Mice have ravaged our otherwise-beautiful looking pea plants. Those pests are pretty crafty, but our minds over here at Love Apple Farm are even craftier. Those little buggers are so smart, they expertly incise the edges of the pods and extract the developing peas.
When I first saw this damage a couple of weeks ago, I thought it was one of a few of our winter evils: slugs, pill bugs, or earwigs. Sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the plants came to no avail in abetting the damage. However, yesterday I looked a little closer. The first key to controlling a pest situation organically is close observation. Sit there, and really look at what's going on.
After some contemplation, I noticed tiny teeth marks serrating the edges. Voila! Those teeth marks were not made by insects. They were definitely the work of our large resident population of mice. We thought we had a handle on the mice situation earlier this year, but apparently not. Now it's back to square one in dealing with these vermin.
Immediate action was needed. I remember someone once had told me how fond mice are of tomato seeds, and someone else had given me advice on using peanut butter. So with my motto of more being more, I decided to use both in our traps. We mixed up a batch of old tomato seeds together with some peanut butter (it happened to be crunchy, organic peanut butter, and I don't know if that makes a difference, but it's what we have on hand).
We then baited our old standby, Victor Mouse Traps, with the gooey mixture. We had to be super careful in trying not to snap the traps on our fingers. That would've hurt, but not for long. Many people criticize our use of snap traps, thinking that their cats or dogs are going to get hurt by them. Yes, your cat or dog might yelp if they get caught in the trap, but it will only be once (they'll learn quickly!), it'll hurt for a few minutes, then they'll go back to either wagging their tail or ignoring you--depending on the species. We put about 15 traps, nicely baited, around various parts of the pea bed. Now we'll see who's smarter--us or those varmints!
What have been some of your solutions for mice in your garden?
That is a great piece of detective work and a great picture! Just like you, I wouldn't have guessed the damaged was caused by a mouse. And you have highlighted the first rule of pest control, and that is to identify the pest correctly.
Posted by: Mark | December 30, 2011 at 05:08 AM
Two comments about Victor mouse traps. I use raisins for bait - they don't spoil, they're messless, and if you use a cover box, they almost never have to be replaced. At least around here, mice like the raisins better than peanut butter or anything else I've tried, plus you can wedge them into the trigger plate so it's hard to "steal" them.
I got tired of dealing mice that were still alive but with crushed limbs because they went into the trap from the side, so I build simple lightweight boxes the size of the traps, with open fronts and bottoms, that slip over the trap leaving an opening in front so that the mice have to go straight in, assuring a clean kill. The tops need to be high enough for the spring arm to swing freely in its arc.
If you're putting the trap on uneven ground, adding bottom to the box will assure good operation.
Posted by: Terry | April 10, 2011 at 06:59 PM
Those teeth marks were not made by insects. They were definitely the work of our large resident population of mice. Thanks for the information.
Posted by: Danny DeMichele Entrepreneur | February 21, 2011 at 02:22 AM
I've had problems with mice in my chicken coop, and I've noticed that when a water bucket is half full, I often find dead mice in it. I'm going to place a few half-full buckets near feed areas beside feed bins and see what happens.
My long-term solution is an owl nest and a kestrel nest, but neither has been occupied yet.
Posted by: Don Eggleston | February 08, 2011 at 09:07 AM
Controlling pests in an organic garden can be a bit of a nightmare, I had a problem with birds attacking my brassicas until i was given a ornatmental herb which seemed ot attract all the local cats. Trouble is I cannot remember the name of the herb and as the cold weather here has killed it off it looks like I'll be back to square one again.
All the best with your peanut butter and tomato seed traps.
Posted by: Growing Vegetables | January 27, 2011 at 10:41 AM
Mice/voles are a major problem in our hoop house this winter, despite the fact that it's New England and the ground is frozen solid. Where there's a will, there's a way I guess. I am looking into Eliot Coleman's way of controlling voles and also building one of these heavy duty 5 gallon bucket mouse traps. Here's the info below:
http://www.mofga.org/Default.aspx?tabid=844
http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/mouse-traps.html
Posted by: Thomas | January 10, 2011 at 07:46 AM