[shokkyy]

They've been the bane of my life in my kitchen for years, but now they've moved into the veggie plot. Initially it was just a few French Beans, but this week they've taken all the French Beans and left me with just little bean stumps. And they've dug up an entire row of mini carrots and taken the lot.

Poison isn't an option because I have 3 dogs, one of which will eat absolutely anything, including pickled onions. But I don't think there's any sort of barrier you could do that would keep the little gits away from your veggies. How on earth do you stop them?

[penance]

small guage chicken wire burried a few inches and used like a cloche over the rows.

Might be worth putting down some traps, the box type so your dog doesnt get his tounge snapped when he treis to eat it.

[Aunt Sally]

You can get poison that won't harm anythi ng but rodents.

http://www.eradi-products.com/

[Salmo]

There are plenty of box type live traps on the market. Some will catch multiple mice. When you have caught the mice they can be transported if you do not want to kill them. The mice in the garden are probably long tailed field mice rather than house mice.

[shokkyy]

There are plenty of box type live traps on the market. Some will catch multiple mice. When you have caught the mice they can be transported if you do not want to kill them. The mice in the garden are probably long tailed field mice rather than house mice.

Yes, I used to use those big box traps in the house and I did catch quite a few mice with them. But every now and then you catch SuperMouse with the big biceps and they literally force the trap open. And once that happens, the trap never seems to work any more, presumably because they've weakened the door so much that their wimpier pals can get out too. Maybe I'll get a new one and cross my fingers I don't have SuperMouse living in my veggie plot.

[Junie]

I think I may have lost my french beans to mice too, and we have a problem with them in the house too, our house is old and was burned and rebuilt about 4 years ago, however they did not seem to repoint properly and there are gaps in the wall between the part we live in and the barn next door, so mice are getting behind the plasterboard walls and between the floors and ceilings - they are so noisy at night! All night!  They have even found their way into our bedroom through a gap by the radiator pipe.  We would like to try some poison and have heard of a substance that makes the mice really thirsty so they leave the house to find water, then drink and drink until they die.  Would like to give these a go, but am not sure if they would be dangerous for the dog.  Does anybody know of this or used it before?
 

[peterjf]

mouse traps loaded with smooth peanut butter works a treat,

we had a big mouse problem , 3 weeks later and 20 mice dead

theres less mice , got 2 last week

[Paul Plots]

For indoor spaces there are electronic devices that emit an ultra-high squeal that, apparently, mice do not like. I believe that it is inaudible to most mamals that we want in our homes (dogs and cats) and can only be heard by us if the "test" button is pushed.

This type of device has worked wonders in my parents garage - just as well as my elderly mother would have moved out had she seen any sign of them! 

[shokkyy]

For indoor spaces there are electronic devices that emit an ultra-high squeal that, apparently, mice do not like. I believe that it is inaudible to most mamals that we want in our homes (dogs and cats) and can only be heard by us if the "test" button is pushed.

This type of device has worked wonders in my parents garage - just as well as my elderly mother would have moved out had she seen any sign of them! 

Yes, we've tried those too in the house. When I installed them last summer, it was the first time in 15 years my kitchen has been completely free of mice. But sadly, when the winter came along and the cold weather came back, they came back again. I guess an annoying noise is preferable to freezing.

[Paul Plots]

For indoor spaces there are electronic devices that emit an ultra-high squeal that, apparently, mice do not like. I believe that it is inaudible to most mamals that we want in our homes (dogs and cats) and can only be heard by us if the "test" button is pushed.

This type of device has worked wonders in my parents garage - just as well as my elderly mother would have moved out had she seen any sign of them! 

Yes, we've tried those too in the house. When I installed them last summer, it was the first time in 15 years my kitchen has been completely free of mice. But sadly, when the winter came along and the cold weather came back, they came back again. I guess an annoying noise is preferable to freezing.

I think I would buy a bag of sand and another of cement and spend the summer pointing all those gaps - I hate mice!

[arugula]

There are plenty of box type live traps on the market. Some will catch multiple mice. When you have caught the mice they can be transported if you do not want to kill them. The mice in the garden are probably long tailed field mice rather than house mice.

...  but the trouble with live traps (and not wanting to kill the captured animal) is, where do you release them? Let them go on your neighbours from h*ll? 

As peterjf said, for indoor use the peanut butter on the trap does the trick every time. We are surrounded by fields, and therefore by field mice. For outdoor use, Aunt Sally's recommended rodent-only bait sounds good!

[shokkyy]

...  but the trouble with live traps (and not wanting to kill the captured animal) is, where do you release them? Let them go on your neighbours from h*ll? 

As peterjf said, for indoor use the peanut butter on the trap does the trick every time. We are surrounded by fields, and therefore by field mice. For outdoor use, Aunt Sally's recommended rodent-only bait sounds good!

Releasing them isn't really a problem where we live. They have to be a min of half a mile away to make sure they don't come back, and there's plenty of fields and hedgerows in the area that are that distance away and nowhere near anybody's house. And of all the things we've tried, those box traps are the most effective way of thinning out the numbers in the house.

I did look at the rodent-only bait website, but it seems to be saying it only works if it's the mouse's only or primary source of food, i.e. you have to make sure there's no other food nearby for the mice to eat. I'm not really sure how you could do that in a veggie plot, or a house for that matter.

And I'm afraid pointing gaps in the house isn't really feasible either, not in an old house. They travel along the pipework and inside the walls and they can fit through unbelievably small gaps. We've even had them climb smooth tiles on the kitchen wall to get into the high level cupboards. They really are one of nature's most efficient and effective inventions.

[arugula]

Hmmmm. Well then shokkyy, is there some way you could create a barrier around your plants? I'm thinking something plastic like a plant pot with the bottom removed or a bucket (same) to act as a type of huge collar so they find it hard to climb up and get to the plants? 

I know and you say in your reply that you know they are incredible climbers, but plastic or glass or something as slippery as possible.... 

The other side of the coin is, that the rodent-only bait might be so tasty that they don't want to bother with your old beans! 

[peterjf]

i cant see the point in catch and release,

you got a problem with rodents , we know they look all nice and lovely,

at the end of the day they rodents ,

eat just about everything outdoors ,

indoors they eat cables ,

eat through wood to pass on germs and desease

leave their urine and droppings all over the place

[Dotty]

I am happy to rent out my 6mth old kitten who is fast becoming a mousing expert. She caught 6 in 24hrs last week. I will charge a small fee of course