The Common Australian Wombat is a muscular marsupial up to a metre in length. They look cute. But they destroy stuff
A few months ago we decided to dig up some of the Crinum lilies that thrive along wall of the Old Cottage Garden . But we forgot to fill the hole back in and this week one of of our local wombats decided this was an invitation too good to refuse.
The result was a massive excavation achieved in one night! This shovel has a six foot handle, showing how fast a wombat digs. Fortunately David Hardy, who took these photos, found the diggings before the invader came back the next night. We would have had a huge problem on our hands, as these creatures wreak havoc around the house and the gardens if they breach the security, undermining footings and causing serious and expensive damage. Houses have been destroyed by them. So Dave got a trailer load of concrete rubble and repaired the damage
There's no point just filling in the hole with dirt. Wombats leave a scent trail and will be back to the same spot time and again. They are remarkably determined creatures. So first of all fill the hole with rubble, then dirt and finally a strong wire mesh weighted down over the area until the grass grows again. The wire will stop the wombat digging .
All our perimeters have had to be protected in this way. It has been a long and expensive battle and its not over yet so it seems .
No comments:
Post a Comment