North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jim Fruth <jfruth@uslink.net>]

    Re Rob Hamilton's Question:  "Can you suggest any way to encourage them
in my yard?"
    The two best ways to encourage shrews, that I know of, is to:  1) Don't
use broad-spectrun insecticides indiscriminately. If bugs receive frequent
low doses of insecticides, they could become immune while a menu of lots of
such bugs would likely be toxic to shrews.   2) If you like cats, keep only
those that are lazy and keep them well fed.  Because of their poor eyesight
and their attack-anything (if provoked) temperament, shrews are unafraid of
cats.  And, of course, cats tend to have a 'capture and kill' instinct for
scurrying critters.  Cats catch and kill shrews but, because of their very
rank odor, won't eat them.

Jim Fruth
Pequot Lakes, MN