Extension Service Garden Hints

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Hungry mice chew trees and shrubs in winter

CORVALLIS - Cold weather, particularly in areas with snow cover, often drives hungry field mice to search for food in residential areas.

One of the food sources hungry mice feed on is the bark of landscape shrubs and trees, explained Ross Penhallegon, horticulture agent with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

"Mice are capable of damaging and even killing shrubs and trees," said Penhallegon. "They may eat the bark all the way around the trunk."

Recently planted fruit trees are particularly vulnerable to invasions of field mice, he said.

To prevent rodent damage to trees, wrap a mesh hardware or plastic collar around the base of trees and shrubs. Mesh or plastic hardware material is available at garden and hardware stores.

"Another good idea is to keep the vegetation controlled around the base of trees and shrubs," he said. "Mice don't like moving out in the open. When vegetation grows up around the base of the plants, the mice can move in and out and not be noticed. It also removes an important mouse food source."

Rural residents might want to try and encourage hawks and owls, mouse predators, by erecting perch poles. Snakes, as well as house cats, are also good controllers of rodent populations.

By: Carol Savonen
Source: Ross Penhallegon

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