From what I've been reading, shrews don't do much damage to gardens and properties. In fact, if you happen to have one around it means that you have an exceptionally healthy garden. They are insectivorous and carnivorous, so I doubt that they have been chewing on the roots of your plants. Mice will sometimes do that. But are you sure that what you have is a shrew and not a vole? They look very much alike. Shrews are usually smaller than voles. And voles are very likely to go about chewing on roots, like mice.

One problem with mice traps is that once the trap has sprung, if you aren't right there to clean it out, it is no longer effective for other mice in the area. My father had a cabin in the woods that would be vacant for long periods of time. A friend of his suggested this home-made trap that keeps on working. Fill a 5 gallon pail with several inches of water. Take an empty soda or beer can and poke a hole in the bottom. String a wire through the can and suspend it over the water by tying it to the handles of the pail. Smear peanut butter on the can and rest a piece of wood against the side of the pail so the mice can climb to the rim. They will jump onto the can to eat the PB, and spin the can and drop into the water. You may end up with a mess in the pail, but it will keep working until you get a chance to empty it.

L2c46, I had no idea that you were from South Africa. Do you have Dutch heritage like my artist friend? He was extremely tall, like several other Dutch people that I know. My GGgrandparents, who immigrated to Texas from Prussia in the mid 19th century almost immigrated to South Africa instead, as that was their first choice. My GGGF owned a lot of land in Germany but my his sister had inherited all of the tools and farm equipment, and so my GGGF rented out his land and didn't work. When he got married, my GGGM decided to put an end to that, and that's why they decided to leave Germany - to increase their wealth. Their first thought was to immigrate to South Africa, but because a lot of Germans were moving to Texas at that time, they thought that might be a better idea. It took them a while to sell all the land in Germany, and some relatives in Texas gave me copies of letters written in German (and German script - not easy to read) that described some of the transactions of their land sales and money transfers to Galveston after they had already left Germany. It must have taken the letters a very long time to arrive. Lars

Mice! Ggrr-r-r-r! They chewed holes in my bag of cookies, ate (or, more likely stashed quite a few of) all but the first few that I got to first ... and ... as I tell folks who are unhappy at my veggies having chew marks, or the eruptions on beans and other veggies that result from piercing insects, etc. ... the critters eat first! Chewed and emptied a bag of pasta ... found some, later, under the chesterfield/couch. I used large Folgers or M H coffee cans to keep them out of the cookies. And gallon ice cream buckets. They chew holes into paper flour and sugar bags. When my telephone quit - they'd chewed not only the insultation (actually "insulation") ... but the wire, as well. Twice! Same with speaker wires from the stereo. My landlord gave me some bait, which I used in the house, as the cat does not come in there - they wouldn't touch it. They spurn (almost always) both the Tin Cat and the snap-traps, baited with peanut butter, or a date, or a nut. I did catch a mouse that has been confined for an extended period to the bathroom the other day. I have no problem with taking the trap to the garage and dropping the contents near the cat's food dish ... they disappear. Recently, while working in the garden, the cat often brings me a mouse or two a day, and has some enthusiasm, but not much, for having me drag it by the tail near her. They get up into my desk, and chew papers, sometimes, that seem to have nothing to do with food. Also rats ... that chewed a corner of the door from the basement into the kitchen. They chew large holes in cardboard boxes, and the other day chewed a hole about an inch and a half across in the lid and the top of the barrel of a gallon plastic pail for ice cream where I'd kept the cookies. So much for that deterrent! So ... now I'm keeping the cookies ... the sugar ... and flour ... and pasta, including KD ... plus breakfast cereal in those large thicker plastic tubs that are used for storage. Son and his friend have some stored here, so I'm using them temporarily, but will have to get several of my own ... got one, with some other needed things, at an estate sale, the other day. A (larger) rat trap caught a rat a while ago - it wasn't snapped in, but lying beside it, with a bloody nose, so I guess the trap had hit his head so hard that it did him in. And another, caught in the snap trap: he didn't lie around long in the shed, after removal from the trap. Having heard some squeaking in a corner by the cupboard (the overhang from the base isn't blocked) the other day, I saw one run out into the room ... and when I gave chase ... quickly turned and ran back. Haven't got that situation investigated fully, yet. I need to ask some who are more familiar with the game as to whether one needs to boil, dip into water treated with bleach, or otherwise treat such a trap after it's caught one, as there may be a scared message left by the deceased which would scare off others. I was going to say that these beggars don't even pay room and board ... but they don't even "beg" - just damage the property by "chew and grab" kind of burglary! End of rant. Well ... not quite! They have chewed scores of pieces of foam out of old uncle's recliner in the living room and left them lying scattered on the floor. Set a trap - they ignored it. Tried to block their entry - they found a way around. Didn't think to attach aluminum foil all around the bottom - likely need several layers. Will have to try that ... but it's probably too late, as I figure that they've likely ruined it. End of rant ... I guess. For now, anyway. ole (sometimes less than more) joyful