Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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So, yesterday while mowing the lawn I spotted something about 3-4 inches long that jumped when I moved a plastic thing in the yard. I do not have that big of a yard. I did notice some holes in the leaves of my Pepper and Jalapeno plants. Do I need to do something about this? If yes, what? Is it common in this area?
Seeing mice in the yard is quite rare, unless at night, around a birdfeeder. Sure it wasn't a frog, lizard or skink? It might also have been a chipmunk. The holes in the leaves of your plants are from insects and other garden pests. When animals eat in your garden, it's usually deer and rabbits, and they'll eat the entire leaf, and sometimes the stalk!
Seeing mice in the yard is quite rare, unless at night, around a birdfeeder. Sure it wasn't a frog, lizard or skink? It might also have been a chipmunk. The holes in the leaves of your plants are from insects and other garden pests. When animals eat in your garden, it's usually deer and rabbits, and they'll eat the entire leaf, and sometimes the stalk!
Thanks for the reply! I wasn't able to tell because it was quite late. The thing seemed too chubby to be a skink or a lizard. And, it didn't "hop" so I don't think that it was a frog. It could have been a chipmunk but it seemed greyish.
Thanks for the reply! I wasn't able to tell because it was quite late. The thing seemed too chubby to be a skink or a lizard. And, it didn't "hop" so I don't think that it was a frog. It could have been a chipmunk but it seemed greyish.
Not saying it couldn't be a mouse. It very well could have. But seeing them outdoors is quite rare.
They can be prevented from getting into houses. Anyone who tells you you have to learn to live with them, is crazy or lazy. Referring back to an old thread here, where someone was told to get used to mice. Chances are, all of our properties have plenty of rodents living outside. Just keep them there. Keep your home plugged up tight! Especially around water lines! It amazes me how many people are content to NOT keep their homes plugged up, but will set traps on a regular basis to catch mice. I occasionally see evidence of mice under my house. So I'll set traps or put poison out. It works. I can set traps just inside of the crawl space, and the next day they will have caught one. I do this a few times until I stop catching them. Seems to work for a while. I don't see any reason to keep snake bait in my garage or under my house! And usually killing one or two seems to last for a while. Last time I had them, a bag of birdseed was left out. I killed 3 or 4 and the traps stopped catching.
I live in the woods. I've been in this house for over 8 years. I've had one mouse in the house. He got in to the laundry room, where dog food was kept. I found his point of entry, under the sink in the laundry room. I sealed up the drywall around the drain pipe. I set out two traps in my laundry room, and never caught anything. After a month of setting traps out, I figured he was under the house, where I had also set a couple of taps...and caught one mouse! I figure the snakes keep most of them away!
Not saying it couldn't be a mouse. It very well could have. But seeing them outdoors is quite rare.
They can be prevented from getting into houses. Anyone who tells you you have to learn to live with them, is crazy or lazy. Referring back to an old thread here, where someone was told to get used to mice. Chances are, all of our properties have plenty of rodents living outside. Just keep them there. Keep your home plugged up tight! Especially around water lines! It amazes me how many people are content to NOT keep their homes plugged up, but will set traps on a regular basis to catch mice. I occasionally see evidence of mice under my house. So I'll set traps or put poison out. It works. I can set traps just inside of the crawl space, and the next day they will have caught one. I do this a few times until I stop catching them. Seems to work for a while. I don't see any reason to keep snake bait in my garage or under my house! And usually killing one or two seems to last for a while. Last time I had them, a bag of birdseed was left out. I killed 3 or 4 and the traps stopped catching.
I live in the woods. I've been in this house for over 8 years. I've had one mouse in the house. He got in to the laundry room, where dog food was kept. I found his point of entry, under the sink in the laundry room. I sealed up the drywall around the drain pipe. I set out two traps in my laundry room, and never caught anything. After a month of setting traps out, I figured he was under the house, where I had also set a couple of taps...and caught one mouse! I figure the snakes keep most of them away!
Thanks again for the reply! What do you mean by keeping the water lines tight? Pardon my ignorance. Also, I don't have a crawl space, I guess that is a good thing? Do I have to worry about them getting into my attic from an exhaust line? What kind of outdoor trap did you get?
So, yesterday while mowing the lawn I spotted something about 3-4 inches long that jumped when I moved a plastic thing in the yard. I do not have that big of a yard. I did notice some holes in the leaves of my Pepper and Jalapeno plants. Do I need to do something about this? If yes, what? Is it common in this area?
Could have been a chipmunk, mouse, vole, skink, mole, lots of things. Rodents are common throughout the continent. I doubt it was a chipmunk; you would have seen them in the yard. Probably a mouse or a vole. It's nothing to worry about really and there isn't much you can do about it. You don't keep pet food or bird seed out in the yard, do you?
Could have been a chipmunk, mouse, vole, skink, mole, lots of things. Rodents are common throughout the continent. I doubt it was a chipmunk; you would have seen them in the yard. Probably a mouse or a vole. It's nothing to worry about really and there isn't much you can do about it. You don't keep pet food or bird seed out in the yard, do you?
I do not keep pet food outside and nor do I keep bird seeds. I heard about my neighbor having issues with rats because he tried to keep bird food outside to attract birds which in turn lead to rats.
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