Wow, another weekend flew by too fast, I hate that! And our rodent saga is really heating up in the garden. So far I have caught and relocated four mice and two rats using three humane cages and monitoring activity in our garden during the night using a camera. No evidence that they are in the house yet, they appear to be nesting and living in the lining of our garden beds which Ron will be sealing once we’ve confirmed all the critters have been relocated.
It’s interesting that this issue started so abruptly, our garden was thriving with tons of green tomatoes from massive tomato plants just a few weeks ago. Then I noticed a few half eaten green tomatoes and a mouse running from that garden bed one evening. Now the tomato plants are destroyed with no tomatoes left because the mice climb the vines to eat the tomatoes while the rats are too large for that and chew through the base stalks to bring the plants down and get to the tomatoes. Ugh!
Of the two types of cages I have, the rats will not go near the large one like they already know what it is and how easy that one trips, so I got a couple of different style rat cages online and found raw almonds are their favorite bait so far and can be placed in the cages in a way that forces them to interact with the trigger mechanism to get to them. Hopefully they are enjoying their new home in sprawling farmland miles from our house in the middle of nowhere.
Miko is hanging in there, happy to nap the rest of the day inside enjoying the AC after his long morning walks when it’s cool. He has a follow up vet appointment next week to make sure his kidneys are doing okay with all his medication adjustments. And he enjoyed plenty of plain pasta set aside for him as a treat last night.
It’s been a fun week of eats and with salads packed with cucumbers from our garden and plentiful amounts of tomatoes from my sister’s garden. Also kicky curry soy curl stir fry and trying a vegan protein alternative I found at Grocery Outlet in a simple salad.
We found another fun deal at Grocery Outlet our freezer is loaded with now, Strong Roots Broccoli & Purple Carrot Bites which are basically healthier frozen veggie tots perfect for air frying and serving with kicky dipping sauces. Also simple pasta dishes with plenty of weekday leftovers and more garden salads with blended hemp seed dressings.
It has been awhile, but we finally got back out to Zest Kitchen for a toasted pesto veggie sandwich and taco trio.
Then stepped out to a fun, outdoor summer concert – remember the Spin Doctors? I listened to them so much in the 90s and they were playing at a local amphitheater where we sipped beer and took a memory trip back to high school.
It was a fun evening and productive weekend. It will be an interesting week at work as I need to weigh a big job change decision which has been an ongoing adventure for the last few weeks and me doing a lot of thinking on what I want. Hopefully everything goes well! And this short list is a good start to your week!
Oh my goodness. The Spin Doctors doesn’t even sound like they were that long ago! We’ve never actually had a rodent issue before in our garden~ just bunnies and we just let them stay. My daughter has been begging me for a pet mouse though, and yes, I know it’s “a thing” but I’m not ready. But the rat would be my husbands downfall! He saw one in the garage the other day and nearly passed out! LOL!
I know, crazy they are classic music now! That’s awesome on not having a rodent issue, this is the first year we’ve had it and possibly related to the drought. I had pet rats as a kid and loved them, they are actually very friendly and smart. But yeah, it’s different seeing wild rats.
Oh no, those poor critters in the garden! I’m so glad you’re using humane traps, of course. That’s so tough to manage. I know my mom is fighting with woodchucks and squirrels right now. I used to have pet mice as a kid so I don’t know if I could cope!
I know, I felt awful trapping them. I had rats as pets as a kid and loved them. But just wow on the rapid damage to our garden and knowing how fast the population can grow and maybe move into the house scared me and they needed a new home!
I’ve heard it’s a good idea to wear rubber gloves when handling or baiting humane traps, so that the rats and mice won’t smell human scents. Peanut butter or any nut utter may be a good bait.
It’s nice to read that you are releasing them. Best of luck!
Hi and yes, great tip and thanks! So far I think we can re-located everyone with 2 rats and 6 mice caught no activity in the last week or so. I have to be careful this week with working and triple digit heat only setting the traps out when I can relocate them before the heat kicks in.