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how to mice proof backyard, they ate all the plants

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Deal Addict
Apr 9, 2008
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Toronto

how to mice proof backyard, they ate all the plants

mice eating all the vege plants.
egg plants, corn, peppers etc just after I planted them even before they could produce any vegetables.
Wasted hours of hard work under the sun.

They coming from my neighbours backyard/wasteland.
I also put rat poison over a week ago, but no use.
I even drilled lumber at the bottom of my fence to stop them but they keep coming. Its hard to completely seal the fence.

Any ideas what to do?
28 replies
Deal Fanatic
Feb 4, 2010
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How do you know they're mice? Might be rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. Try sprinkle hot chili pepper. You have to regularly sprinkle it because will dissolve or blow away...and if it doesn't, I feel like it loses its potency after a while. I keep a jar outside just for that.
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Apr 9, 2008
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Jazmina wrote: How do you know they're mice? Might be rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. Try sprinkle hot chili pepper. You have to regularly sprinkle it because will dissolve or blow away...and if it doesn't, I feel like it loses its potency after a while. I keep a jar outside just for that.
seen'em stealing my plants.

I suspected rabbits but i closed access.

i even seen mice taking grass from my backyard to neighbour's.
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Apr 9, 2008
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Toronto
Jazmina wrote: How do you know they're mice? Might be rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. Try sprinkle hot chili pepper. You have to regularly sprinkle it because will dissolve or blow away...and if it doesn't, I feel like it loses its potency after a while. I keep a jar outside just for that.
this seems like a good trick but do you sprinkle on the plans and around?
but that would wash it away each time I water the plants.
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Feb 11, 2007
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You might kill your neighbours' cats putting out rat poison.
You could get a backyard cat to deal with them.
Or just put out mouse traps.... but who knows what you'll trap/kill.
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Feb 4, 2010
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bsobaid wrote: this seems like a good trick but do you sprinkle on the plans and around?
but that would wash it away each time I water the plants.
I sprinkle around them not on them
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Nov 7, 2012
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my current neighbour has a skunk. This skunk sprayed my dog last summer. It's been in and out of my yard this summer and my feeble attempts to block it with various cuts of wood hasn't worked.

I'm thinking of putting chicken wire around the bottom of the fences adjacent to my neighbours. As much as I would like to put chili pepper flakes or critter ridder I don't want to my dog sick. I have a whole day of work for me this weekend....

OP: put a couple of mice traps around your garden to narrow down what is eating your garden. It might be rabbits. I know my neighbourhood has a lot of them.
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Feb 4, 2010
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FYI - the smell of chili pepper keeps generally keeps animals away so it's highly unlikely they will touch it or go too close to it because pepper is a repellent so you should have not have to worry about any animals eating it, getting sick or scratching its eyes out - the whole point is to keep it away with the smell.
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Nov 19, 2004
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akswun wrote:
OP: put a couple of mice traps around your garden to narrow down what is eating your garden. It might be rabbits. I know my neighbourhood has a lot of them.
If you use mouse traps, be sure to use ones that are meant for outdoors. Don't use the regular snap traps or you will be injuring any number of different animals.
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Jan 17, 2002
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I can only think of a raised garden or sealed greenhouse...
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Oct 13, 2014
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I would also go with the "vole" theory. Two things, if you can:

1 - If it is voles or mice go out and try and find a couple of garter snakes for your yard.
2 - If it is mice then go with this trap. It does not have to be reset and it can catch more than one mouse. You can easily modify the trap by using a tin can on a wire:



I had a mouse problem in Alberta years ago and made my own trap, works great.
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Apr 9, 2008
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akswun wrote: my current neighbour has a skunk. This skunk sprayed my dog last summer. It's been in and out of my yard this summer and my feeble attempts to block it with various cuts of wood hasn't worked.

I'm thinking of putting chicken wire around the bottom of the fences adjacent to my neighbours. As much as I would like to put chili pepper flakes or critter ridder I don't want to my dog sick. I have a whole day of work for me this weekend....

