Ant guards chewed and licked clean

Pests and Diseases
1

Has anyone had this happen to their ant guards before? And what sharp toothed, oil loving critter might be responsible?

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I only refilled the guards two days ago when they were in pristine order, now three out of the four are in shreds and I’m going to have to come up with a new ant defence strategy!

2

There was a very similar topic raised just recently. It seems that rats were responsible. What I would suggest is to use sump oil, or something like that instead of vegetable oil.

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3

Ah rats! Thanks JeffH - I did suspect it might be rats as I do see the occasional dead one around the street, but didn’t think that vegetable oil was high on their list of preferred foods, particularly given the effort required to get it. Now I just hope that they’re not going to target the base tray next.

4

You’re welcome Beth. I find the best thing to do is catch them before they do any damage. I catch them live so that I don’t harm any native species. Because I have some sweet corn & sweet potatoes growing (rats love them both), I leave my trap set with an abundance of wild bird mix in it & around it, so as to lure the rats away from my crops. So far, so good. Even though I caught 8 rats in the last few weeks, my sweet corn hasn’t been touched.

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5

i have not bought the new ant blockers and I have a flow hive also. I used 4x tuna cans under each leg, with a top up of oil. I don’t know how good rats are at chewing through metal but it seems to do the job. I have nothing to compare it with, however, because there seems to be no one near where I live that is willing to share! It doesn’t look pretty either but I don’t give a monkeys about that - for me it’s all about practicality and what’s best for the hive.

7

lil bliters must love your ant guards mate

8

still going strong after 2 years!! I guess the rats here aren’t as big and nasty as those down under!

9

@john_lawson stated by rentokil https://www.rentokil.com/au/blog/species/rat-species#:~:text=known%20to%20climb.-,Appearance,between%20350–500g%20in%20weight.

Aperence
Black Rat

(Rattus rattus)

Black rats can be found in coastal towns and in many urban environments across Australia.

Appearance

  • The black rat is between 16–24cm in length, with a tail longer than the head and body.
  • It grows to between 150–200g in weight.
  • They have a pointed nose, large ears and a slender body.

Life cycle and habits of the Black Rat

Lifecycle

  • Black rats produce 5–10 young per litter, and have between 3–6 litters a year.
  • The gestation period is about 3 weeks.
  • It only takes between 12–16 weeks from birth for them to reach sexual maturity.

Habits

  • They are incredibly agile and very good climbers.
  • Their preferred food is moist fruits. Black Rats will eat around 15g of food a day and drink 15ml.

Brown Rat

(Rattus norvegicus)

Brown rats usually prefer ground living and burrowing, but sometimes they can be known to climb.

Appearance

  • The brown rat is up to 40 cm in length, with a tail shorter than the head and body.
  • It grows up to between 350–500g in weight.
  • It has a blunt nose, small ears and a thicker body when compared to the Black Rat (Rattus rattus).

Life cycle and habits of the Brown Rat

Lifecycle

  • Rats have 7–8 young per litter, and between 3–6 litters a year.
  • The gestation period is about 3 weeks.
  • It only takes 10–12 weeks from birth to reach sexual maturity.

Habits

  • Preferred food is cereals, although they are omnivorous.
  • They will eat around 30g of food a day and drink 60ml.
10

They don’t chew my ant guards because I don’t use them.

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11

i see cheeky thow but im shure ya bees gave the rats a good back off fight