Mice stealing the bird food

[naturelover]

Squirrels garantee,they will bite through anything for peanuts.

[Mousealot]

My wife fears that these mice she has seen in our patio have been pulled in by the feed on the bird table, and that they will eventually find their way into the house and fret away at our books, furniture and rugs. So now it's a battle as to whether we are to get rid of said table, or put out mouse traps, trust our labrador to keep them away, or study the matter further. So my question is, just how real is this fear that these terrible bird-table mice will fret the inside of our home away? Thanks, guys.

[shenk1]

No expert but I would say they are highly unlikely to come in the house - the foods outside. Unless you have holes for them to get through and the table is really close to the house/afood trail leads to the house (you should clear spilt food up regularly any way as its unhealthy for the birds and will attract more unwelcome visitors) I wouldn't worry too much.
Just keep an eye out for droppings just in case -small black rice grain shaped

[katek]

I too was delighted when I saw a couple of lovely wood/field mice around the bird table in the early spring.They excavated a couple of holes there and finished off what the birds hadn't overnight. BUT - there's always a but! - they're really taking advantage now. They're leaping about in the middle of the day - and the lawn has 6 or more gaping holes in - and plants are dying in the borders - and there is that musty mouse smell almost everywhere in my small garden. I'd like to persuade them back to the field where presumably they came from....but there's cats out there, and not much food! I hate the thought of ending up killing them - but there will be many more soon (or maybe there are already!). Any ideas on how to persuade them to go quietly?

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by katek

I too was delighted when I saw a couple of lovely wood/field mice around the bird table in the early spring.They excavated a couple of holes there and finished off what the birds hadn't overnight. BUT - there's always a but! - they're really taking advantage now. They're leaping about in the middle of the day - and the lawn has 6 or more gaping holes in - and plants are dying in the borders - and there is that musty mouse smell almost everywhere in my small garden. I'd like to persuade them back to the field where presumably they came from....but there's cats out there, and not much food! I hate the thought of ending up killing them - but there will be many more soon (or maybe there are already!). Any ideas on how to persuade them to go quietly?

Gaping holes in lawn ? leaping about in the middle of the day ? strong odour ?Doesn't sound much like wood mice, more like Rats. A wood mouse tunnel almost always exits in a concealed spot - beneath a fence or hedge and typically not more than 3cms across. Perhaps you can put up some photos if you're unsure of ID, also check out the WAB galery which has some good woodmouse photos. Of course you could have a resident woodmouse and also have rats.

CM

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Mousealot

My wife fears that these mice she has seen in our patio have been pulled in by the feed on the bird table, and that they will eventually find their way into the house and fret away at our books, furniture and rugs. So now it's a battle as to whether we are to get rid of said table, or put out mouse traps, trust our labrador to keep them away, or study the matter further. So my question is, just how real is this fear that these terrible bird-table mice will fret the inside of our home away? Thanks, guys.

Woodmice tend to be somewhat territorial with females having a resident tunnel system within a small 'home range', while males range across several female territories. This behaviour means that unlike house mice they do not achieve high population densities. Litters are usually small and at rate of only one or two a year, and the young move on to territories of their own. Opinions about how much wood mice come into houses differ, some commentators say they shun contact with humans, though there are other reports of frequent entry to homes - but little evidence of residency.

I had a resident woodmouse in my previous (very small and urban) garden for a number of years without any sign of the mouse even entering the shed, let alone the house. So I'd encourage anyone to try and tollerate sharing space with wood mice. However if you have house mice in an urban garden then it is probably wise to adapt your bird feeding practices accordingly - if you're in a rural setting, there's really not much you can do to keep mice away.

CM

[katek]

Hi Cotham marble,
Definately not rats....they are small, brown with almost kangaroo like back legs so they sort of lollop about sometimes - othertimes they zoom smooth and straight for the ridge around the house across the patio like a vole does across a road. They really look like the photo at the top of this thread - thats what made me post! I guess I'm just worried that the sudden increase in holes and daytime activity means alot more have been born and we'll be overwhelmed?!

[Mousealot]

Thank you, Shenk 1 and Marble. Much appreciated. I and the wifey shall sleep beeter at night.