Mice on Feeders!!! (1 Viewer)

[Vogeljung]

I live in Ireland and I constantly have mice on the seed feeders.

Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[razorsharp]

I live in Ireland too, and had mice in my garden for a while, never on or at my feeders(at least during the day) but feeding on seeds that I dropped by accident on the way to fill up the feeding stations, I should have been more careful. Are they wood or house mice? They were house mice for me and very close to the house so I had to sort them out with mouse traps due to pressure from others living in the house. Four house mice I caught in two days and then no more mice. If they were wood mice I would have left them, because they are native and only come into the house when there is no food available outside, but your feeders will provide that, if the numbers do grow too high you could trap them. Bearing in mind they are prey for kestrels and owls, there are live traps you could get and move the wood mice somewhere else, if they are wood mice that is.

 

[KnockerNorton]

Wood Mice are much more sandy-coloured than house mice, with a white belly, while hosue mice are greyer and darker.

They wont do much harm to the feeders, or eat much, and you'll never exterminate them all as there are plenty mroe to take their palce as long as there si food available. I get bank voles on mine - they can climb surprisingly well!

 

[joannec]

I've had mice climbing up plants to get to the peanut feeders. The solution is just to move the feeders to a less accessible location, really not too much of a problem.

 

[Jos Stratford]

My mice are clearly too soft - whilst I see them at my forest feeders, those in my garden just prefer the inside of the house!

 

[Marmot]

Here is our resident Woodmouse nibbling on a Sunflower heart.

Hope it might help for ID purposes.

 

[Peewit]

Here is our resident Woodmouse nibbling on a Sunflower heart.

Hope it might help for ID purposes.

Hi Marmot

Oh little cutie in that picture

We have had House Mice in our farm properties.

We put down traps in our garage, because the little monkeys where eating property in the garage. My OH does not favour them as they destroy your prized possessions, including the electrics of your car!! House Mice have cost us a fortune,

The only problem with putting down traps in the garage, shed or any outbuilding that the traps catch other animals like Voles, Field Mice, Wood Mice or Hedgeys so it can be a bit of a minefield for them too. If they are hungry in winter they will eat anything too.

House Mice are mad on Peanut Butter so that will attract them no problem.

Never tried the blue stuff yet, as I feel that be lethal for other little animals too.

A bit of a catch 22 for mice in general.

Regards
Kathy

 

[ghostrider]

I've seen mice in the garden and love seeing them. Never had them in the house though, so not familiar with them as a problem. Are they really that bad?

 

[Peewit]

I've seen mice in the garden and love seeing them. Never had them in the house though, so not familiar with them as a problem. Are they really that bad?

Mice are fine in their normal environment in the garden, but in our garage, hhmmm. My partner had the electrics of his prized Subaru car chewed, and he as very unhappy about it (all caused by mice). The car has been sold since to.

He has had the top fabric areas of his ski poles, and the tyres/inner tubes chewed on his bikes all caused by mouse teeth. The list goes on.

I think you just need to be careful what you leave in your garage, and made sure it is not soft furnishings, and is mouse proof.

I think it is mice looking for nesting material to keep warm, and for nests. This is how they get what they want. Nest lining. This has all occurred while we lived on Farmland in the countryside though.

I have had brown rats around my feeders, and they are less destructive.

Maybe some of it is naivety, and bad luck mixed together here. I still love mice myself, and Rats too

Regards
Kathy

 

[Birding5000]

You can get rid of the mice without killing them. There are plenty of live/humane traps on the market. Catch em, set em free in a park or woods away from your house.

 

[michaelmacey]

Im not sure about Mice, but we have a Squirel who appears to have stolen the peanut feeder. The lid is on the ground under my Camelia bushes but the feeder full of nuts has completely dissapeared. Little Bugger will probably bring it back for me to refill. Mick

 

[KLH]

I often see woodmice on the feeders - we have quite a few in the garden. I'll watch the feeders out of the window at dusk, and there is often a woodmouse on one. It will spend a good half hour or so nibbling. An ex tenant had a ginger mog that used to bring them inside, and it was down to me, my OH and anyone else to help her catch it, as she was doing her nut. Regularly.

 

[Peewit]

Im not sure about Mice, but we have a Squirel who appears to have stolen the peanut feeder. The lid is on the ground under my Camelia bushes but the feeder full of nuts has completely dissapeared. Little Bugger will probably bring it back for me to refill. Mick

Hi Mick

Mice are alright outside, and I have no problem with them. I am against hurting wildlife, and rather work to prevent some of their exploits. OH thinks differently when it comes to mice damaging property though.

Sounds like your Squirrel has taken a liking to the nut feeder big style.

Grey Squirrels are a pest as they are clever at taking advantage of food we put out on the feeders. You just have to resort to outsmarting them.
We have plastic seed feeders, and now have plastic bottles thread through the rope, which are attached to opposite ends of a rope - with the feeders in the middle of the rope (like a washing line)

I have never G.Squirrels on my feeders since. They jump onto the bottles and they roll around and around they fall of each time Better than a circus act anytime LOL :t:
Their tails flick about in frustration, and they sit for ages looking at the feeders but they cannot get them. :-O

Tell you one thing (shows how intelligent Squirrels are). We have a ground feeder - plate of food goes into cube of wire fencing (clipped together with bulldog clips) - made to measure. I used to feed the birds thinking that the Squirrels would get get into the cube though 1 - 2 inch sq squares too. They can still get in - grrrrrrr.
I filled the plate with food this one day, placed it in the cube. A G.Squirrel picked up the cube off the ground and shook it so the plate of food dispersed onto the ground, and then put the ground feeder 2 feet away from where it was sitting. :eek!:

So out came a robust house brick and now it stays on top of the cube, and this annoys the squirrel LOL.

At least mice are too small to do things that G.Squirrels do. The mice get a good feed from the messy Squirrels we have. Then our local resident Tawny gets a good feed of mice too. I think of it that way.

Regards
Kathy

 

[keith richter]

Never had any problems, Field mice are everywhere where I live though. There trying to get into the house to keep warm for the winter.

 

[iveljay]

Mice are great - so far I have won prizes in two photo comps with photos of field mice who were hanging around the feeders rather than the birds I intended to shoot! Must admit they are getting a bit of a pain in the house (its not just warmth they are after) and have (humanely) ejected three (different species!) in as many days.
They are protected against mogs by our big bird friendly dogs who seem to have accorded them honary bird status and spend hours watching them!

J

 

[keith richter]

Mice are great - so far I have won prizes in two photo comps with photos of field mice who were hanging around the feeders rather than the birds I intended to shoot! Must admit they are getting a bit of a pain in the house (its not just warmth they are after) and have (humanely) ejected three (different species!) in as many days.
They are protected against mogs by our big bird friendly dogs who seem to have accorded them honary bird status and spend hours watching them!

J

Dog's best friend, Kinda like a cat sleeping with a dog.:eek!: Lol

KR