Jul 23, 2018 at 6:03 AM | Uibhist a Tuath

I responded to you yesterday, and mentioned a bipod for the air rifle. This got me thinking! I have just completed the Mk1 version out of timber, foam and duct tape!

When it gets too hot to do physical work in the garden, I will give it a try. I still have the piece of cardboard with marker pen targets from my last efforts, complete with evidence of my poor marksmanship at 25 yds (2in group) which is not good enough to guarantee a "hit", let alone instant kill with a single shot.

22 Air rifle pellets are much cheaper than rat poison!

There is a field at the back of the garden, and another the otherside of the road and house opposite. When either field has been planted with wheat or barley, rats and mice have NOT been a problem during the summer. Harvesting scatters a lot of loose grain everywhere. When that is exhausted in early autumn, THEN the rats and mice appear in the garden, when they will also be seeking a drier place to live under a shed etc.

The field at the back of the garden had cows in it until late spring, since then, horses and ponies. The field behind the house opposite has also been grazing this year. The third field, the other side of a copse is a grain (oats?) but laced with Ragwort.

As a Country Bumpkin, the rising numbers of rabbits seems logical, along with the number of foxes, but the fields have not been a food paradise for rodents, that will be foraging further, and possibly migrating, by autumn. Time will tell!

Mark. Depends upon who is the 'layman".
I suppose I am arguing that if you write (or change) law that is largely to be used and interpreted by a specific industry, one might expect said legislation not to be potentially confusing to that industry.
My posts on this subject were for interest, rather than a genuine criticism of government legislation. I find it interesting that the same word means very different things to two different organizations that interact.

"Does all development require planning permission?
Section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 directs that all operations or work falling within the statutory definition of ‘development’ require planning permission. However, there are different types of planning permission, such as:

local authority grants of planning permission
national grants of permission by the General Permitted Development Order which allows certain building works and changes of use to be carried out without having to make a planning application
local grants of planning permission through Local or Neighbourhood Development Orders.
Development which is to be carried out by a local authority, national park authority or statutory undertaker that has been authorised by a relevant government department."

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/when-is-permission-required

"The UK Government's description of exploratory wells as "developments" is confusing and shows a lack of understanding of the industry." - Supertroll.

Sorry to disagree, but "development" is a defined term in UK planning legislation, and simply identifies what might require planning permission. Some "developments" are, however, given a free pass and don't need planning permission. So, exploratory wells might not be "development" in layman's terms, but they can be in planning terms.

The grey squirrels get up before me in the morning. I did not see them but we have walnut seedlings poping up all over the garden I suppose because I shot the squirrel it did not come to recover them.

GolfCharlie. It's not a question of the UK having different laws. I was occasionally seconded to BP, and I know that the old British Gas oil company were also divided into Exploration and Development divisions, (in addition to the two North American companies I worked for). The UK Government's description of exploratory wells as "developments" is confusing and shows a lack of understanding of the industry.

Clipe. Agreed, but I did not know they were grey squirrels in disguise. Furthermore many people passing through the park fed them and that park was the only place I ever saw them. I don't regret feeding them, doing so was a very pleasant interlude during a dark period in my life.
I hate to admit it, but I enjoy watching the occasional grey squirrel that traverses our current town garden, although I never feed them. We have given up the pleasure of feeding wild birds (neighbours still do), which also sometimes attracted squirrels, so as not to encourage rats which infested our roof space last autumn.
I know people and organizations encourage us to consider squirrels as vermin, as rats with bushy tails, but I never could. If I see a squirrel, and I can, I have to watch it. I could never shoot one. But then I was a city boy.

In Toronto, grey squirrels have black lustrous fur. I would feed them on the way to my office...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we sting their butts with pellet guns. Feeding them is dumb, dumb, dumb.

Pcar/golf charlie
I'm committed to onions for this year, and was planning more exotic varieties from seed next year. The mice must have always been there as you say. Being in the country there is always evidence of eaten hazelnuts and so on but I can't say I noticed anything this year. I'm still thinking it was hunger that started the problem, another factor could have been waterlogging forcing them into restricted areas or an increase in stray cats which a resident has encouraged by putting food out. Mice keeping out out cats way and tasting of onion might be natural selection at work! There has been an increase in the number of strays from an odd one to 3 or 4 now. Ultrasonic thingy might solve both problems.