Unwanted wildlife in your garden

I'm a great believer in attracting wildlife into the garden. - Even small gardens can be great for wildlife (and i'm talking to several W.I groups this year about this very subject). However on our fresh air walk yesterday, we had to rehouse a fieldmouse that had decided to make our garden shed its home.

We live near to fields and farmland, so it's not suprising that we get some rodents as well as more benificial wildlife in our garden. Mice are very partial to young pea shoots, - Sweetpea and edible plants, and as i'm just about to sow some seeds in my saved up loo roll middles, I don't want any hanging around the garden.

Of course the mouse had been tempted in because we'd dropped some chicken and bird food on the floor. We've now had a big clean up of the shed so it's not as inviting to them. Sunflower seeds are some of their favourite food, so if you store your birdfood in a shed, make sure that it is in a sealed container. The benefit of them loving sunflower seeds, is that is what we used as a lure to get our unwanted visitor into our humane trap.

I'm, now hoping that this mouse will like its new home in a local orchard, and won't try coming home Chez Brown, then i'll only have to combat Pigeons and Foxes as unwanted wildlife here this year.

Comments

[Margaret (@maogden)]

We had a mouse in our shed a couple of years ago, it munched away at our gardening gloves and knee pads!

[Plantmad]

a couple of yrs back we watched in awe while a cute mouse munched through our bird fat. This went on daily for a few weeks til one night we were awoken by lovely dancing of these agile creatures in our attic. Ever since we've been very weary bout our bird food and what goes into our compost bin.

[Jacqui_Hurst]

I wish grey squirrels where just as easy to relocate, because they just love bulbs and like redesigning your garden! The pests. Spring bulbs are confined to pots.

[Claire, Plantpassion]

moving them impossible, - but my mum has had success with putting wire mesh over areas of bulbs, - when they come through the ground it can be removed as they seem to be ignored after that.