Mouse in the shed, help!!

[Puddleduck]

Today we disturbed a field mouse nesting in our shed, which wouldn't normally be a problem, but I'm worried in case it starts eating all my hard grown fruit and veg. Any ideas on plants they don't like the smell of to discourage it, or how to get rid of it for a while. Our garden backs on to a building site so we're pretty much guarenteed to have them back but I would really like to eat my own produce, not add to the issue of mouse obesity in the uk

PS I'm horribly allergic to cats so we can't have one in the house. Otherwise it would be a lot easier

[stevetc]

Hey mate,

Afraid I don't know about de-mouseification plants, but I've made DIY humane traps once or twice in places I've lived which have been moused . . . You need a big pot sorta thing - a bucket is too small, a field mouse will jump out. . . I had an old glass sweet-jar with a narrow neck, that worked . . . make steps upto it - books are good - and lie it at about 60 degrees with the neck against the top step. . . find something yummier than your produce, and lay a sorta Hansel&Gretel trail up your steps and dump a big tasty treat in the bottom of the jar. . . Monseir Mouse hops up the steps and ends up in the bottom of the pot. . . this has worked for me, and worked when a shop-bought humane trap failed.

Apologies if I'm telling you something you already know.

And be sure to relocate mouse a fair way away from your shed, in case (s)he's a homing mouse. . .

(There's also humane-trap markII . . . but I won't inflict that on you unless you really want to know. . . )

[Big Al]

Mice have to be relocated more than 3 miles away from your home or they will come back. If you leave any sort of tablet lying around the mouse will eat at it so put a another one of those stupid drugs that are only available on line and are no doubt well dodgy, this or temazapan tab down and at least it will go out on a high!!

[MKG]

I'll guarantee that it's already been around for a while - so have you noticed any crop damage lately? They'll certainly nick seeds (after sowing) given half a chance, but they actually don't do much damage to strongly growing plants.

We have healthy populations of both mice and voles. They take their fair share of the food we put out for the birds, but that's about it. We even have one which has developed the art of climbing six feet up a wall and hiding in a planter, which enables it to just manage to stretch up and nibble from a feeder full of sunflower seeds. We enjoy watching the performance.

For what it's worth, I don't think you need worry too much.

Mike

[Puddleduck]

Thanks guys the only thing I've noticed to be honest is a few unearthed onions, just remembered an episode of river cotaage where a mouse ate the beetroot crop and got a bit worried. Guess I'll have to bung up the hole under the back door before winter comes and it get in the house though. Again......

I'll keep an eye on things, if it starts being a nuisance I'll try the humane trap thing and let it go in the woodland round the corner(a good 5 miles of woodland that goes all the way to the pub, killing two birds with one stone), otherwise I think I'll leave it be. Might be nice for the little 'un to watch it doing it's mousey thing.

Thanks again

[Big Al]

Might be nice for the little 'un to watch it doing it's mousey thing.

Thanks again

A note of caution, mice are little buggers if they come across each other. We have bird feeders on the floor for the floor eating birds and we watched two mice eating the seeds as well. Then they started fighting and one bit the tail of t'other in half and ran off.

Over the next few days long tail mouse ate more seed because short tail mouse couldn't balance on his hind legs. A few months later we still saw long tail mouse but no sign of STM....

Might be a cautionary tale [ or tail ] in case the little 'un sees this type of behaviour.