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Produce => Pests & Diseases => Topic started by: tonychinnery on July 18, 2007, 11:23:00
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Help! mice are eating half my vegetables: salad (especially radicchio), Swiss chard (which I especially like), parsley.
The make galleries under the plants and eat the roots and main stem. Luckily the do not attack the tomatoes and green peppers or the beans (for the moment). I should explain that I am in Tuscany, the soil is very dry and hard except for the rows of vegetables where I keep the ground soft with drip water tubes.
Unfortunately a large snake managed to strangle itself by trying to force its way through some butterfly netting. That would have been a real help against the mice.
Its really disheartening to see ones hard work (I nurture my plants like babies) being gobbled up.
I don't want to use poison. What can I do!!
Tony
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Get a cat? ;D
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I am using humane mouse traps which I bought - you can get multi trap ones. But you need to remember to check them regularly. You can clear a colony out in a few days - but remeber that you will need to let them go several miles away otherwise they may find their way back home.
I did find a site that gives ideas on how to build your own - but this looked to be too precarious and only catches one at a time.
www.smithsax.btinternet.co.uk
For a retailer (I have the single mouse variety in my cold frames now)
http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/wildlife/humane_traps.htm
Hope this helps
Suzanne