Rats, mice, squirrels, chipmunks...
Today we just dug the sweet potatoes and got maybe five half chewed ones. Should have been three bushels based on past years. All the low peppers and tomatoes chewed. Most all the corn. My garden is so ravaged I feel like quitting. I really depend on this garden.
I have been trapping, and the dozen mice and three field rats this last week has made them seek revenge by running up inside of my wall above my head just now. (I wrote this part last night before battery died).
I don't want to use poison because of the porosity of my foundation (ie., they will all crawl inside my house and die), the beneficial predators, neighbors cats, and my dog's fascination with playing rodent toss.
From the stuff online, does this sound practical, effective?
1. Trap like crazy...constant use of my snap traps plus make up lots of bucket and barrel traps.
2. Crack the whip over the boys and clear all the project lumber to the rafters of the sheds. Burn all my trellising sticks, brush piles, and build a raised platform (2 ft off the ground?) for firewood.
3. Clean out the shed, hack back the overhanging limbs, fix the sagging doorframe to seal tight.
4. Make sure the hens feeders are up off the floor (always have been) and shut their door every night. Their feed has always been kept in metal trash cans with the lids caulked to make a tight gasket-like seal. (By the way, that did not keep grain bugs from developing).
5. Clear every bit of undergrowth, tall grass (sorry, birds).
Well, that would be enough if this property were in a vacuum. But, one side is a three year abandoned foreclosure house, the other a rather neglected but inhabited rental house, and acres of farm pasture, woods, creek, etc. with abandoned barns.
So what kind of fencing for my vegetable gardens, orchard? It would be hideously, prohibitively expensive to use the 1/4 inch hardware cloth around the half acre or so of garden and orchard. Electric fence would draw un-needed attention in our neighborhood.
Am I missing anything? Due to injuries from a car accident, I am hiring friends teens to work so that the whole place doesn't revert to privet and weeds. A aargh.
Reading back over this, it does sound like I should resort to poisons. What is y'all's opinion?
. I haven't seen a mouse in the 3 years I've had chickens until tonight. My husband said I couldn't have any more cats, but he's going to have to get over it, because I'm NOT having mice. I guess I'm going to try the crate or shoebox with a trap in it for the meantime. I'm still gagging over this... I so hate mice.
