Topic: mice....

[legless]

...everywhere on my allotment, aren't they sweet when they're scurrying about being busy and not noticing you?! pity they are bad beasties really.....

[Palustris]

You'll love them even more when they start eating you peas and beans seeds. Oh and don't even try to grow crocus to prettify your lottie, they love them, even more than you do.

[Beer_Belly]

Ah - I've got mice but didn't know if they'd do any harm (as you might know I've only just started) Worth my while setting some traps then ?

[legless]

yeah i'm delighted about that prospect palustris as you can imagine!

don't want to kill them though, they were there first.......

(well, give me a few months eh?)

[Palustris]

Mice is bad news, but voles and shrews are useful little critters. Mice eat seeds and roots. Voles and shrews are insect eaters, so while they eat some worms they also eat a lot of pests. Mind they all dig tunnels almost as much as moles.

[Margaret]

Hi legless.About your mice.....I had similar problems for the last year of my chipmunks life,when the field mice discovered easily available food.He lived in a large aviary type extension to the house and where his food dropped to the ground they could be seen nipping in and out to get it.Quite sweet really,until I discovered they had brought horrible fleas.Impossible to get rid of,and the vet advised against spraying him as he was already very old by then .So I used a humane trap,and most nights I was away down a local churchyard,releasing them.But either the colony was bigger than I thought,or the same ones kept coming back!!

Anyway,my point is that they are very easy to catch,as long as you release them fairly soon afterwards.Then you need not feel guilty about killing them.I bought the trap at my local pet shop.

After chippy died they slowly drifted away.

[Colin_Bellamy-Wood]

Maggie, I'm so pleased that you bought your trap from your local Pet Shop. ;D ;D ;D

[Beer_Belly]

Maggie - I read your post too quickly and for a moment thought you had a chipmunk problem !

[LynneA]

As our alltment backs onto retirement flats on one side, we have plenty of kitties on patrol.  The two best mousers on our patch are known as Tiggy amd Worried Kit.

One mouse managed to get into our shed last year and ate through most of the fat balls stored to feed the birds.  Howard disturbed it, and watch as it waddled out the door!

[teresa]

Well they are harvesting to for the winter ahead.  ;)
Also building nest to keep warm. ;)
When these fur balls are outside in the garden,shed or lottie thats fair enough its their place and I can share and dont leave anything I need around for them to help themselves. 8)
But when they come into my house is another matter my territory >:( and then they go out feet first to the compost heap. :-[ Sorry if I have offended any of you.
Teresa

[Hyacinth]

Theresa, you mustn't put dead mice on your compost heap.  You'll get rats. ;D - Lishka

[teresa]

Oh Lishka
Ha ha,
they can carry on growing if they are still dead. ;)
Bit of extra blood and bone meal and the fish bit came from my lovely koi.  :(
Havent told hubby yet he would have a heartattack and never go near the compost bin again. ;D
Teresa