Cheeky mouse!

[Monika]

I watched a little fieldmouse today cheerfully digging down and devouring my crocus corms in the greenhouse! Even when I spoke to it very severely, it just looked at me with its little beady eyes and carried on. It had tried some of the other bulbs like iris and scilla but they were obviously not to its taste, so I have now brought the crocuses into the house until they start to flower to save them.

If I had dared, I could have picked it up and thrown it out, but it just looked too sweet and innocent.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Monika, i don't know if you have any Hyacinths growing, but if you have, you might not be calling the mouse, sweet and innocent.

A mouse ate the buds out of six pots of forced hyacinths i was growing last year.

[Primrose]

Yes Monika - they're pretty little creatures arn't they? A couple of years ago we had a family of them nesting in a bird box which was tucked away behind a pyracantha bush on our back fence. They were obviously climbing up the pyracantha to get into the box and I had no idea they were there until I was pruning the pyracantha back and two cute little faces peered out at me and fled down the bush and away. I took the front off the bird box to peek inside and found it was stacked high with pyracantha berries so they'd obviously been stockpiling their winter stores. A couple of days later they'd returned, obviously not wanting to leave such a cushy pad. At the end of winter they disappeared but the bluetits never nested in there again after that. Perhaps they left it in too niffy a state!

[glallotments]

We once found a fieldmouse wedged in a bird feeder. It had squeezed in and had a feast on seed but couldn't get out. Either it couldn't turn round or recerse or it had put on too much weight feasting. It was lucky that we spotted it and released it.

Infortunately they can cause havoc in the greenhouse at seed growing time.

[Monika]

Thank you for that hyacinth warning, OH, I will watch for that!

My daughter told me today that last summer they watched a fieldmouse trying to steal the guinea pig food in the run on the lawn. When a guinea pig had taken a piece of food, the mouse nipped it on the nose, the guinea pig dropped the food in fright and the mouse ran off with it! Crafty, or what?

Yes, and I realise that soon, before I start to sow peas, broad beans etc in the greenhouse, the mouse will definitely have to go. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by dry stone walls which are riddled with them so the only thing is to exclude them from the greenhouse. Any suggestions? I still have a bit of Renardine left, the horrible smelling anti-fox stuff. Perhaps if I sprinkle a bit along any likely opening, it might be put off.

[Johnboy]

Hi Monika,
I suspect that we not only lost many birds during the very cold period earlier but the mouse population suffered badly.
I have 5 Yew trees (3 female) in the front of my property and the berries the Mistle Thrushes do not take fall and the mice clear them up almost as soon as they drop. This year there are literally thousands on the ground and wherever you walk you are crushing Yew berries. Normally the cats catch many mice and there are always telltale portions left about but this year there has been no clearing-up of the carnage!
Last year I caught mice right at the top of my Peas left for seed these are the variety courtesy of Clive which hit almost 9ft in height.
Have plenty of spare seed should anybody be interested. They normally grow up to about 6ft but exceeded themselves last year. Massive crop!
JB.