There’s no magic bullet when it comes to getting rid of field mice. However, there are several methods, which when combined, can allow you to get rid of the field mice on your property without using any toxic chemicals. The key is to make sure that you address the roots of the infestation, while reducing the overall population of the mice. It’s important to act as soon as you see one of the little pests scurrying around – field mice reproduce once a month.
For bait you can use peanut butter, but chocolate, candy, fresh or dried fruits, gumdrops and any type of nuts work as well. Cheese, contrary to popular opinion, is not that effective. Traps, especially snap traps, are one of your cheapest options when it comes to field mouse control. You will need about 12 traps for a handful of mice. This is because the mice will be suspicious of most traps, and the traps will be out of their preferred travel path.
After a night or two, it’s time to check the traps. Make sure that you wear rubber or latex gloves for protection against disease. First, collect all of the dead rodents in a plastic bag, tie the bag up, and drop it into another sealable plastic bag, before discarding it in the outdoor trash can. If you are using humane traps instead of snap traps, you will have to let the mice go according to the instructions on the packaging that came with the traps.
You then want to move on to prevention. Encircle your small planting areas with a quarter inch hardware cloth with a width of 36 inches and a height of 12 to 24 inches. However, make sure that you bury about 6 inches of cloth beneath the ground, because the mice will try to dig under it to get through. You can also use plants that mice tend to avoid in your enclosures, plants such as grape hyacinths and daffodils. Other strong-smelling plants that could work here include camphor, garlic, mints, lavender, alliums and euphorbias.
These techniques can be very useful if you have a small garden. However, if the infestation is too large, or if your garden is fairly big in size, the field mouse populations can quickly get out of control. Contact us today if you need help to get rid of a field mouse infestation.
