MICE!!! - Orchid Board

isurus79 · #1 06-22-2011, 12:04 AM

MICE!!! by Isurus79, on Flickr

*Warning* If you like mice, stop reading.

So the first picture I posted had 3 tomato plants that were growing over the fence you in in the background. That fence is well over 6 feet tall. In 2 nights, mice came through and ate the core of all the stalks of tomatoes and probably killed 80% of the plants, taking one plant down to a nub. The plants were so big I needed ropes tie everything down, which you can still see. The second picture is of a Mormodes growth that I found cored out today in the same manner. Words cannot describe how angry I am/was

and I will be on a murderous, rampage. I hope to kill every bloody mouse within a ten mile radius!!

I want everyone out there to be aware of what these little pests can do to your plants!!!

quiltergal · #2 06-22-2011, 02:48 AM

Aw that stinks Steve! I'm quite well versed in how destructive the little buggers can be. One of our foundation vents was just plain old window screen (don't ask....freekin contractor) and natch the mice shredded it in no time flat. The have been living under our house for quite some time unbeknownst to us. One day I'm watering orchids and just happen to look down in the floor vent. There is insulation and all kinds of other crap sitting at the bottom of the duct. Helpful husband crawls under the house (not one of his favorite activities) and finds a dozen or more very large holes chewed in our flexible ductwork! We have been heating and cooling the underside of our house for who knows how long.

We ended up having to replace all the ductwork to the tune of about $4K. All the holes have been plugged and Decon liberally spread around the perimeter of the foundation. Now we wait and see. Hopefully that is the last of them.

isurus79 · #3 06-22-2011, 08:41 AM

Wow Terri, I think your story is much worse than mine! At least the little buggers have only cost me time and not money! I can't wait till my traps have sprung. Grrrrr. I hate mice.

Gin · #4 06-22-2011, 08:56 AM

I keep traps and bar bait behind things in the bird room and on the enclosed porch . Several years ago one chewed leaves on a Phal . trap got it . They are bad in the fall trying to get in for the winter .
Are you sure it is mice and not a different critter ? There was a post about fruit rats destroying a woman's plants .Take no hostages !

Junebug · #5 06-22-2011, 09:28 AM

Rats decided to set up residence at my home last year. They originated from a neighbors house after she tore down a delapidated shed that butted up to my fence line.

I found a nest of 7 newborns nestled among my potting supplies. The adults didn't bother my chids but they stripped the bark from an ailing orange tree and chewed through a milk jug where I stored bird seed on the back porch. I didn't have the heart to kill the babies and tried raising them. Only two of the seven survived and they were later released at a wild life refuge. I devised a system for catching the adults live and managed to catch and release four. I did a clean sweep of my compost pile and stopped adding food scraps. In addition I removed the bird seed food source and stopped filling the bird feeders for the remainder of the year. The rat activity stopped after I took these precautions.

This year I bought a new large bag of bird seed and began filling the feeders again. Within no time I noticed small holes being chewed in the bird seed bag. I removed the bag from the porch and I now store it indoors. For the time being I've stopped adding food scraps to the compost and I'm keeping check on possible nesting sites and feces trails. My dogs are not alerting so I think the rats have moved on to more available food sources.

Tindomul · #6 06-22-2011, 01:41 PM

Wow, never thought of that. Sorry to see this happen.

cday2inflorida · #7 06-22-2011, 02:41 PM

I'm not scared of mice. But they still give me the creeps. I have a cat that is an ace at killing things. So much that I don't feed birds any longer in my yard...except for hummingbirds. Anyway, I live on the edge of woods on a river...I've been here a year and when I first moved in I would see them scurry around the porch. It took about a solid week of dead bodies at the french doors to my bedroom. I guess he thought I would enjoy looking at his carnage. But that was the end of the mouse problem.

isurus79 · #8 06-22-2011, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gin

Are you sure it is mice and not a different critter ?

As soon as I saw the chomp marks I suspected a rodent. Then I went out at night and a half dozen of the critters would dart away from the crime scene.

After reading all these stories, I'm glad I'm not the only one with murderous intensions!

Paul · #9 06-22-2011, 06:46 PM

Cats, terriers, & snakes are all useful for mouse issues (and sometimes rat issues as well).

fotofashion · #10 06-22-2011, 08:10 PM

Just don't do what my FIL did many years ago. He noticed mice in the house. Someone had told him that white mice would run off the house mice. So, he bought some white mice and turned them loose in the house. It wasn't long before he now noticed grey and white spotted mice running around in the house.