[permaculture] mice, voles, rodents, oh my!

kevin s k.skvorak at verizon.net
Wed Sep 12 20:59:42 EDT 2007


  thanks for all the replies on this.  i know that it is not a new 
issue for folks

i am not sure yet what all of our own strategies are going to be, but 
definitely it would fall within a characterization of "integrated 
pest management" which will probably mean limited poisoning by some 
means and i definitely want to choose those that do not pass thru the 
food chain.  i am going to start with some traps though, and see how 
successful that is

we will also try to create some owl nesting sites.  probably not 
daytime raptors though as they already hunt the chickens, and don't 
seem to bother the rodents much.

i am not a fan of cats, as i like the songbirds too much (as do they)

we will also do more trials of various plantings that are rumored to 
deter the burrowers like voles, which are our biggest problem, and i 
would love to hear more suggestions about this. we'll try them all, 
so please pass them along!

mostly we will do our best to limit the rodent habitat through 
cultural practices, though that will be tough with close to an acre 
of mulch.

part of our issue of course is scale.  even though we are tiny 
compared to most commercial growers, we have some of the largest 
mulch bed systems i have seen,  (maybe i don't get around enough) and 
that comes with real challenges in trying to achieve the kind of 
ecological balance and predator habitat needed to keep the rodents 
down.   we are working on this, but it takes time

a big piece of this seems to me to be in what kind of ecology you 
have to start with.  the areas that we grow in that were already 
wild, with a lot of existing diversity have much less problems than 
the plot we have that is attached to what is essentially several 
acres of lawn.  this is the situation with by far the worst problems, 
....and the least predator habitat.

thanks again!

kevin
Regeneration CSA
High Falls NY












>hi folks,
>
>here in NYS we are approaching the end of our second season growing 
>for our CSA primarily using mulchbeds.  we have grown so far in 
>three different locations, each with very different soil conditions, 
>and very different wider ecological conditions, and the systems have 
>proven themselves to be very productive means of growing.
>
>pests, unfortunately, are another issue. particularly the fact that 
>mulch beds provide wonderful habitat for rodents.  (and we won't 
>even get into slugs, and other overwintering pests here)
>
>though we have seen consistently good yield, our losses to pests are 
>often unacceptable under the circumstances, and as a CSA and market 
>farming operation we have an obligation to provide produce of a 
>certain quality, or we will simply not make it financially.   while 
>we can eat food damaged by rodents chewmarks, we can't pass it off 
>on our members if we want them to stick around.
>
>we want to continue moving no-till fwd, and continue promoting it 
>both in our own communities, and in the wider farming community, but 
>we can't do that if it just doesn't work to provide an economically 
>viable yield.
>
>so, i am earnestly seeking advice and help out there.  though i hate 
>to do it, i am thinking about some rounds of poisons over the coming 
>months, and again in the spring to knock down the population, and 
>then some limited change in cultural practices to try to minimize 
>breeding sites, but just by observing the scale of our problem, i 
>don't have high confidence in the success of any of this.
>
>of course each area that we grow in has vastly different existing 
>ecologies and concurrent opportunities for IPM strategies, and that 
>is where we get the real benefits ie- more snakes=less mice.  this 
>isn't always something that can be created quickly, or even at all 
>in some circumstances depending on the growing area and what is 
>around it etc
>
>eager for help (and feeling anxiety in advance of flippant advice 
>from armchair permies like "get yourself some ducks mate! duck love 
>mice...." etc)
>
>
>thanks
>  kevin



More information about the permaculture mailing list