Contolini6
In the Brooder
Now that the weather is cooling down, we are starting to notice that not only are we feeding chickens and ducks, but we are also feeding the neighborhood mice and squirrels. We have two chickens and three ducks, and we have their food in metal drainpipe pieces attached to the fence, with a curved end at the bottom so the animals can stick their heads in to get at it. We also have covers for nighttime but the squirrels can take those off, no problem. We also have a metal bucket for storing the food that isn't currently being eaten. The ducks are messy and get food all over the ground when they eat, which doesn't help anything, so now all the neighborhood squirrels and mice are responding to the all-you-can-eat buffet. We're not sure what else to do as far as rodent control. We don't want to set out poison in case the birds eat it by accident, and besides then the little buggers will be crawling in their burrows to die and stinking up the whole place. But we can't very practically humanely (or lethally) trap them either-- there's the logistics of releasing untold numbers of rodents, or if we kill them, won't more just come to take their place?
What suggestions do you have/what have you done that has been effective, easy, and inexpensive as far as rodent control? Part of me is tempted to just ignore it, but I don't want the problem to spread to more pesky and dangerous pests like rats and raccoons. Besides it's a waste of money to be feeding all these extra animals haha. Advice?
What suggestions do you have/what have you done that has been effective, easy, and inexpensive as far as rodent control? Part of me is tempted to just ignore it, but I don't want the problem to spread to more pesky and dangerous pests like rats and raccoons. Besides it's a waste of money to be feeding all these extra animals haha. Advice?