rampant mice

[bud]

having fenced off our plot to keep rabbits at bay,we now find mice have taken over were they left off, favourite nibble at the moment seem to be suedes ,all the carrots have gone .Any tips on how to stop them pesky mice

[john boy]

hi bud the only way i know is to trap them,you can get a humane trap then let them go in a field.make sure you aren`t attracting them with a bird table thats over stocked

[bud]

thanks john no birdtable but am surrounded by fields,think its just a case of live and let live. Though i have thought about putting up a nest box for tawny owls

[john boy]

mice are a small price to pay to be surrounded by fields,like the owl idea though

[Dogstar]

I have had problems with mice for years and really there's not much you can do. Traps can work in sheds, store rooms etc, but outside it's hard to know where to put them. One thing I have tried is making a raised bed with a very narrow gauge metal mesh stapled underneath, and another sheet of mesh bent into a cover for the top. It seems over the top, but it lasts.
We have owls at night and kestrels by day, but they don't really seem to do the job. However, we have managed to cut down the mice problem recently by feeding stray cats around the veg patch from time to time, so that they hang around.
Dogstar

[paul]

Hi Bud.

A stake out with a shotgun !! or wire up your veg to an industrial size battery !! you may have cooked veg, but it might just frighten off other mice !!