DEAR JOAN: Sooner or later my sister in Santa Clara was driving her automotive when she smelt one thing burning. She pulled over and popped the hood and noticed that one thing had stashed some prickly pears within the engine.
She all the time parks subsequent to a cactus in her entrance yard. What sort of animal would stick this fruit in a automotive?
— Tim Avila, Santa Clara
DEAR TIM: Prickly pears stashed within the engine compartment is the work of a rodent, more than likely a rat.
It may very well be your run-of-the-mill rat or probably a wooden rat, also called a pack rat. You possibly can’t rule out squirrels utterly, however some kind of rat is the more than likely perpetrator.
In case your sister hasn’t already, she ought to examine her automotive completely for different harm. Along with treating the automotive like a pantry, additionally they chew on wiring.
If it’s a wooden rat, she’ll in all probability discover its home close by – a big and rising assortment of sticks and different objects.
To forestall rats from stepping into the automotive, she will be able to spray the engine space with peppermint oil. Inserting a lightweight beneath the automotive or contained in the engine compartment may function a deterrent. Rats additionally like their privateness, so leaving the hood up at night time may assist.
DEAR JOAN: Till just lately I had a chook feeder hanging in my entrance yard that I stored stuffed with (costly) sunflower hearts. It appeared like each small chook within the county needed to spend time consuming right here.
The feeder ultimately bought fairly soiled so I changed it with an identical one, solely to seek out the eating crowd abandoning me. I do not know why. The one prospects I can consider are one, the previous feeder had a brilliant yellow prime, or two, this feeder doesn’t appear to provide as many seeds to the tray.
I’ve gone from 15 kilos of seed per week to fifteen kilos of seed ready within the bag. Do you will have every other concepts?
— George, Santa Clara
DEAR GEORGE: Your two theories are legitimate. Birds could be specific about their eating institutions and even the slightest change may depart them chilly.
Different causes may very well be the change of the season and the supply of meals from nature. Many birds’ consuming habits and necessities change all year long. Within the fall, birds usually tend to eat meals larger in energy and fats, bulking up for his or her migration or serving to them survive the colder temperatures of winter. Within the spring and summer season, diets usually embrace extra bugs, that are excessive in protein and are ample. Additionally they hunt down excessive protein diets throughout breeding season.
A predator shifting into the neighborhood may make birds cautious of a feeder, main them to discover a safer diner.
When you proceed to fill your feeder, chances are high superb you’ll appeal to some birds now and extra later. Begin by filling the feeder with much less meals and see the way it goes, growing the quantity till your chook company return.
The Animal Life column runs on Mondays. Contact Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.
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