Outside the window, autumn has passed half, and it’s time to talk about the most pressing problem of almost every summer resident. And we are not talking about preserving tender plants, autumn pruning or treating them for diseases. The main problem of our summer cottages in autumn is rats and mice.
Probably every gardener knows what damage these small animals can cause. In the worst case, they negate the efforts of the entire season: new varieties of fruit and ornamental plants, bulbous flowers, crops-everything can be completely spoiled by rodents. What should I do? Let’s find out who and why most often comes to our sites in the fall.
Rodents in the country
As a rule, when the cold weather approaches, the cottages are occupied by voles. During the warm season, they lived where they were supposed to — in the fields, weeds, that is, outside of our gardens and flower beds. That is why the owners of extreme sites try to mow the grass behind the fence — to disrupt the convenient places of the mink device.
The most dangerous enemy of our country is rats. They like to settle near human habitation. Rats arrange their nests in the crevices of structures, often choose for these purposes small architectural forms such as decorative bridges, gazebos and, of course, outbuildings.
In the summer season, cats are the owners of suburban areas, and this partly solves the problem (at least with regard to mice). Cats mark the territory, thereby scaring away mice from it. Many even truly domestic Pets in the country perfectly remember their nature and all summer with passion catch small rodents. However, first of all, not every cat is ready to fight a rat. And secondly, in the fall, the owners, leaving the country until spring, take their hunters. And then on the site rule the ball rodents.
Rat traps and poisons
The first thing that comes to mind is to set up mousetraps. But in the fall, in the conditions of a suburban area, they are almost powerless. Each trap will save you from a maximum of 1 mouse or rat, then it will become completely useless, and next to it will pass hordes of rodents.
Many simple poisons are avoided by rats without even trying, as they have a sharp mind. It happens that manufacturers of poisonous bait manage to deceive smart animals, and they eat it. But if the rat immediately dies next to the poison, then its relatives avoid this place. However, there are drugs that effectively resist the dominance of rodents in the country.