaten. Because of the way they dug under, we weren't aware of the damage until it was almost too late to salvage anything.
Don.

[scarry]

My guess is rats as well.
Bandicoots eat insects,and at times plants,and fruit.When they dig they made a small inverted pyramid type hole,if that makes any sense.

[Saitch]

OK. The culprits have been identified. Our resident Brush Turkeys have taken a liking to the 'taties. That explains the rather large excavation.[smilebigeye]

[350RRC]

My guess is rats as well.
Bandicoots eat insects,and at times plants,and fruit.When they dig they made a small inverted pyramid type hole,if that makes any sense.

If you're going to deal with them use Rattoff ZP so you preserve the aerial day and night hunters of these things.

Skies have been emptied of raptors here over 10 yrs from people using using wax blocks with type 2 ingredients for rats and mice............... result has been more rats and mice.

DL

[trout1105]

OK. The culprits have been identified. Our resident Brush Turkeys have taken a liking to the 'taties. That explains the rather large excavation.[smilebigeye]

Much better 5o look at than rats[thumbsupbig]

[scarry]

If you're going to deal with them use Rattoff ZP so you preserve the aerial day and night hunters of these things.

Skies have been emptied of raptors here over 10 yrs from people using using wax blocks with type 2 ingredients for rats and mice............... result has been more rats and mice.

DL

Correct,a mate of mine has recently been finding dead Kookaburras in his pool.He has since found out one of the neighbours has started using rat poison.[bigsad]

I use Elliotte traps for them,which are live traps,even better.They often go into the trap even with no bait,particularly the younger ones.

[B.S.F.]

OK. The culprits have been identified. Our resident Brush Turkeys have taken a liking to the 'taties. That explains the rather large excavation.[smilebigeye]
Now you're doomed! To get rid of Brush Turkeys, which are a protected species drastic steps have to be taken.
.W.

[Saitch]

If you're going to deal with them use Rattoff ZP so you preserve the aerial day and night hunters of these things.

Skies have been emptied of raptors here over 10 yrs from people using using wax blocks with type 2 ingredients for rats and mice............... result has been more rats and mice.

DL

No poisons on the property here. We try to be our own little, wildlife refuge, without the meddling from outside, Greenie type organisations. [bigsmile1]

[Saitch]

Now you're doomed! To get rid of Brush Turkeys, which are a protected species drastic steps have to be taken.
.W.

We don't want to get rid of them. Bruce, the boss turkey, has been here for years, as have a couple of female turkeys. Just recently we have had a younger male, Brutus, coming up to the house. The culprit.

The neighbour and I have just cleared a two blade width, along about 1400 metres of old fence line, to whack up a new one. This meant pushing through some scrub, which I think has disturbed the birds.

[trout1105]

Seeing that the birds live there they are really not stealing at all, They are just taking their share of the garden.
A fair swap for all the gasshoppers these birds eat and the enjoyment they give you don't you think[thumbsupbig]

[scarry]

Now you're doomed! To get rid of Brush Turkeys, which are a protected species drastic steps have to be taken.
.W.

Hmm,one Springer Spaniel soon sorts them out.
Easy as.They usually fly up into a tree,but are very reluctant to come down or come back,they just seem to bypass our yard[biggrin]

[Saitch]

Hmm,one Springer Spaniel soon sorts them out.
Easy as.They usually fly up into a tree,but are very reluctant to come down or come back,they just seem to bypass our yard[biggrin]

They wander within a few metres of our Border Collie. He only gets annoyed if they get too near his food bowl, empty or not.
I have confirmed that a turkey is the culprit as, this a.m. there was a definite Megapod print in the garden bed..............
as well as another potato peel. [biggrin]

[trout1105]

I have all sorts of different birds that hang arround the place on a pretty much permanent basis and Yes they do some damage to my veggie patches But I counteract that by planting way more than I need So this way everyone gets a feed from the garden.
My olive tree fruits prolifically and I usually pick about 20l a year and the birds can have the rest, The 28's love feasting on the fallen fruit.
Spud, onions melons, pumpkins and cucumbers seem to be immune to bird predation here it is mainly the tomato's, peas/beans, chiilies and capsicum that they like to have a bit of a chew on occasionally.
I feed the magpies and butcher birds once or twice a week and this seems to stop them getting "grumpy" at nesting time.

A garden without birds is a pretty dull and lifeless place in my opinion so I don't begrudge them a bit of a feed every now and then[thumbsupbig]

[Xtreme]

Hmm,one Springer Spaniel soon sorts them out.
Easy as.They usually fly up into a tree,but are very reluctant to come down or come back,they just seem to bypass our yard[biggrin]
Similar action here plus the occassional jet of water when the dog is not around, although lately I only have to head towards the hose and they take off at full speed to the neighbours. :BigThumb:

[scarry]

I have all sorts of different birds that hang arround the place on a pretty much permanent basis and Yes they do some damage to my veggie patches But I counteract that by planting way more than I need So this way everyone gets a feed from the garden.
My olive tree fruits prolifically and I usually pick about 20l a year and the birds can have the rest, The 28's love feasting on the fallen fruit.
Spud, onions melons, pumpkins and cucumbers seem to be immune to bird predation here it is mainly the tomato's, peas/beans, chiilies and capsicum that they like to have a bit of a chew on occasionally.
I feed the magpies and butcher birds once or twice a week and this seems to stop them getting "grumpy" at nesting time.

A garden without birds is a pretty dull and lifeless place in my opinion so I don't begrudge them a bit of a feed every now and then[thumbsupbig]

No possums?

Bloody things get into anything that we grow.They are too quick for the dog,she chases them off,but they sneak back.

My mother used to lose flowers on some of her pot plants.Eventually she saw the culprit,it was a lizard.
One of our sons has Cockatoos pinching his passionfruit.They are a real PITA as they take them,have a couple of bites,drop them then come back for another.

[RANDLOVER]

No possums?

Bloody things get into anything that we grow. They are too quick for the dog, he chases them off, but they sneak back.
..............

Possums certainly are fast, the other night I was standing in my front garden and two possums ran/fell out of my neighbour's tree and ran in opposite directions, they must've been fighting, but one ran directly at me so I quickly moved to stop it thinking I was a tree, in case it decided to climb up me for safety!