Another system we tested against rodents is a steel fibre mesh. This is usually used in construction, and country people use it to clean tools of rust. It is cheap and biodegradable (the ones planted in September were in tatters this spring).
The fantastic thing is that the acorns have not been eaten. Whether this is due to lack of rodents, abundance of food from the rains, etc. is too early to tell. But in all previous years the pattern was that they always ate them! Of the unprotected acorns sown, many are missing, which is encouraging data.
There are many factors involved, and information needs to be accumulated over time to draw conclusions, but steel mesh could be a potential material for future guards.
HOWEVER, how to use it needs to be refined for the moment, as without being able to make a decent package with soil and other inputs for the acorn, the acorn does not have the right conditions to thrive (roots do not penetrate the fibre without soil).
We will continue to share our experiments with you!
