Pests & diseases › Mice
Mice
Take pea and bean seeds straight out of the soil, gnaw stored crops, raid sweetcorn.
Symptoms
- Pea and bean rows that fail to germinate — pull soil and find empty hulls
- Nibbled sweetcorn cobs
- Droppings in shed and stored produce
- Tunnels in compost heaps
Lifecycle
Year-round, peaks late autumn as they seek winter shelter.
What to do
- Snap traps in shed and greenhouse — humane and quick
- Live traps if you prefer (release at least 1 mile away)
- Keep a cat or attract owls and kestrels
If it's bad
- Avoid rodenticides — secondary poisoning risk to owls, kestrels, cats
Stop it coming back
- Start peas and beans in pots indoors, plant out as seedlings
- Store seed in metal tins
- Keep sheds tidy — no nesting material
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.