permaculture

[Lisa in Oregon <lisamaciver8@yahoo.com>]

We have outdoor cats (down to one) to catch mice/rats, with only
partial success. (The cats don't do much against birds, at least birds 
are still a problem in the orchard).  We also have terrible earwigs in 
spring, making some crops like beans very difficult to start.

Do cats catch frogs and lizards?  We see a rare frog in this dry area, 
and it's been some years since I saw a lizard or snake. And do frogs 
and lizards eat earwigs?  

I've heard it said that outdoor cats are "bad", but we'd like the 
keep the mouse/rat population down.  But if they're indirectly keeping 
the earwig population up, it would be worth the extra effort of using 
traps rather than cats.

Lisa in Ashland Oregon


                
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