San Jose woman wants to keep the squirrels in her yard, but ditch the rats

And a Walnut Creek reader wonders about a doe's curious behavior around her dog.

DEAR JOAN: How can we get rid of rats without also harming the squirrels that visit our yard?

My next-door neighbors and I have lemon trees. Rats are coming into our yards at night to eat the skins off the lemons. Other than trapping and relocating the rats, is there anything we can do to keep them away?

— Gail K., San Jose

DEAR GAIL: Pretty much anything you do to discourage the rats will also have some impact on the squirrels, as they are both rodents. But there are some things that could improve the situation.

Squirrels and rats might share your yard, but their lives rarely intersect. Squirrels are active during the day, and rats, for the most part, are denizens of the night. Encouraging squirrels in your yard might slightly intimidate the rats, but your best option is to focus on your landscaping and remove things that might entice and support a rat colony. Changes made on the ground shouldn’t really bother tree-dwelling squirrels.

If you have a compost pile or bin, make sure you maintain it, so the rats can’t get into it. Secure your garbage bins, too. Look for places rats might live — beneath buildings, inside garages and sheds, in wood piles and thick ground cover. Seal up openings or remove the attraction.

Food sources, such as pet food left outside or bird feeders, should be eliminated or taken in at night.

Rodents purportedly don’t like the scent of peppermint, so if you use an oil as a scent deterrent, focus its use around the lemon trees.

If you resort to traps, set them out only at night and know that live trapping and relocating any animal is against the law – you can’t make your problem someone else’s. Please don’t use poisons or glue traps, which can kill innocent creatures. You should also know that killing rats is a bit like trying to empty the ocean one cup at a time. It’s a rather futile venture.

DEAR JOAN: For the past couple of weeks, a doe has been coming around our house and watching our dog, a 12-year-old Labrador.

First, she was in the backyard of the house on the south side. A couple of days later, she was in the backyard of the house to the north. Then she was in our front yard watching our dog on the porch. The dog was in an x-pen.

They had a 1-second, nose-to-nose encounter at the fence once. Another time the deer lunged a bit toward our dog as he was walking away.

After watching my dog on the front porch, the deer nibbled on a rose and then wandered away.

We are sure it is the same deer, because she has a distinctive notch in her left ear. A friend thought the doe might have a fawn nearby and that this is protective behavior. What do you think?

— Kara Douglas, Walnut Creek

DEAR KARA: It could be protectiveness because of a fawn, but it also could be simple cautious behavior. The deer, who probably lives nearby, likely is measuring the threat level posed by your dog to a fawn or to herself.

Your dog appears very well behaved and as long as there are no confrontations, the doe will continue to visit and might even become bolder when it comes to munching on those roses.

Animal Life runs on Mondays. Reach Joan Morris at AskJoanMorris@gmail.com.