OP: put a couple of mice traps around your garden to narrow down what is eating your garden. It might be rabbits. I know my neighbourhood has a lot of them.
chicken wire sounds like a good idea as long asi ts not too pricey and not terribly hard to install.

though i read stories when i was a child how share their teeth is and they can free lion from the net.

another important point. I am scared to death from mice, even after they are dead. So cant do mouse traps.
Deal Guru
Jan 25, 2007
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Please don't use poison. Outside of the neighbourhood cats, the other wildlife will be poisoned as well (owls in particular) which will just make your issue WORSE.

I had a tonne of voles I didn't know about until I got a security guard. He killed about 3 per night for a solid week, then moved onto chipmunks and other beasts (including tangling regularly with a raccoon, skunk and many bunnies). I miss that cat.
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Apr 26, 2003
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Nothing will keep mice out of your backyard. I'm dealing with the same issue right now in my backyard with mice. They made a nest under my shed and the opening they get into it is no bigger than 1 inch wide by 1/2 inch tall. They can squeeze into and through tiny little holes. We put out poison traps but that didn't do anything since there's so much more to eat.

Tried the pop can/peanut butter bucket trap but that didn't work either. Need a smaller roller thing. Ended up buying traps and killed 3 already this past week. Yeah, it's icky but better to know that they're done and dead vs you have no idea if they're still around.
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Feb 4, 2010
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This thread is making wonder if there's anyway to prevent voles coming in the first place? I don't *think* I have any - or at least none that cause my grief. What conditions attract voles - is having vegetable gardens? Garbage? Fruit/nut trees?
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Jun 8, 2008
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I wouldn't eat any veggies coming out of a garden where rat poison has been laid!
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Mar 23, 2008
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Jazmina wrote: This thread is making wonder if there's anyway to prevent voles coming in the first place? I don't *think* I have any - or at least none that cause my grief. What conditions attract voles - is having vegetable gardens? Garbage? Fruit/nut trees?
Considering voles can tunnel, it's going to be pretty tough to keep them out of any area they find food available.

C
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Feb 4, 2010
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Imsmarterthanyou wrote: My neighbor is feeding the birds. So bird seeds always end up on the ground. It attracts raccoons and voles. There is NO way to prevent voles from coming over. You could dig a 2 foot deep trench and install 1/4" metallic mesh so they don't tunnel below ground. But that won't help you much with above ground. Btw did you know that voles are capable of climbing a perfectly vertical wall of a house if it is full bricks? I had it on video. I had voles climbing my wall and ending up on the roof. Completely nuts! Vegetable gardens mainly attract rabbits. Rabbits attracts raccoons. Skunks love bugs in your lawn and your smelly garbage (so does raccoons) . Voles attracts cats. I had a whole zoo in my backyard.
Your post makes me laugh - I have an abundance of squirrels and chipmunks that knock my planters, dig holes in my lawn, eat all my apples from my apple tree and walnuts from my walnut trees and then leave a huge mess afterwards. Also have a groundhog that has built a tunnel underneath my shed and keeps digging holes to access it after I close them up. I also have a lot of birds (mostly robins) so there are fresh bird droppings all over the place every single day. A while back a cat kept coming into my fenced backyard (would poop and leave)...makes me wonder why it was there now, probably chasing something? Haven't see it or its poop in a while. Seen a raccoon in my flowerbeds (and later found my green bin pretty badly scratched up). But I'm not complaining, could be way worse lol. Oh but I did hear the previous owners had to bring in someone to get rid of the family of skunks .

Interestingly, I do have a planter box with some lettuce, strawberries and herbs and so far so no problems with rabbits that also inhabit my backyard. In ground, I'm experimenting with growing cucumber, celery, zucchini and kale - I'm not too worried about the rodents eating those because I don't think I'll be successful in growing them given the walnut trees, but I'm surprised everythign is still there - chili pepper seems to working.

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