Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Damn mice

My tomato harvest this year is not going to be as great as in years past, in part because I let the vines get too crowded and didn't prune the heck out of them. Next year I'm going to try a different trellising setup.

And then there are the mice.
This has been a crazy year for mice. We're seeing tons of them outside, all over. Because it was so wet earlier in the summer, there's lots of food for them and their population has exploded.

The little bastards have been getting to the ripe tomatoes before we can. They eat half the larger ones and suck the smaller ones dry.
When the weather starts getting colder, we're going to have a real problem with them trying to come into the house. Ugh.

5 comments:

  1. I've seen the evidence in my neighborhood of mice too (peeking out from stone retainer walls, running from my compost pile when I get near)but I have been trying to scatter hair from the dog brush around those areas to see if that works. I haven't seen any for a few weeks so hoping that might have scared them into going some place else (I live in Bonnie Brae). Post if you find a good solution, please. Thanks.

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  2. Anon, I've thought about putting a live trap out for them, but then I'd have to deal with relocating them. Ugh. Maybe I'll try putting some cat hair out there (the poodles don't shed).

    Jen, my feelings exactly.

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  3. You know, something has been eating my tomatoes this summer too and I wasn't sure who the culprit was... maybe my problem is from mice also. Hopefully the cat that I saw roaming the yard the other day is having lots of luck clearing them out.

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  4. Kenny, I understand squirrels will go after them, too, but the mice are just insidious. Good luck!

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