|
nw NC | Posted pictures are seed loss caused by small rodents. Scratched out, crumbled soil is their calling card. Bird species grasp the emerged seedling with their beak and pull it, along with the seed, out of soil. They eat the seed and leave the sprout laying. If you see tiny sprouts on the ground look closely at them and you will see two marks , about a quarter inch apart and nearly parallel with one another, on opposite sides of the tiny sprout stalks. Occasionally rodents will dig out emerged sprouts but there are no beak marks on the tiny stalk, it is just chewed off.
Rodents, skunk, raccoons , crows, turkey and deer are the corn thieves around here. I have used avipel powder seed treatment for several years successfully to repel crows. It is not available any more. I have scattered corn along edges of fields to provide a deterrent food source for varmints and turkey where they come out of the woods. Have to put it out at the crack of dawn every day as what I put the day before is cleaned up by deer at night. | |
|
Corn seed thieves (pictures)
