Rat proof "root cellar"

[uppityperson]

I harvested a bunch of potatoes this yr and had them in buckets on a side porch. The rats found them and were busy nibbling away. So I put them down in the crawl space a couple wks ago. The rats found a way in and ate 13# of blue fingerlings. Those were the ones I liked the least, so am glad that is what they chose.

Yesterday I bought a second hand metal file cabinet, 3 drawers, and it is now on the shaded porch full of potatoes, squash and apples.

Let's see if those suckers can get in there. Hahahhahahaaha. Dang, must go check the trap in the crawl space again.

[MadinMo]

1. What a terrific idea!

If you don't get freezing temps on your porch this should work very well.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. I was not born with a green thumb :(

But I nonetheless laughed uproriously at your post! The adventures of gardening. :-)

[BOSSHOG]

3. I'm constantly improving on my squirrel proof bird feeders

and they keep out technologing me every time.

[AllieB]

5. Smart little f*ckers, aren't they?

We've tried greasing the pole of the bird feeder and they still get up there. Little bastids.

[BOSSHOG]

7. I'm amazed at how well the squirrels and the birds get along

I call my wife the Patron Saint of Birds, she has bird feeders all over our one acre lot. And they pay us back with their priceless presence and singing, specially the mocking birds early in the morning.

[Nay]

8. We fought squirrels for years, until Mr Nay thought to encase the feeder

pole in a piece of stovepipe. We had many uproarious days of fun watching the little bastids hit the stovepipe running, and then slide down with their little paws screeching on the metal.

[FSogol]

6. I gave up and just feed the squirrels. The birds are getting the leftovers

and what ever falls on the ground. The feral cats keep the fat squirrels on their toes. Circle of life, I suppose.

[Warpy]

4. I hope the bottom of the file cabinet is sealed

because the little bastards will even gnaw through concrete to get up inside it if they smell food. Rats and mice can squeeze through incredibly narrow cracks, so they don't have to gnaw much cement to get in.

[uppityperson]

9. It has a metal bottom, and the air holes are

I had to check a few until I found one that was all enclosed since many don't have a metal bottom. There was a nice metal laundry hamper too, but the bottom was pressboard so I knew that wouldn't last long.