[Zaf]

this summer my beetroot were gnawed, some came up looking like apple cores :shock: ,  the windfall apples had what looked like teeth marks in them where little areas had been taken out of the flesh (definitely not wasps and I dont think slugs, a few potatoes that reached the surface had the same problem - could it be mice?

[Trillium]

Definitely sounds like mice. They'll eat almost anything, even green tomatoes. And at this time of year they're hungry.

[Zaf]

they were doing it all autumn too  :?  any ideas how to stop them?

[Trillium]

If it's on the ground then they can get at it. I had to stake the toms but you can't do that with root crops. Even fencing wouldn't deter them (they'd tunnel under it) so you'd have to bring your crops in for the winter. Only thing they don't fancy is romaine lettuce, at least, mine don't.

[Zaf]

they did have a few of my tomatoes too, little beasts - I did wonder about using cut off plastic bottles to put over the beetroot next year to stop them,  not sure if it would work though.

[Trillium]

Either let the dog or cat patrol the area or build a cloche type greenhouse out of chicken wire over the veg and a few inches into the soil all around.  Mice will tunnel but they might get tired of it with this idea.

[Zaf]

no cats as we have lurchers and they are banned from the area as they tend to re-arrange the plants from time to time!   Good idea about the wire,  definitely worth a try

[Rampant_Weasel]

rat poison - the stuff in teh sachets.i know when its mice cos there is a little hole in the bag and the poison is all gone.
i had mice in the loft last year and poisoning them while they are outside is better than removing the carcasses from the trap.

werks for me  

i keep poison down all the year round btw

[Zaf]

Ive got rat and mouse boxes down,  not much eaten so far so I guess the little blighters prefer my vegs  

[Salmo]

This is almost certainly Long Tailed Fieldmice, also called Wood Mouse. They have much more charm than the house mouse with big ears and dark bulgy eyes.

http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1g.htm

Either learn to live with them or bait a trap with a juicy sultana or piece of chocolate bar.

[woodburner]

This is almost certainly Long Tailed Fieldmice, also called Wood Mouse. They have much more charm than the house mouse with big ears and dark bulgy eyes.

http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th1g.htm

Either learn to live with them or bait a trap with a juicy sultana or piece of chocolate bar.

Oh I've seen one of those. They are adorable like a cross between hamsters and gerbils. Definitely not to be killed.  :shock:

Edit: Ok, I've just looked at that link and that's not what I've seen and identified as wood mouse. My chappie had a furry tail, that makes him a dormouse, sorry. Anyway I won't put out poison or snap traps for fear of killing him.

On further investigation I'm not sure that it wasn't a gerbil  :?

[Aunt Sally]

I'm glad your intention is not to kill the doormice woodburner as they are protected by law in the UK.

They may not be killed, injured, disturbed in their nests, collected, trapped or sold except under licence.   They are quite rare so you are very luck to see them.  

[Rampant_Weasel]

personally id set a trap and identify it after.if it is a dormouse its only 1 and if not - keep setting the trap until u have got them all.

[Aunt Sally]

personally id set a trap and identify it after.if it is a dormouse its only 1 and if not - keep setting the trap until u have got them all.

Even trapping a dormouse alive and releasing it is illegal RW.  No one many even handle one without a licence.


http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/dormouse.htm