Just because you don’t see them, don’t pretend they’re not there. If you keep hens or have ducks around, sooner or later you’ll get a visit from a mustelid pest. I’d never seen a live stoat or weasel around here, but we’ve caught quite a few over the last few years. Nothing for months and then this female stoat appeared in a our DoC 200 trap near our pond, baited with a hen’s egg. The only good stoat is a dead stoat. I was so surprised to see that I’d caught something , I nearly forgot to pick the watercress I’d gone down to collect from the stream in the first place for watercress soup.
The mouse traps continue to snap shut around the garden but some of the broad bean seeds have survived and their shoots are just pushing through the ground. Still time to sow broad beans and garlic. You can sow winter salad in pots too – mibuna, mizuna, claytonia, komatsuna, rocket, chicory, endive and corn salad will all do well in the colder months.
The wholemeal ginger slice was very successful from Jo Seagar’s Jo Seagar: The Cook School Recipes book. I’ve also enjoyed reading the beautifully written and very English biography ‘In the Blood‘ by Andrew Motion, formerly Poet Laureate in the UK.
I’ve just put down a baited box to see if I can get rid of the rats that are plaguing my chickens right now. If they dig any more tunnels and holes I’m concerned the hen house might disappear down underground. I catch about a mouse a day either in the house or in the outside cupboard where the dog food is – oh the joys of country living. I do however let the mice do their thing in the barn – for the moment at least!
If I lay mice / rat traps in the garden will cats step in them (and damage their paws)?
We also have a real problem with cats in our garden (they all come from surrounding neighbours). I suppose if I get rid of the mice it might stop the cats, but they come here because of our bush and birds as well. How do I deal with cats? – I’m sick of finding their faeces in amongst my veges that I am going to eat!!!
Hi Robyn, I put my mouse traps along walls (where the mice tend to run) and cover them with a plank to make a tunnel over the trap. This is mainly to keep off birds but it would also stop cats getting at them. You may have to fence popular beds with concrete reinforcing mesh. I’ve been told that poking short sticks in the beds randomly stops cats squatting or gives them a scare if they do. Give it a try and see how you get on. If you’ve got a water supply you could try a scarecrow motion-activated water sprinkler. Rachel