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| A mouse free front bed. |
Not this year! Last fall war was declared and 108 mice later we seem to have won. A clean up of the bed proved that the perennials made it through the winter and none were eaten to the nub. My beloved Etain Violas even made it (mice find them especially delectable)!
We started in October and the trap by the front door was catching a mouse every twenty minutes. Finally, we slowed down to 2 a day, and then by January 1 every two weeks. I think it is safe to say to population is depleted and my flower bed was saved from damage. I kind of wish I had kept them, could have had a nice fur coat by now. Ha!
This was probably a somewhat morbid post, but if you have lost shrubs, perennials, or trees to mouse damage during the winter you will understand my happiness at the success of this endeavor. I highly recommend if you have had mouse damage in the past to give the simple method of trapping a try. It was worth the disgusting effort when my bed melted off and was clean and free of mouse damage.
Apologies if you didn't like this post. It can't always be sunshine and roses.
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| The gruesome Mouse Count board. Amazing what you do for entertainment when winters are so long. |
I should have one for our rainy days in the Pacific Northwest! I have been enjoying a week of sunshine here in Kentucky with my grandson, but tomorrow I return home :-(. XOXO
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of mice! We see them and their bigger and uglier relatives every so often. I've had to quit feeding the birds since they like to hang out under our deck. Luckily the neighbor cats like to catch them, maybe they are having their own mouse count?
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I've been losing a few perennials to voles and I've had enough. My rotten cat has not been doing his job..it's time for traps. What do you suggest?
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness! Thats alot of mice. I get grief from a few people over the traps, but I have no pity on things that can breed 10 times a year with an avg of 6 in a litter-causing their destruction. Placing them somewhere else is just wrong since all you would be doing is giving someone else the headache, especially as many as you have had. You poor thing. I feel so bad for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the mouse count board! {i'd have one too.}
Just so you guys know I appreciate the comments. I was afraid I was going to get black balled for this blog. The mousetrap I found to work best is the red and white Ortho trap. They don't scare me like the wood and metal ones. They are heavy enough that the mouse or even voles will get caught. They are light enough that a couple of accidently caught chipmunks escaped with minimal damage. I appreciate the comments. It was a very long winter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Farmchick it's not like they are going to go on the endangered list! But I even like the chalk board - I probably would have done the same thing! Don't worry about the morbidity - you should be taking good care of that beautiful place! I would have to pay to go to a reserve to be somewhere like that today :)
ReplyDeleteDon't feel guilty at all! I loose plants even trees to the damge of moles tunneling and then mice using the tunnels and eating the roots they find. Even the fact that the roots jsut find themselves hanging in mid-air can cause them to die. I haven't found a successful solution, so any suggestions gratefully received. Christina
ReplyDeleteYou could have definitely had a wrap, I don't know about a full coat. Love it!
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