Monday 14 March 2011

severed shoots

As my extremely polite and well spoken maternal grandmother used to say when she was really annoyed by something she had done Oh damn and blast and blithering hell....  I went in to water the tunnel this morning to discover nearly every sweet pea seedling nibbled off at the base and the little shoots just lying on the pots. Not slugs, no trails. And all happened overnight. Is this mouse damage?  It is just so cheeky to nibble the stalks through and just leave the severed shoots All pots are off the ground level palettes and back onto benches now. I was not happy......

Even if it isn't mouse damage there will soon be less mice as I'm just off to get traps - there's a new one on the market that you don't have to bait, it just has some scent that's apparently completely irresistible. I was sceptical but put one in the kitchen where a cheeky little rodent had been nipping out and stealing the dogs' biscuits (they just watched) and caught it within half an hour. Then reset the trap and caught its accomplice.
I think I'm on a mission for a substantial tunnel tally now.

Oh and I just organised for the next acre to be ploughed and harrowed. I have been trying to resist. But seem to have failed. I think I have a plan......

3 comments:

  1. Looking forward to hearing about your plan ...

    I am afraid it is mouse damage - that happened to mine last year - it is the way they abandon the little shoots that really makes me go "Damn and blast" - I am keeping mine in the house this year and doing the "sweet pea shuffle" every morning and evening ... time consuming.
    Good luck with the mouse trap.
    K

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  2. Thanks - the good news is we're already one mouse down! These mouse traps really are extraordinary, I thought the little beggars would at least have the grace only to come out at night but obviously they use the tunnel as home whenever my back's turned, which is most of the time....
    The plan, oh yes, well there's some ruminating going on but I'm sure all will be revealed, I think I'll get the area cultivated before I dare to assume that what is currently going in (in my head) will actually go in!!

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  3. Those blasted mice! I've suffered exactly the same, they always seem to have the cheek of leaving the tips, how rude. Hopefully the seedlings should send another shoot from the base, so not all is lost, just extremely frustrating and sets them back a bit.
    Good luck with your mouse mission, I may be asking where you got your traps from as they seem to have moved on to my lupin seedlings now!!

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