Pay Stainbank to keep the monkeys inside

EDITOR – While still residing in Erne Road, my late hubby and I bought rolls of bird netting at a gardening supplier in Sidney Road, poles and cable ties and covered a large area on our property where we planted fruit and veggies, and “monkey-proofed” it.

There was no way they could get into this covered area, and hubby, loving gardening, planted veggies for Africa under it.

At the same time we also had two fig trees under the net enclosure and I bought about a dozen rubber snakes which I arranged in and around the trees and among the veggies, moving them around regularly. It was quite funny to see a monkey or two jumping on to the roof of the enclosure, especially when the figs were ripe. When they spotted the snakes, the reaction was similar to letting off a firecracker under their tails. Another ploy that works is to point something like a broomstick at them in the manner in which one would take aim with a rifle. That also works and causes absolutely no harm. Whenever we did that, they would scatter very quickly – probably having been shot at with pellet guns and they cannot tell the difference between a stick and a gun.