Protecting young trees against rodents

[angie]

Arnold it worked for......a few days.Now they are too clever.I catch only shrews.Luckely I can release them unharmed.As I am afraid that those free helpers may go elsewhere now I trap only in the attic!

Thats what I do. I have a trap that can catch a few at a time, one I caught seven in it. Then I drive down the road and let them off at the graveyard. The other day one had died and the others were having their breakfast. These cute little things aren't that cute 

Angie 

[John85]

That is interesting Angie!I can catch only one at a time.Can you tell us a bit more please?May be a brand name or a link so that we can see how it looks like?

[angie]

I will have a look tomorrow to see if there is a name on the trap. I just bought it from my hardware store, will take a picture for you to see what it looks like.

Angie 

[gote]

Arnold it worked for......a few days.Now they are too clever.I catch only shrews.Luckely I can release them unharmed.As I am afraid that those free helpers may go elsewhere now I trap only in the attic!

Thats what I do. I have a trap that can catch a few at a time, one I caught seven in it. Then I drive down the road and let them off at the graveyard. The other day one had died and the others were having their breakfast. These cute little things aren't that cute 

Angie 

You need to drive at least a mile in order to avoid getting them back. They are like homing pigeons. Put a small dab of nail polish on the back before you relese them so that you can say "welcome back"    I have friends who got the same mouse back in the same trap four times. I assume the mouse believed it had educated the humans to feed it in a nice box.       
 Personally I use traps the kill them immediately. Those are smaller, cheaper and more effective. A trap that catces small rodents alive must be attended to on a daily basis. They will starve and thirst to death in a couple of days and that is much worse than being killed by being hit over te head.
Tallyhooooo
Göte
 

[SusanS]

If you are using the spring loaded traps it is always worth baiting them with something sticky which prevents the mice from 'grabbing and running away'.  This will hopefully prevent the mouse being injured or caught by a limb until such time as the trap is checked.  Whilst no one likes having to kill them, when it becomes inevitable, ensuring a quick death is the best that can be done.

Peanut butter or pieces of mars bars are good bait for this reason.

Someone I know made me smile, rather than buying generic peanut butter for the trap, they selected the low salt organic brand as it was the healthier option.... 

[gote]

I use a trap with a lid over the bait. They have to lift the lid in order to get at the bait. There is no way they can grab and run but occasionally they get hit on the head without actually catching them. They do not survive that but the corpse will lie beside the trap. I use sunflower seeds. some under the lid and some in frontof the trap.
Göte
PS
I will try to get organically grown seed nexttime 

[angie]

I use chocolate in my mouse trap, I always have it on hand 
When I bought this trap I was so taken with it I went back to get another and told the shop owner how successful it was and the first thing he said was what are you doing with the mice. I replied letting them of at the bottom of the my drive, he laughed and said you are probably catching the same mouse time after time. I didn't believe him so I put a wee bit of nail varnish on the mouse and he was right two days later he was in my mouse trap.
I check my mouse trap everyday and first thing before breakfast. I once forgot about it and by lunchtime the mouse had pink paws and a pink nose he must have been trying to dig his way out of the trap. I would prefer to use poison but I would hate looking at the dead mouse. I would feel guilty.
No name on the trap not even MADE IN CHINA.

Angie 
So far I have caught 62 mice, When I had cats I only caught one mouse every couple of months. See cats are useful.

[ronm]

Sidney agrees 

[ArnoldT]

Peanut butter is also good.  It sticks to the pad well and requires a bit of tugging by the rodent to get it off.

[bendgardener]

As with most problems there often is not silver bullet.  Often multiple approaches are needed to keep damage down.  Another item to consider is why do you have mice in the garden?  If you have lots of mice you have great mouse habitat. Modify the habitat and you have "less" mice.  As a teen I worked in the orchards in Central Washington. The orchardist kept the grasses and weeds down around the trees and made sure the old fruit was picked off the ground.  Reduce the habitat and food supply and have less damage from mice.  I also am a believer in a good outdoor cat in controlling critters around my home.  Our cat does a great job.

Bob

[gote]

Unfortunately, growing certain plants like bulbous corydalis and crocus creates a nice habitat or should i say Free restaurant  for mice.
Any mouse will say: "have teeth, will travel"    If there is a natural habitat within a few hundered meters they will find our crocuses in those years they are rising many youngs.
last year, I caught a vole in our town garden. It must have crossed a score of paved streets and there is no natural habitat within a kilometer. Just now we have problems with a hare that feeds on outr emerging tulips. A more hostile environment to rodents than a town center is difficult to find.
I stick to traps. Unfortunately I cannot take the hare in a trap.
Göte