Pests

[tracy]

A great suggestion from the SWOG day -

Keep standards in your woods for the owls and buzzards, they eat the rabbits!

What else can we do?

[Colin]

Hi Tracy,

Max would like to say \"Rabbits are not pests, they are fast food and I love fast food,\" shut up Max!

I think what he is trying to say is that rabbits, like voles and other small mammals are part of the food chain and that without them we wouldn\'t have our owls and buzzards. In the wild, rabbits only have a lifespan of about one year. They are only really born to be eaten. Pretty tough, being a rabbit.

What else can we do? Well, the bracken provides important cover for other predators, like foxes. It is not just useless stuff.

What does everyone else think?

Colin

[tracy]

Yeah, I agree Colin- everything has its place. I guess the problem is when we people mess with one part of the food chain (like culling something) it has an effect on the rest and you can end up with too many of something and then it becomes a pest!

Helping to restore a balance to a woodland is hard and tell Max he can eat the rabbits if he wants to!

[Colin]

Honestly, I wish I\'d never taught that dog to talk. He only catches rabbits in his dreams.

Thanks for taking my point, everything feeds everything else, somewhere down the line.

What can we do for our Owls and buzzards? Provide an environment where prey animals will prosper perhaps.

[tracy]

I know that we don\'t all call Squirrels pests - but many do:

I wrote to the FC to ask about squirrels - I asked: How much of a problem are squirrels really... and this is the reply! ( I did not write this!!!) What do you think? I think they are cute and I like watching them playing in the woods....

Thankyou for your enquiry about grey squirrels.

Squirrels will cause serious bark stripping damage to trees between

7- 40 years of age, especially thin barked species such as sycamore

,beech, oak, pines, larch, hornbeam. Levels of damage vary between

sites and years and are influenced by the presence of large numbers of

squirrels and in particular large numbers of juveniles entering the

popualtion in early summer (April onwards).

This year seems to be particularly bad in some areas eg. Chilterns with

Oak,Beech,Ash,Willow,Cherry,Sycamore,Hornbeam,Elm and Hazel all being

damaged.

I noted the following information on your website

Should we trap or poison our squirrels to protect our trees?

Yes - the grey squirrels chew the bark of deciduous saplings, weakening

the tree and spoiling its timber value

No - long term studies show that this only works in very isolated woods.

Where there are adjoining woods, or woodland corridors, more will simply

move in from the neighbouring territory.

In fact seasonal control of squirrels just prior to and during the

damage period ie. Between mid March and end of August, is effective in

reducing damage. Damage usually stops at the end of August, occasionally

some occurs in September.

It is true that removing squirrels from the area at other times of the

year will not influence damage risk during summer due to

recolonisation.

Details about squirrel damage to trees and Best Prcactice guidance on

protection are available through www.forestresearch.gov.uk/greysquirrels

Re impacts on biodiversity

Reds and greys are both reported to take birds eggs and nestlings, and

there is research ongoing investigating the levels of this for greys

and impact on woodland bird populations, by BTO, RSPB and GCT.

We know that greys take hazlenuts earlier than reds do, and they will

clearly be competing with other native small mammals for this food

source.

Re sources of information.

I suggest you have a look at the forest research webpages at

www.forestresearch.gov.uk These provide information on woodland

management and current research and recent results. Having looked at

your site I note there are questions about controlling Bramble, deer

impacts also about black poplar. Colleagues are currently investigating

the management of bramble; there is guidance on cheap/ temporary deer

fencing in the publication below and others on deer in the publications

pages accessed through the library link (I had to change the link to make it work - Tracy)

http://tinyurl.com/5tc82q

There is also a research project on Black poplar with links to a

species subgroup.

[Chris]

Squirrels may be cute and furry, but remember they are rats with PR. Not only do they bark strip to the extent they may kill a tree rather than just making it less suitable for timber, but can cause branches to become unsafe. They also carry the same diseases as rats like Weils disease.

We have had a lot of trouble with them this year as they have severely damaged a hornbeam, of which there are very few, virtually stripped some willows, and done a lot of damage to beech trees. They also eat the hazel nuts we would hope our dormice should be eating. Lets hope we have a very dry spell or cold winter, both of which seem to reduce numbers.

Chris

[mikepepler]

I hear they taste nice too...

[tracy]

There is a new pest about:

The Citrus longhorn beetle. Please look out for it!

http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/citruspics.htm

[tracy]

John has a new website for his new company, please take a look!

http://www.sussexeps.co.uk/

[tracy]

This harlequin ladybug is not good:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8124099.stm