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Dead Mice In Conifer

14 years ago

Got a 3-4 foot Picea omorika 'Aurea' and was collecting scionwood today and while walking past, three dead mice were all nestled together beneath the leader where there's congested growth or, a good place for a bird to build a nest. This is a first. I just knocked them off with my pruner.

Kind of a dumb post but nevertheless, never seen that before.

Dax

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Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
hmm...

mouse-cicles...

i heard.. thru the grapevine.. they are more of a microwave treat.. rather than roasting in the oven ...

hope you didnt let them go to waste ...

ken
gardener365
Original Author
14 years ago
only you ken could come up with that.
god help us!!!

dax
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sali ... i read the facts to understand that they inverted the pot.. and used it as a cover ... on a 7 degree BELOW ZERO sunny winter day .... i will bet it MIGHT be hot enough under an inverted black pot ... to cause the plant to thaw ... get them dormant.. keep them dormant.. and you are all set ... if you create a circumstance.. where they heat and refreeze all winter long .... you will have problems ... let me put it this way ... on a twenty degree day, full sun ... my kids can walk on the blacktop driveway.. bare foot ... i dont approve.. but they have done it ... and.. you just might get away with things down in z8 FL that we in snow country.. might not ... unless you have up north experience ... ken
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Ken it does piss me off so I try not to look in that direction. Instead I stare at my gorgeous thunderhead pine. WOW do I love that pine. It takes my breath away. T, well I don't want fungi or any other ugly growing crap so I guess I'll have to dig it up. yikes it's taller than I am. so annoying. If my Pine lives thru the summer (doing the pine prayers still) I wouldn't mind getting another one but we'll see. There are sooo many conifers, I may want some variety. Ken, I'm not that versed in caring for conifers, I admit. My forte has always been perennials: shrubs, trees and flowering types. This is new to me and I'm still working on the "how much water" thing. I'm always sticking my finger into the dirt to "feel" moisture. Not sure what I'm heck feeling though. LOL
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Hi JoeQ, When mice entered our basement, I vetoed the poison rx in case they ran back into their inaccessible hole. I stuck with the mouse traps and got rid of them myself. For you, any decayed mouse from 2 years ago should be pretty well spent. You've done all I did; foam, steel wool and bait traps. I also removed old attic insulation where they had obviously nested, using those heavy black plastic bags to secure it all. Speaking of insulation, does your house have a crawl space and/or fiberglass joist insulation. Mice love to nest hidden in there. One other thought which comes to mind: urine smell. I once read that electrical smells can sometimes mimic animal urine smell. So perhaps a good look at your system in addition to what you're doing may be wise. The neighbors cat is a good thing; sorry your allergic. Good luck.
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Yeah, I'm just really nauseating by mice, that's the thing, and unfortunately we don't have trash collection, so the idea of hauling rotted carcasses to the transfer station kind of grosses me out. On the other hand, I guess I could do what I did initially, which is just to toss 'em into a nearby overgrown field. Hey, we have quite a few garter snakes crawling around (bless their hearts), which I imagine could take care of 'em. What I really should do is focus on attracting more garter snakes to the house. I don't mind snakes but mice, for some reason, give me the willies.
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pineresin
14 years ago
Food cache made by a shrike or crow?

Resin
gardener365
Original Author
14 years ago
hmm. Interesting again. That makes a hell of a lot more sense than any other explanation. I'll see if they were wounded, tomorrow.

Dax
pineresin
14 years ago
Remember to post some photos!

;-)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
i though about birds of prey also... but went with the humor.. or lack thereof.. lol ...

it was an homage to a very old bobcat goldwaithe joke about hamsters ....

ken
scotjute Z8
14 years ago
I've seen them climb up in flat areas when it rains a lot. Presumably they are climbing to escape the water/wet conditions.
gardener365
Original Author
14 years ago
scotjute is right in this case. And, it rained quite a lot recently followed with snow. It looked presumably to be a family, a baby and two adults. I didn't find any wounds.

Dax
tunilla
14 years ago
Man,when are you going to provide some HEATED conifers for the homeless mice ??? T.
gardener365
Original Author
14 years ago
I already do, this place is called a greenhouse.

Latre' Tunilla,

Dax

p.s. I found your thread with all your cacti and prop being shown. You are one amazing grower!
tunilla
14 years ago
Just one (or two-with my wife) amongst many. With our own ways of doing things. Our greenhouses are also winter-quarters for mice and other creatures. They occasionally do some damage to plants in their search for seeds and other things that take their fancy. They will nibble young seedlings or even build nesting places in pots or containers. Mice will be mice... T.

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