[allotmentjohn]

Hello im new to the forum and new to the site  i have a large allotment in okehampton in devon ive had it for 25 years now i have never had a problem before with mice but at the moment they are driving me mad. planted some broad beans a week ago the mice have been at the seed must be a tip out there somewhere to stop this i dont want to put netting down

[8doubles]

 A quick roll on a plate with some parrafin before planting is the standard anti mouse treatment for beans and peas.

A few gorse twigs buried over the top is another method .

[Chrysalis]

Invest in an owl?

paraffin seems the favourite or wire netting just below the surface of the soil?  personally I'd go for the owl!

[allotmentjohn]

Thanks for the advice i shall be doing that in few weeks time when i sow my bunyards exhibition  many thanks

[Salmo]

Mice will forage a fair distance from the edges but may be living well out in the open. Up until about the end of March they forage for seeds but the Spring hormones kick in and they are only interested in procreation. i.e if you sow peas later the do not usually eat them.

If you set traps or poison blocks under upturned boxes or potts you should control their numbers. A trap every 3/4 yards should do it. Bait with caramel chocolate bar or chips.

An effective way to stop them taking beans is to sow them deep. 4/5 inches and firm the soil down. The beans will find their way through. Farmers broadcast field beans, which are similar to broad, and then plough them in.

Alternatively plant in modules and plant out as soon as the beans emerge. The mice will still rob modules.

[Lady Rosemary]

My beans are now a couple of inches high. I had planted some directly in the soil in my polytunnel but the mice must have found a sneaky way in because everything was nibbled. Would it be safe to plant my beans in the tunnel now the plants are a couple inches high? 

Thanks in advance.

Mandy

[Chrysalis]

Another tip I was given was to put some holly leaves among the seedlings.  The meeces don't like the sharp points, apparently .

[AlaninCarlisle]

A quick roll on a plate with some parrafin before planting is the standard anti mouse treatment for beans and peas.

Standard advice I know but totally ineffective for me in Cumbria. I just bought 6 of those cheap B&Q mousetraps, baited them with B&Q bait (smells deliciously of chocolate sauce) and eventually reduced the population (and the number of traps as something was making off with traps and captured mice!)

[arugula]

They like the taste of peanut butter in this type of trap too.