Echelon

I'm chasing some too...

Some really great advice there, thanks for all of your suggestions. It can be quite devastating after watching them grow from seed, doting on them every day and then all gone in an instant. I was planning on sharing those Acacia's around with the SAB community as I certainly had no need for so many of them, same with the chilli seeds. Oh well, back to square one I guess. thed00dabides - Essential oils sound interesting as a deterrent however would hate for just one of those little bastards to get through and devour my seedlings again, so I may be looking for a 100% foolproof method (some sort of barrier) to protect them if there is such a thing. Not to say that it doesn't work, I just think I would be stressing out about it too much without some sort of physical barrier. poisonshroom & bongchitis - Although I am in a residential area, there are shitloads of them around, I think there is someone nearby with chickens in their backyard and I see them running along the top of the fence from house to house all of the time. Some small, some rats seem to be the size of a miniature breed dog, no joke! My dog leaves scraps of food around and I don't think I will be able to eradicate them for good using traps etc, will need to go the protective route. shortly - I think you are onto something with the birdcage, I just want something that works, not fussed how it looks. planthelper - some sound advice there. I think I will avoid the bait/poison route as I have found my dog chewing on dead mice and rats in the past (jack russell x - loves chasing them). El presidente Hillbillios - I have heard of a similar concoction using concrete and corn flour. They get thirsty and after they drink the water the concrete goes to work. Only problem with this method for me is that there are so many of them around in the warmer months there is virtually no hope to eliminate them for good. Even if I manage to kill heaps of them using this method they will still have a window of opportunity to devour my plants and seedlings before the concrete or plaster does it's thing. I think I will still give it a shot just for fun! I do like animals and would never harm one but this is beyond a joke, they get in my roof and scratch on the walls which drives us all insane. Torsten - I am swaying towards the mesh cage route. Will be a little costly to begin with, however I will have something that can be used indefinitely. Thanks for the tip on where to buy it. I see they have a 6.5mm mouse mesh, did not see a 5mm, perhaps the 6.5mm is what you meant or I am just not looking hard enough. Anyhow, I think the 6.5mm should do the trick. Thank you all, I appreciate the time you have taken to put forth your suggestions.

pm'ed.

Complete disaster, every seedling I am currently growing has been chewed and eaten by mice last night. Not one remains. 58 rare chilli species, 24 Acacia Acuminata & 24 Acacia Obstusifolia (Acacia's were 6 months old and were going well) gone in one foul swoop. They had been growing on shelves in a shed beside a sunny window for the last couple of months and were going really well. Mice didn't go near them for months and then in one night wiped out all of them. Not just lopped the top off but pulled everything out including the roots. I know it's mice because there is hair and droppings in the seed punnets. The mice have chewed my wheatgrass before but never touched my chilli seedlings in other years until last night. I'm going to have to start from scratch again and I don't want to use rat poison as I have a dog who catches the mice in his mouth. I've used a gizmo called a rat zapper that electrocutes them in the past however it can only catch one at a time and they will still be able to get my seedlings. Apart from a rodent proof greenhouse, does anyone have any advice for protecting seedlings from mice? Should I invest in propagator covers for all my seed trays and wrap an elastic band around them so the rodent's can't get to the goodies inside? Thanks in advance.

Agreed, a true gentleman indeed. A big thanks from me too Interbeing!

no 3. $11

No 3. $8 No 8. $21

#8 - $19

no 8 - $17

No. 8 - $12

Thanks Heffa, first one definatly looks like a Baileyana. 1. Baileyana 2. possibly Longifolia ??? 3. ??? 4. possibly Longifolia ??? 5. possibly Pycnantha ??? 6. ??? Major Tom, thanks for the Juliflorae tip, there are just so many different Acacia's, the more I investigate the more confusing it seems to get! I wonder which one of these looks most promising if any...

I am hoping that some forum members would be able to provide some valuable feedback and assist with identification of the following acacia specimens. As many of you know, Acacia identification can be quite a daunting task when starting out. I apologise for the quality of the pictures. I should have actually taken a snap of the whole tree and also the bark. Please let me know if you require any more snaps (whole tree or bark) to assist with the identification. Any input would be most appreciated. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

I'm glad someone else has taken a look at it. Thanks for the useful info.

Hi Velvetsiren, indeed it is a very beautiful tree. SWIM has a large Callistemon Viminalis on his nature strip. He recently had to cut a significant number of branches from the tree as it was overhanging and blocking the footpath. SWIM was about to chuck out the foliage with the green waste bin and thought it was worth a try here. He would be kicking himself for throwing out a whole wheelie bin full of the plant material if it had any other use. I don't think SWIM would be game enough to plant the acuminata beside it on the nature strip though. I'm sure some clever bugger from the corroboree would walk past and figure out what it was.

Thanks for the response tipz. After some further research, I'm thinking it's not worth the effort. Doesn't seem like too many people are having luck with the Acacia Phlebophylla. I shall have a crack at the Acuminata instead.