We are used to the pests in the garden being insects. Let’s not forget that rodents also cause serious damage to our crops. In this case we are going to talk about the plagues of rats and mice. Rats and mice have their own life and feeding cycle that can cause damage to plantations and you have to know the different techniques to be able to drive them away.
In this article we are going to tell you what are the characteristics, habitat, food and how to kill rats and mice in your garden.
Characteristics and habitat of rats and mice
They are rodents that have a medium or small size that is usually up to 12 centimeters long. Depending on each species of size, the terrain can vary, it is something relevant when it comes to knowing what damage is who can cause in our plantations. It has relatively large ears in relation to its body and round eyes with whiskers around the mouth.
It has strong and large front teeth that are the ones that destroy our crops. These teeth grow throughout their life but they maintain a comfortable length so that the animal can gnaw and wear them continuously.
They are cosmopolitan animals. This means that they can inhabit any continent except Antarctica. This is because they are animals easily adaptable to the various conditions of terrestrial habitats. They can be easily accommodated in forests, sheets, mountains, grasslands, dunes, around bodies of water, agricultural fields and a long etcetera.
If we go to urban areas we can find them in sewers, garbage dumps, warehouses, basements, commercial buildings and still others that offer shelter and easy access to food. Another characteristic for which they are easily adaptable animals is that they can build their nests both in trees and in places with high humidity.
Food
They are omnivorous animals and can feed almost anything both animals and a plant. They are not adapted to the consumption of a specific food, but they eat everything they find in their path. If they can choose between an animal or a plant, they will choose an animal. They are quite skillful to be able to hunt small animals such as insects, small birds and some reptiles. They have been seen capturing aquatic creatures such as mussels, snails, and fish.
Since you can include cereals, nuts, oranges, coconut, and some seeds in your diet, it becomes somewhat unpleasant and annoying in the field of agriculture. We are going to analyze how to eliminate rat and mouse pests in agriculture.
Methods to scare away rats and mice
As we have mentioned before, rats and mice can be found in our crops and damage both seeds and already germinated plants. We are going to see some tips to be able to drive away rats and mice from our garden.
Pouring remains of the vacuum cleaner from our house in the garden
Since rats and mice followed a lot by smell, One of the techniques to be able to drive away our crops is to leave our remains so that they are more and uncomfortable. For this technique to be effective it has to be of constant formation over time as the smell disappears. Every time I visit the orchard you will have to pour back the remains of the vacuum cleaner near the crops.
Use a dog
Dogs will leave their hair and smell everywhere. A cat can also do the trick. These animals can be used to mark the territory and keep rats and mice away from our crops.
Find another time to plant
Keep in mind that mice begin to have trouble finding their food when the fall season begins. We must try to adapt our cultures to the time when the mice are weakest. If it is sown before winter, the lack of food of the mice will coincide with the more developed plants and the attack on them will be much less. Let’s not forget that what rats and mice consume the most are seeds.
Using rat and mouse traps
There are traps that do not kill these rodents. They simply get trapped in cages and cannot get out. It would be interesting to catch them and throw them away from the garden.
Used raptor silhouette
We can use a wooden silhouette in the shape of an eagle or any bird of prey in flight. We must place it in a place where at some time of the day the sun will shine and its works will be projected on the garden. In some stores figures of metal tubes are sold that also serve to scare away pigeons and blackbirds.
Plant some plants to scare away rats and mice
Jimson weed is a plant that drives these rodents away. However, it is a toxic plant. If the particular garden is exposed to a public place, it is interesting to avoid contact with other people. Another idea is to sow nasturtium. One of the problems of this plant is that when it blooms and is developed there are no reasons in the orchards.
Another alternative is to sow rue. Rue is an effective plant against voles. This is a plant that should be pruned in the winter time and its effectiveness against rats and mice is not too clear since its maximum abundance does not occur when there are so many rats and mice in the garden. It is also said that the daffodil flower does not like these animals and keeps them away. One of the advantages is that they make our eyes happy in the month of March and they make the garden something more decorative. However, this method does not work for us given the time of year when the problem usually appears.
Finally, an idea that is usually given is also use vibrations and noises to scare them away. We can place grinders or plastic bottles that make noise and scare them away.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about rat and mouse pests.
