Saturday 2 February 2013

Trapping a Thief

The Thief

Recently, a creature had been stealing my tilapia food. It made a big hole through the cover to gain access. I wasn't sure what it was but all i know is it has strong teeth. I suspect it must be the same squirrel as before.

The hole at the top chewed out by the creature
So, I planned to give it a surprise by cleverly modifying the food container into a trap. I removed all the fish food, and filled the container half way with water. I then soak several plastic bags and a big piece of saran wrap inside the water to give the creature something buoyant to stand on but not rigid enough to allow it to jump out. Once the trap is set, I left it alone for a day.

This morning, to my surprise, the victim was a rat. I was expecting a squirrel. There, it couldn't jump out.

The rat; resting on the plastic bag
The plastic bag provides enough buoyancy for it to stick its nose above the surface while sitting
I released it and hoped that it learns not to come here again. There was a lot of rat poop in the water and it smells like rat. Need to wash the container... ( =_=) viruses... and bacteria...


The Plants

And now, about the plants. The plants...
I found something interesting about kangkong plant. It is very tough. It doesn't give up easily. Last week, when I was clearing the left growbed, I removed all but the top most kangkong vines that were creeping on the PVC shade. The vines, without its roots, soon dries out. But to my surprise, it bloom new flowers!

Dried kangkong vines hanging at the top of the shade
A single white flower (smaller than usual) and several new flower buds at the bottom (not shown)
My tomato and pak choy seedlings are doing well under the new morning brightness. The pruned kang kong is regrowing its shoots very fast. As for the chilli plant, it is going crazy growing new shoots since getting exposed to direct sunlight.

Tomato, pak choy, and kang kong seedlings
Mutant tomato seedling. It remained at the cotyledon stage without growing true leaves.
Centre: Kang kong growing new shoots. Left: Roselle cuttings bought from the market
Chilli plant. The left shoot is growing very fast.
I'm not sure what variety it is. This plant was given to me by a friend. I do not know what is their harvest size.
Another fruit but this one is curled.

Thanks for reading! :-D

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