I believe shrews are mainly meat eaters; slugs, snails, bugs, worms etc so you can relax. Out of interest they have a massive appetite and spend most of their time eating, they will consume 80 - 90% of their own body weight per day!
I believe shrews are mainly meat eaters; slugs, snails, bugs, worms etc so you can relax. Out of interest they have a massive appetite and spend most of their time eating, they will consume 80 - 90% of their own body weight per day!
Perhaps I will go back to "humane" traps. My bait for both types of trap is peanut butter.
To dispose of caught mice I did a sort of sling-shot move to send them to the other side of a small river. If I got it only half right they swam back to the starting bank. If I left them too long, they chewed the trap, so traps are an on-going cost. In heavy rain the mice were wet and died of hypothermia - is that humane?
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I believe shrews are mainly meat eaters; slugs, snails, bugs, worms etc so you can relax. Out of interest they have a massive appetite and spend most of their time eating, they will consume 80 - 90% of their own body weight per day!
Perhaps I will go back to "humane" traps. My bait for both types of trap is peanut butter.
To dispose of caught mice I did a sort of sling-shot move to send them to the other side of a small river. If I got it only half right they swam back to the starting bank. If I left them too long, they chewed the trap, so traps are an on-going cost. In heavy rain the mice were wet and died of hypothermia - is that humane?
I believe shrews are mainly meat eaters; slugs, snails, bugs, worms etc so you can relax. Out of interest they have a massive appetite and spend most of their time eating, they will consume 80 - 90% of their own body weight per day!
Perhaps I will go back to "humane" traps. My bait for both types of trap is peanut butter.
To dispose of caught mice I did a sort of sling-shot move to send them to the other side of a small river. If I got it only half right they swam back to the starting bank. If I left them too long, they chewed the trap, so traps are an on-going cost. In heavy rain the mice were wet and died of hypothermia - is that humane?
Sounds like a good idea for a gameshow. Catapult the mouse onto a target to win a prize
Which is why I usually put "humane" in inverted comma. And why I have gone back to spring traps. But the shrews ... perhaps I need to use vegan peanut butter.
"If someone invented the perfect mouse trap, the world would beat a path to their door."
I was once involved with a Canadian forest tree nursery. They were plagued with mice. The mice would fill all the traps and still have enough forces left to dig up many tree seeds. And new forces the next day. They invented a device that could catch dozens of mice without being reset. It involved a baited wheel fixed over a bucket of water. When the mice stretched over to get at the bait, the wheel rotated and they fell into the water. Howeever, I don't think drowning is considered to be humane in UK law.
For a game show, how about loading 20 spring traps in fastest time. With points deducted for broken fingers.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Which is why I usually put "humane" in inverted comma. And why I have gone back to spring traps. But the shrews ... perhaps I need to use vegan peanut butter.
"If someone invented the perfect mouse trap, the world would beat a path to their door."
I was once involved with a Canadian forest tree nursery. They were plagued with mice. The mice would fill all the traps and still have enough forces left to dig up many tree seeds. And new forces the next day. They invented a device that could catch dozens of mice without being reset. It involved a baited wheel fixed over a bucket of water. When the mice stretched over to get at the bait, the wheel rotated and they fell into the water. Howeever, I don't think drowning is considered to be humane in UK law.
For a game show, how about loading 20 spring traps in fastest time. With points deducted for broken fingers.
If you used the same equipment, but without the water in the bucket that would do it. I've seen similar somewhere. I inherited a flat metal box with a clear plastic lid. It has two holes to the side, both have a see-saw type flap for the critters to scamper over to get to the food inside. The flap then lifts back up so they can't get back out. It works to a degree, I did get a few last Winter, but some are possibly too light or have worked out how to get back out. I've tried sonic, that was useless. I think i'll look into the bucket style one maybe. I'm glad we don't have rats, they're worse than mice as they're intelligent and have built up an immunity to poison.
bédé said: Howeever, I don't think drowning is considered to be humane in UK law.
If you do catch rats or mice in a bucket or live cage, are you only allowed to release them? If not, which forms of killing are allowed? I know of farmers who drown rats, are they breaking the law
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"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
To dispose of caught mice I did a sort of sling-shot move to send them to the other side of a small river. If I got it only half right they swam back to the starting bank. If I left them too long, they chewed the trap, so traps are an on-going cost. In heavy rain the mice were wet and died of hypothermia - is that humane?
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
And why I have gone back to spring traps. But the shrews ... perhaps I need to use vegan peanut butter.
"If someone invented the perfect mouse trap, the world would beat a path to their door."
I was once involved with a Canadian forest tree nursery. They were plagued with mice. The mice would fill all the traps and still have enough forces left to dig up many tree seeds. And new forces the next day.
They invented a device that could catch dozens of mice without being reset. It involved a baited wheel fixed over a bucket of water. When the mice stretched over to get at the bait, the wheel rotated and they fell into the water. Howeever, I don't think drowning is considered to be humane in UK law.
For a game show, how about loading 20 spring traps in fastest time. With points deducted for broken fingers.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I've seen similar somewhere.
I inherited a flat metal box with a clear plastic lid. It has two holes to the side, both have a see-saw type flap for the critters to scamper over to get to the food inside. The flap then lifts back up so they can't get back out.
It works to a degree, I did get a few last Winter, but some are possibly too light or have worked out how to get back out.
I've tried sonic, that was useless.
I think i'll look into the bucket style one maybe.
I'm glad we don't have rats, they're worse than mice as they're intelligent and have built up an immunity to poison.