LOL freezengirl. I'd take the bear poop over piles of moose poop. Hummm...which would do more damage to a garden? Bears at least don't tend to care about the garden itself. They sure like the compost and trash though. My cat does a good job of keeping rodents down for me. I just wish he didn't feel the need to bring the bodies back inside as a present. Although the bodies are better then when he brings them inside alive. He does this pretty often. I think he just likes playing with them...what is better than a toy the moves and squeaks on it's own? He does usually catch and eventually kill it but I've seen him carrying around mice alive just to drop them and then chase after them. He usually does this in the middle of the night and in our bedroom for some reason. When we're woken up by the cat pouncing and running like crazy or trying to fit his whole body under our dresser it usually means he found himself a live toy. As for vole damage and trees. Get some small mesh hardware cloth and wrap it around the trunks of the trees. It'll keep the voles (and bunnies) from girdling them. Although they usually only do this in the winter, they tunnel under the snow and eat the bark as a winter food source. Once the grass and other plants greens up they prefer that. They likely won't bother the shrubs and trees again until next winter.

Cats can definitely help -- but two caveats: (1) not all cats know how to catch mice (we had two cats during the period of our mini home invasion and only one knew what a mouse or a bird even was -- the other caught primarily naps, preferably on newly dry-cleaned angora sweaters :) (2) even the best mouser can't catch the ones in the walls or ceiling (though a pro is willing to spend hours staring at said walls and ceilings, head cocked (or craned), eyes narrowed, every muscle set just in case, so at least you know they're on the job if one SHOULD dart across your floor. But I will say that I found many a dead (and not of natural causes) mouse on my lawn and patio, especially in the spring and summer. So I'm sure she was at work -- she just couldn't GET to the ones in the attic. I also never, EVER saw one in the main living areas of the house, including the kitchen. I don't know if it was the cats or what, but they STAYED in the attic and walls and never, to my knowledge, ventured into the cats' turf. So while the attic scrabbling was annoying, at least I never worried if I came into the kitchen in the dark and flipped on the light that I'd see a mouse on the counter. Our house was an old one and I'm sure the mice had lived there a lot longer than we had, so I was okay with letting them hang out there in the cold months -- as long as I never had to SEE them.

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This is a situation with which I have had much experience and the solution is easy if you are diligent and properly motivated. There is no need for a professional exterminating service. Mice often nest in the ground just outside of your foundation, especially if the foundation wall is of old stonework. Cold weather will reduce their food supply and drive them into your house and so will construction excavation. I'm surprised the local building department didn't require a rodent control plan for earthwork next to a townhouse. Its unlikely that they are rats so assume they are mice for now. The mice will enter through the basement and look for food. If the food in the basement is accessible they will go no further. If it is not accessible, they will head for the kitchen and open pet food. The only way to get rid of mice safely and without odors is to trap them. The only effective poison is sold in huge containers and you don't want it in your house. Traps are also the quickest way and you are racing against the next birth cycle and it's short. I've used every mouse trap sold and I discovered that only one is effective: ORTHO HOME DEFENSE MAX "PRESS 'N SET" It is easy to bait and set and will kill mice as soon as the house gets quiet and not stop until they are all gone. Use a dozen traps and place them with the jaws near a straight fun of wall and not in direct sight of humans. The best place is the kitchen counter against the backsplash behind bottles and stuff if possible; that is their highway. Use peanut butter from small disposable "lunch" packets to avoid contaminating a jar of it. Since this trap will not allow them to eat the bait you might not have to rebait the trap for a month. Expect to catch 10 or 20 them in a month before you are done. Don't remove the traps just because you haven't caught one for a few days; the babies may be on the way. If you have trouble doing this give the task to someone else; you can't let the mice take over your house. Happy hunting Here is a link that might be useful: Ortho Press N Set