Field mice are also known as Voles. They are small little rodents that are typically found in open fields, grassy areas, forests, and empty old homes. If you have a garden and live near wide open spaces then chances are you will find a few field mice. You can plant a few types of plants that typically keep field mice away including daffodils, lavender, and mints.
There are other methods to keep field mice out of your garden as they eat all types of things including plants along with trash and human food such as peanut butter, fruits, and cheese. As field mice can multiply quickly, you can be overrun by these rodents if you don’t take steps to prevent them from coming into your home.
Field Mice Behavior
Field mice are scavenger animals and can easily feed on all types of food available to them. They are preyed on by a long list of predators including wolves, owls, snakes, cats, and bears. As they rely on their lightning-quick speed and small size they also are able to camouflage themselves in small tiny areas to avoid getting killed. They do have the largest list of predators than any other animal and as they are nocturnal animals, this may lead to the fact that they are eaten by many sorts of creatures.
As field mice are very cautious by nature, this is to help them not be eaten by predators. They try to avoid all sorts of dangerous situations, but they can’t seem to avoid all of them. As they are eaten by many types of living organisms, field mice can produce just as fast as any other animal. Females can become pregnant once a month and produce up to five babies in one batch. They deliver within two weeks of pregnancy as the male searches for food to bring back. She nurses the babies until they can start scavenging for food on their own within five weeks.
Field Mice Prevention
When trying to avoid having field mice in your home, take small steps in reassuring they won’t come around with a variety of plants they don’t like to smell or be around. Up keep your home by mowing the lawn weekly, removing any debris that may be sitting around the home, maintain shrubbery around your home and remove any pet’s food that you have in bowls outside. If you have a dog that stays in the backyard then have a specific time to eat rather than leaving the food out all day. This will not only bring field mice but other animals and insects. By keeping up with the surroundings of your home and garden then you will prevent any hiding spots and food available for field mice to come towards. As they can be very intelligent, they will try to never put themselves in a dangerous situation by allowing themselves to willingly become food to one of its many predators.
Get Rid Of Field Mice
If you have to become over-run with field mice no matter what you try, then consider humane traps that capture these little critters and don’t kill them. Lure them in with peanut butter as it has a strong smell or try nuts. Use as many traps as needed to capture all of them. If you seem to have an infestation then place a trap every six feet from each other. As field mice don’t usually explore very far from where they dwell, keep in mind that if you see a lot of them then chances are they are living close to your home.
Using humane traps will allow you to trap them and remove them from your property into another empty open field. Be certain to wear gloves and a face mask when handling one of these traps as field mice also carry diseases and you don’t want to get sick from any of them.
As there are no repellents to prevent field mice from causing an infestation, you can take some basic steps that will help greatly in making it difficult for the field mice to come into your area. Using natural steps to keep field mice away is a lot better than using harsh chemicals that can not only kill the mice but harm other living organisms as well. Combine sanitation with exclusion to get control over the population of these rodents. As they reproduce every 28 days, field mice can become a real problem if you don’t take measures to prevent them from coming around.
Remove Field Mice Safe Havens
Anyone living near an open field can become a victim to having many field mice. If you happen to have an old storage house sitting in the backyard you may want to remove it because the mice will seek refuge in this little home. Any machinery that is rotting or old cars also needs to be removed from your property in order to avoid having tons of field mice invading your home.