mice eating sweetpea seeds?

Spirit_2

I planted sweetpea seeds on Monday, yesterday I smoothed the surface of the pots as they looked disturbed. This morning increased disturbance only with empty skins of the sweet pea seeds on the surface.


The pots are in my potting shed. Could it be mice?

Davesnave

In a word, yes.

Mine are on a free standing aluminium bench, so I don't get climbing critters, or slugs.

Lots of advice on the interweb, but I'd just balance the container with the pots on something tall that mice can't climb. For example, in the barn I keep the chicken feeders overnight on the double rungs of an aluminium extension ladder, propped against the wall.

Or hang a shelf from the roof....etc. They can't fly!

Spirit_2

Shed spring cleaned today. More evidence of mice. A cute little nest built inside a nesting box, not so cute droppings on a shelf and 2 holes in the shed floor.I also found the shells of bird seeds. I must have dropped some when filling containers. Birdsfeed is in a plastc dustbin and metal bins.

So need to start again with sweetpeas, then put the green house staging in the shed protem until the new green house is installed at the end of April.

I dont like to kill the mice (we usually get little fat round mice in the garden and stables) rats on the other hand we are merciless about.

My attempts at doing more in the garden are thwarted again. One stepforward and two back on everything I try.

Linda32

Is there any chance that you could grow your seeds in the house on windowsills. At the moment I've got seedlings on every windowsill


We have mice in our garden, we think they are very sweet when they run up and down the bird food pole

Crinkmeister

Soak overnight in paraffin (no smoking!) before sowing.

Linda32

I've never tried paraffin, but previous years I have soaked them overnight. This year I didn't bother and have got the best plants ever.

Davesnave

Crinkmeister wrote: »

Soak overnight in paraffin (no smoking!) before sowing.

In the days when we all had paraffin stoves, that was the standard way.....but the price of paraffin is high if you've no other use for it.

I'm not sure, but maybe white spirit? Eurrghhh! To be honest, I never fancied paraffin peas either! :rotfl:

Farway

Davesnave wrote: »

In the days when we all had paraffin stoves, that was the standard way.....but the price of paraffin is high if you've no other use for it.

I'm not sure, but maybe white spirit? Eurrghhh! To be honest, I never fancied paraffin peas either! :rotfl:

how old are some of us? I remember Red lead as the deterrent way back when