Fighting mice in the garden

If you keep your garden pest-free with a lot of love and care and believe that the fight against leaf diseases is enough, you are mistaken. Mouse holes can be quite a strain on a gardener's nerves. At the latest when the harvest fails and underground tunnels and ditches appear on the lawn, it is time to catch the culprits. But how do you do this in a biological way? Are there ways to drive mice away without harming them? With these tips, the pests will run away.

Recognize mouse holes in the lawn

Before the gardener takes any measures to combat the troublemakers, he must be sure which animal it is. Moles, for example, are protected. In this case, it is only allowed to drive them out naturally. If the gardener wants to catch the mole, he must release it intact in a suitable place. The easiest way to tell from the dwelling is who has settled on the property.

Note: Rodents on the property are not all negative. The little shrew, for example, only leaves minor damage to eat and feeds primarily on insects. She is considered to be an effective pest killer for

Plants.

moles

• big hill
• central entrance

Voles

• open entrances
• no mounds of earth
• rather inconspicuous
• often along garden paths and in vegetable patches
• bare roots

Field mice

• small accumulations of earth at the entrance
• several entrances (one main entrance, side entrances)
• Channel-like walkways in the grass
• Traces of feeding on above-ground parts of the plant

Tip: In principle, prevention is always the best way to combat it. In order to protect the vegetable roots from being eaten away, it is advisable to work a protective grille into the soil when planting. In addition, rubbish bins or similar sources of food should always be well closed. This also includes bird feeders and compost.

Fighting mice in the garden

There are several ways to keep mice out of your garden. Scourging is always the better option and chemistry should be avoided as a matter of principle.

Suitable plants

Mice have a very fine nose and a keen sense of smell.

They often hate aromatic fragrances from the plant kingdom. Which includes

• Cruciform milkweed
• Imperial Crown
• garlic
• dill
• thyme
• Savory

Experience has shown that these plants are only used for prevention. A mouse seldom gives up an already fully developed corridor system due to unpleasant smells in the environment.

Generate annoying background noise

The trade offers special mouse traps that use ultrasound to send out acoustic signals. Even though these noises are barely audible to humans, most products emit a regular beeping sound. Unfortunately, such a mousetrap helps only in the rarest of cases. If the window is open in summer, it will at most deprive the gardener of his sleep.

Alternatively, he digs an empty glass bottle halfway into the ground. When the wind blows over the bottle opening, it creates a dull sound. Unfortunately, this method only works in quiet areas. On properties that border a busy street, the rodents are immune to high background noise.

Use liquid manure

Elder manure is ideal for irritating the delicate nose of a mouse:

• collect fresh elder leaves
• Pour enough water over them
• Let ferment in the sun for several days
• fill in a watering can
• Pour directly into the entrance of the mouse holes
• alternatively use buttermilk

Tip: If you don't want to bother to make a manure, soak a cotton cloth in turpentine and stick it into the entrances of the mouse holes.

Regular scarifying

First of all, a loose soil is very inviting for voles. But if the gardener constantly destroys the built corridor system with constant digging, the pests quickly seek the distance. Even deep-rooted ones

Plants that compact the soil make the location unsuitable.

Apply a layer of mulch

Although voles are mostly underground, they start digging their holes from above. A thick layer of bark mulch or wood chips makes it difficult to penetrate the soil.

Attract predators

Owls and birds of prey are a major threat to mice. The birds are attracted by suitable food and perches.

Note: While cats are considered to be the mouse's greatest predator, they do not prove to be very helpful. Often they just play with their prey, ask for the praise of their master or mistress and at the end let the mouse run again.

Pets

Who likes to be trampled on their head? Goats and chickens disturb the peace of the mice and, if there is enough space, are probably the most natural method to drive the uninvited guests to flight. It should help to lay out used cat litter in the garden. The rodents smell a stray cat at the smell.

Note: A single measure to combat mice usually only achieves short-term success or only helps to a limited extent. Since the above-mentioned measures are purely biological strategies, the gardener can confidently combine them for more chances of success.

Help from specialist dealers

A few biological remedies are commercially available that promise a longer effect than the home remedies mentioned. For example calcium carbide. However, it is more expensive to procure. Castor oil, which gets into the corridor system with the help of gas cartridges, also sticks to the walls and leaves an unpleasant smell. This prevents the voles from finding food underground and then running away.