That sounds like quite a surreal experience!

It's not too serious, though
If you just mix the small poop into the rest of the dirt,
it should break down quickly enough

...But I would investigate what numerous critters might be around to nibble on your little plants--that could be a problem

So... you bought chicken poop but you can't eat the food if there's mouse poop near it?

I don't think it's a little mice problem. You have a major RAT problem. The poo should be the least of your worry! You may want to get pest exterminators out there to check your property for a RAT infestation. Good luck!!!

@caroliniann - i miss sc! yeah, i caught a little field mouse nibbling on my thyme last spring. i realize now that i think they've come for the grass seeds/fertilizer, which unbeknownst to me, hubby kept in a corner near one of my beds. i already knew about the field mice, other then that, squirrels are my enemy number one!

@lunita - hmmm... chicken poo..... mouse poo...? not even a close second. i eat chicken. mice? nope. i'm not trying to start a geo-agricultural-political debate, nor am i one of those squirmy icky ewwey kind of gals. but there's just something about mice and their poo that just doesn't sit well with me.

:)

They sound like worm castings. The stuff you buy in stores, which is also poop. Sounds like a multicultural festival.

Anyhow, no way voles cover a bed with poop. Worms, on the other hand... if the place is overrun with mice
1) by trusting your finger into the beds, particularly along the sides, you should find plenty of tunnels. No tunnels no voles.
2) if you buy and set a few mousetraps you should catch one per trap per night. If you don't catch them, they are not there.

I doubt it's mice. It's probably worm castings as mentioned. Mice aren't going to congregate on you garden bed just to poop.

Doesn't compost have horse manure in it? Do you eat horses?
lol
I'll trade you for my over abundance of grubs-now that's yucky

I third the worm castings,
but to know for sure , take a bite ;-)
I heard it tastes like chicken ;-)

Please post some pictures of this so called cute little field mice DROPPINGS. I don't think it's droppings. If it was droppings that covered the tops of your beds you would see them in the beds. I 2nd worm castings. Please let us know what you find out.

I agree that what you describe is NOT mouse droppings. It simply doesn't accumulate that way. Not even if you had literally hundreds of field mice partying in your beds nightly or hundreds of them nesting in your compost pile over the winter.

There are many things they could be but none that are non-organic nor harmful. You will do what makes you feel comfortable obviously but reality is that you need to relax, do some research into how plants grow, and just enjoy gardening. Or get another hobby. Sorry.

Dave

hey everyone!

thanks so much for the info. i couldn't get back to the post til now, but worm castings huh? that makes me feel much better!

maybe it's my choice of words, or my own 'off' sense of humor, but i'm relaxed about it (was just trying to be funny - guess i should have prefaced that first).

the more i researched, the better i felt/feel. it's just that i come here 'first' (now that my granny is gone), as a primary source of info, before i google, because of the cumulative knowledge all in one place, and i love that! now is it worth the occassional newbie teasing and ribbing? SURE! i'm a big girl, lol :)

as for the pics... i can't seem to get them up on this site, and i've tried ALOT! i'll keep trying, but the 'droppings' (mouse, vole, worm, boogie monster - take your pick, lol), are more round in appearance than the elongated kind from my occasional visitor the field mouse.

**NEWS FLASH!!**
dear hubby JUST told me that he and dear daughter (my 8 year old ladybug) put lots and lots of worms in my beds while i was in the hospital last week. they were digging up my flower beds for me, where we have 'lots and lots' of worms in the clay soil. he remembered my thinking out loud about wanting/needing/buying some worms for my beds, and thought to himself... 'self, why BUY worms when we've got our own right here!'. LOL,!!! OMG, I HAD NO IDEA!!! LOL!!!

AND... as i type, my little field mouse friend scurries past my patio window, lol! hilarious!

THANKS EVERYONE, I TRULY APPRECIATE 'ALL' OF YOUR INPUT!
angela :)
if you want garden pics feel free to to go:
http://princesstinybutt.blogspot.com

Here is a link that might be useful: my misc. blog

Angela, if your intruders were field mice or rat, we've got them in the back yard. They usually come in from the open field outside the fence. I've never seen droppings as alarming as you described, becuase they're usually caught pretty soon. My old dog sometimes get to them. Another thing that worked well was live traps. I use roasted peanut with shells in the trap and they always work. Once trapped, I drive to open fields 2 miles away and release them.

There're many other things that leave droppings in my yard. This year lizzards are rampage because my dogs are too old to hunt them down (it's a good thing). They also leave droppings. Rabbits also leave droppings in large volume. They were no show for ten years, then one year they suddenly showed up and never checked out. I heard some people use rabbit droppings as fertilizers, except the rabbits will make sure you have no veggies left to fertilize. I hope you don't have rabbits. They're much harder to trap because they require XLarge traps.

yeah, i'm used to those, before 13 year old dog died last year, he use to bring me presents out of them.

but you know what i discovered on my way home from dropping of my ladybug to school? wild turkeys! LOTS of them and huge! my gosh they're beautiful! but i'm certain they're not the culprits.

but the more i think about it, the more i'm getting sure that they're castings/worm poo. i went out to further inspect, and like i said, they're round in shape, harder than the soil itself, and very dark, much darker than the soil.

and rabbits, lol! that brings back memories of my pet rabbits named twinkle and boo. i let my aunt bunny sit for me when i went to sleep away camp and she didn't realize that they'd completely devour my granny's garden in one sitting when she let them out for 'air and exercise', lol! then they promptly came back home (to my house) and then at my mommies beloved draperies. after that, my dad gave them to Oaklands Children's Fairyland where they lived for a very long and happy time.

thanks again :)