Kitchen Garden Forum

Well, ok, one mouse.

Up on the patio in the garden I have some pots of freshly sown veggies under mesh, and there is a bird-table too.

Would you guess that the wee beastie was attracted by the bird-table rather than my pots?

I've been here 9 years and this is the first time I've seen a mouse out there.

You might not have seen them before, piglet, but I bet they have always been around. It's likely to be a long-tailed woodmouse (NOT a house mouse), so leave it be. It will clear up any fallen bird food before its larger grey cousins get there. And it won't come into the house unless it can't find any food outside.

Try the butter in a milk bottle..one milk bottle partly buried laying flat , except the top..smear with butter , partly fill with water..Mr Mouse smells the butter , has a nibble or two , then slips down the bottle neck into the water...
Sounds harsh ..but works well !!!

Hi Tangoman,
I would suggest to you that your method of trapping is inhumane so it is death by drowning and quite unnecessary. Not for me I'm afraid!
JB.

Tangoman - that's horrid and incredibly cruel. As Monika says, if it's a long tailed woodmouse it's an innocent little creature and not doing any harm. A couple of years ago we had them over-wintering and living in one of our bird boxes. They didn't do any harm at all and dispersed elsewhere when the better weather came.

We have a very humane trap! This little critter got into the bird peanuts box and couldn't get out.

Diane.