I have been told by the previous owner of my lottie and greenhouse, that a mouse sometimes gets in. Is that going to be a big problem? I would imagine he might be fond of seedling shoots (the mouse, not the previous owner ;D) Should I find his entry route and block it, or will he eat any pests in there , like slugs or children ;)
cj :)
Must be a big mouse. :) I'd just block the hole or leave the cat in there overnight!
Have you not seen Mouse Hunt ?
Ours have miners helmets they have been down 3 inches for beans\peas
I have a magpie that waits for me to empty traps.it's war!
Does the magpie eat the mice? Yuk.
Maybe the peas have rotted - some of mine have.
Yes they eat meeces...yippee
peas had not rotted ,the little swines waited till bean\peas were3 inches tall
went down for seed and left shoots in a pile .
sounds like desprate mices hee hee.
be carefull mice will be looking for places to nest to bring more mices into this world? Mouse trap comes to mind.
Just off to empty them now ,part of my mouse relocation plan.
I've never had the stomach to empty a mouse trap - in the absence of one of the sons or OH I just hold my nose, shut my eyes & put the whole thing in a carrier bag & throw it in the wheelie bin [wearing my Marigolds of course!].
We use the 'Big Cheese' style traps ,easy and clean for all concerned ,traditional
traps turned GH into Quentin Tarratino film set
Last year a pesky mouse enjoyed my sweet pea seeds. Yesterday I notced that one of my pots of sweetpeas which have germinated have been disturbed, I did wonder if a bird had got in to the greenhouse (still one small window missing) as some of the seedlings were pulled out. Just in case, the trap has been set, BTW have found a little piece of mars bar gets them they have to chew and are then doomed. My first sowing before Christmas were all fine.
Lorna
My sweetpea seedlings are now safe.... one mouse disposed of. Will set trap again in case he has family in there.
Lorna.
Apologies to those who use human traps.
Quote from: lorna on March 17, 2007, 14:32:11
My sweetpea seedlings are now safe.... one mouse disposed of. Will set trap again in case he has family in there.
Lorna.
Apologies to those who use human traps.
"human traps" ? Bloody ell L, them thar mice have got big appetites round your way ;D
Lish.... ;D ;D ;D Really must press keys harder, or treat myself to a new keyboard.
Even spellcheck wouldn't have picked that one up, trust you to notice :P
sat in the big, communal shed eating lunch and having a cuppa yesterday..a tiny mouse came over the step, wandered around and sat, looking at us..we threw some bread outside for it and sat watching it grabbing it and disappearing under the shed..didn't have the heart to do anything..no doubt there's a massive family under there, waiting to eat all the peas beans and spuds ;D ;D
An absent minded friend set his trap then got doing something else and left it on top of the shed. Next day he'd caught a Robin. Absolutely gutted he was.
I only set mine in the shed where they help themselves in the Potato sacks... have disposed of about 30 so far this winter, but with the cold snap I can see a couple more wandering in!
::)
Quotebut with the cold snap I can see a couple more wandering in!
;D ;D ;D
cj :)
The little sods have had our broad beans and peas I prefer poision ;D
but it must be a hole family as its been a week now and the poision is still being eaten
blocking off holes does not work they will dig new ones think i might sink some roof slate all around the base so it makes it a harder dig and plentty more poisin
This is the sort I use
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MOUSE-MICE-PEST-CONTROL-SNAP-TRAP-EASY-TO-SET-RELEASE_W0QQitemZ320091264450QQcategoryZ75581QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
So easy and better than the old wooden ones I use to catch my fingers.
Years ago did they not soak peas and beans seed in parifin before sowing so mice did not eat the seed?
That looks good Teresa. Must admit the old wooden ones are a bit akward. So far I have managed to avoid damaged fingers but you shouuld see my expression when I am trying so hard to set it properly. ;D
Lorna.
Oh Lorna, having to ware glasses the old wooden ones were a night mare, so got 3 of this type from local pet shop they have never failed to catch mice best money I ever spent every one dead. Four years I have had them so easy to set and empty the prebaited stuff still working its wonderfull
I use a plastic version of the old wooden type, from Homebase... Peanut butter makes a great bait.. we use crunchy ;D
They aren't big enough for a "Human" trap and man traps are illegal... nothing humane about how people treat other people.....
::)
Ordinarily I've used humane traps, which have caught the odd one.. but I'm really starting to see the logic in using ones that kill. They get so wily, they steal the food out of my array of humane traps. And with it coming up to courgette/squash sowing season...
The ones that I really wouldn't use are glue traps - apparently mice get so frightened, they tend to chew their limbs off in order to escape. :(
QuoteThe ones that I really wouldn't use are glue traps - apparently mice get so frightened, they tend to chew their limbs off in order to escape.
Things like that really should be banned. And why, with all the other sorts available?
cj
teresa. will have a look in my local pet shop tomorrow. I also wear glasses and it is a tedious job to set wooden ones. Thanks for pointing them out.
Re glue ones. Years ago I worked in a local grocery shop (before supermarkets!!) and we had trouble with mice. I remember the Manager putting down these sheets of paper which were smothered in some sort of glue. It was horrible there were times when we opened up shop and a poor mouse was still alive and trying to escape.
Lorna
Hi all,
I`ve been setting two sprung rat traps in my shed because I was
spending too much on poison. This started after I lay more concrete
slabs on the floor to try to keep the rats out knowing that eventually they will
tunnel under and re-appear. I`ve since caught two mice which fortunately
get bounced out of the traps so the corpses are easier to dispose of.
I`ve been baiting with peanut butter which I smear onto the spring pad with
my potting dibber whilst I hold the pad in the set postition with a small trowel from underneath. This seems to work after I was caught the first time. I also wear
thick gloves because it really really hurts. :-X
I hate having to do it but its still a losing battle so far.
Col
I allowed a cat access to my shed over winter where it used to occasionally urinate in a corner. Now I've blocked its access through the broken window and the cat urine smell perceptible to us humans has gone over the last month.
I now have no sign of mice whatsoever, I hope it continues.