5 garden tips for this week, Oct. 6-13

1. Pest control
To prevent nocturnal rodents from eating your maturing avocados and oranges before you can enjoy them, trim the trees away from power lines, from the house and shrubbery, and even several feet up from the ground. Also try wrapping the trunks of the trees three to four feet high with aluminum sheeting available from local hardware and home improvement stores, secured in place with wire (only at the top and bottom). Rats can’t climb up the slippery metal. Reposition the sheet