It's a wild life

There are a lot of birds in this area probably because we live quite close to Almondell and Calderwood country park. So a few weeks ago, tot and I went off to the local chain DIY store and bought some cheap bird feeders. I decided to buy a pack of 3 feeders which came packed with peanuts, sunflower seeds and mixed seeds - I wasn't sure what the birds around here eat. Our neighbour gets regular visitors for the peanuts they put out. I put up the sunflower seed one to give a bit of variety. And for weeks we had NO visitors. The birds continued to go next door. Then all of sudden I noticed some sort of yellow breasted bird hopping about the feeder, making sure he was safe, then swiftly grabbing a seed to take to a nearby branch and munch. Wooohoooo success. Since then, we have put up an apple dotted with some seeds (rather than throw it out) which the birds are munching on too. A couple have also been sniffing around an old bird box attached to our shed. I was going to clean it out until I discovered that it's only legal to do so between August and January. I hope the couple will nest in it and I cross all my fingers there are no parasites to attack their little babies and that the mould inside the shed doesn't extend to this bird box.

Eerie sounds in the night

Last night, our sleep was disturbed by foxes making the eeriest sounds, very loudly. I don't know if they were fighting or being amorous but it meant we had to shut our windows to sleep - not so great when it's so hot at night.
I'm also starting to wonder if the poo in my garden is cat poo. Some neighbours have suggested it's fox poo. Last year I planted loads of curry plants in the garden to deter cats but we still find the poo which is buried under the surface. The smell is horrendous when it's this hot. This year curry plants have grown really big and give the whole garden a very spicy smell - it's an odd combination spice and poo!
I did read in the local council propaganda rag that white pepper deters foxes so I'm going off to Co-op to get some.

P.S. Another neighbour feeds the foxes. Does this stop them messing about with our bins or make them less concerned about being around humans?

El Gato Guerro: Damn more poops

The cats have been at it again so the sonic device and curry plants aren't working. I don't want to use chili powder anymore as I have now read it hurts the cats pretty badly.
Next options are mothballs, but they are toxic.
Or to keep the ground wet which may be good for keeping cats off but may kill the plants.
On the plus side, the garden is looking better now it's planted with flowers. I'm going to get some more so that there are fewer patches of earth for the damned beasties to dig up.

Coffee grounds

Some cafes are giving away coffee grounds to use as garden fertilizer.

I did a search of the internet and as usual found conflicting information. Some say coffee grounds are useless, same say they are great for acid loving plants. We bought a weigela which has really wilted in a week so I'll plant that with the coffee grounds we got yesterday at lunch to see if they can bring the plant back to life.

And an added bonus is that grounds are meant to be a cat deterrent!

El Gato Guerro

I typed my husband's name into a lucha libre name generator just now and it came up as El Gato Guerro - the Cat War which is hilarious as I'm currently fighting a cat war. They are poo-ing in my garden and I want the beasties gone, gone, GONE.
This I have discovered, is not a unique problem. Even one of our own SE bloggers posted about the issue a few years back and hilariously they were advised to use Lion Poo. http://plumssel.blogspot.com/2007/09/roys-stores.html
Now I'm not sure about that as it seems to be replacing small moggy poo with large ferocious beastie poo. So we are trying other methods.
When we moved back to our house last year we noticed cats were using planters filled with pebbles as their own personal litter trays. I chucked those out and we got a sonic device from B&Q. That works well as long as the batteries are working. So yay a batlle won and we have a clean patio.
The war has moved to a new frontier...the front garden. As I want to replant this, we have been simple digging the soil (that's what it's called according to Gardener's World). But the soil is in poor shape and we have to replenish it with manure. That doesn't arrive until Friday so until then, I have to keep the cats off.
Hubby got an even more fang dangle sonic repellent and ...it's not working. So I bought curry plants from Thompsons.
This morning there was more poo. So I have placed the curry plants strategically and have also doused the whole area in chilli powder. Had to wear some glasses as the wind blew the powder straight into my eyes and stung like hell. I feel a bit guilty that the cats are going to be hurt but it's only temporary and all's fair in love and war. I do wonder if curry restaurants have a beastie problem as they must always smell of curry. I also wonder if it is worth just dumping left overs from curry dinners in the garden...bit nasty for us to watch it decompose though.

If this doesn't work we still have the following options:

• lion poo
• moth balls
• citrus peel
• citronella
• citrus plant (can you see a pattern forming)
• clear plastic bottles half filled with water
• cat repellent chemicals from diy store
• water pistol
• gun ....No not me, I'm a pacifist.

This is all distracting me from creating a beautiful garden. Someone at a toddler group asked if this latest fad was due to my recent miscarriage. Maybe. And my war on cats is also a war on toxoplasmosis...it may not have caused the miscarriage, but it may have. Stupid me for weeding without gloves.

On a more positive note, we had a wasp nest in our roof and a man in a suit descended on our property to spray some wasp eliminating stuff in the roof. Hopefully that beatie problem will now be resolved.

EEEEEK Mice

This week we found mouse droppings inside our house. Now we are mounting a campaign to get rid of them humanely. Admittedly the husband is doing most of the 'ridding' as there is no way you will catch me handling a live mouse. No way, no how. My job is to bleach the whole of our house whilst trying to keep the toddler safe.

Most sites recommend taking the mice 2 miles away from the house. But for now, Plumstead Common may find its got a few more inhabitants. Well 1 at least since that's how many we have caught.

The mice around here are clever. Last night the one caught by the trap managed to gnaw its way out. Out of hard, hard plastic. Gulp.

Any tips from fellow plumsteaders or from mice infested parents are welcome.