"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"michael adams" wrote after
"Bob Hobden" asked...
We have never had this problem before as we have always had plenty of
cats
wherever we have gardened. On this new allotment we have not seen a cat
(or
Fox) and our peas, which were just coming up, are being eaten by mice.
What is the best method of protection?
Traps or bait or what???

Protect them with half a 2 ltr. lemonade bottle around each plant,
and maybe the same with beans ?

An air hole can be made in end of the bottom half of the bottles
with anything - an old screwdriver etc - heated to red heat over
the gas.

I quarter-filled a bottle with moulding plaster, rolled the
bottle continually to make a hollow plaster mould, cut the bottle
away and after painting on release agent on the outside
laid on a rigid glassfibre sleeve\ring. Around three layers
of glassfibre. And then broke the plaster mould away. This is
used to cut the circular groove for the half bottle to fit into,
in stony ground. The bottles can tend to buckle otherwise.

Not all lemonade bottles are the same diameter so its necessary
to stick to the same brand, for the above to work.


Thanks, but I'm talking about 4 rows of peas, not sweet peas, I would need
hundreds of bottles to cover them. I will also not be able to tell exactly
where the seeds are in the 6inch wide drills until they either grow above
ground or the mice dig them up.
However you have given me an idea, I'll have to look into a physical
barrier, perhaps laid on the ground, that the peas can grow through but
the mice can't get through. Do they eat the shoots too?

I think I would just set up a couple of spring traps, that is a certain way
to stop them!

Alan


How I wish there were some cats to befriend there.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK