Considering Mice during Winter Prep

[Vincent Tanner]

Hello, bonsai friends.

I’ve watched lots of lectures and videos on YouTube, read lots of articles all around the web, and I scour this forum whenever I can. The topic of rodent damage is something I’ve very rarely seen covered.

This tragic thread is the only source of info I’ve read: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/mice.22521/

(Sorry to bring up bad memories!)

How much do mice influence your winter plans?

Last year I left my trees on the ground and in my window well. I only had three, no big deal. This year, I have more and want to think ahead.

I built two raised veggie gardens this year, and my plan was to put all my trees in-between the two gardens and mulch all around them. (Pics attached.)

But then I read the above thread about mice and I’m freaked out! I hadn’t considered the before. Ignorance was bliss…

Should I spread repellant all around? Maybe take into my garage? There’s time to perhaps build something semi-resistant (probably nothing is 100%?)

I wonder how much location plays a roll… I live in the New England in the middle of the woods. Lots of critters… but also lots of other stuff for them to eat.

Thanks for any discussion!

 

[Paradox]

I've had mice get into my house but fortunately never had them gnaw on my trees

I keep my trees in a cold frame made out of cement blocks along the north side of my house. I dont keep it covered all the time so mice could get in there. Maybe I've just been lucky.

I usually spread diazenon in there before putting trees in to deter the mole crickets. Dunno if that helps or not, guessing not

 

[Vincent Tanner]

I've had mice get into my house but fortunately never had them gnaw on my trees

I keep my trees in a cold frame made out of cement blocks along the north side of my house. I dont keep it covered all the time so mice could get in there. Maybe I've just been lucky.

I usually spread diazenon in there before putting trees in to deter the mole crickets. Dunno if that helps or not, guessing not

You sharing your experience is totally helpful! And I appreciate it.

i’m trying to discern the prevalence of these mice attacks… I don’t know how to judge if the thread I linked was a very unique and isolated incident or something that is quite common. Are mice something that all practitioners need to worry about all the time?

 

[Dav4]

I assume you'll be applying pine bark mulch to cover the pots? I would hold off until the soil is consistently frozen- late November or early December would work most years- before laying the mulch down. By waiting until the soil is consistently frozen, you can assume that most vermin like mice have already established a overwintering spot... lay it down too soon and the mice will gladly set up winter quarters in the mulch... right next to your trees .


... and I've had trees- maples and black pines- with trunks as thick as my arm completely girdles/de-barked over just a few nights in the unheated walk out portion of a dry laid field stone foundation in an antique house in MA. It can be devastating.

 

[Paradox]

You sharing your experience is totally helpful! And I appreciate it.

i’m trying to discern the prevalence of these mice attacks… I don’t know how to judge if the thread I linked was a very unique and isolated incident or something that is quite common. Are mice something that all practitioners need to worry about all the time?

Yea MFrary had a lot of trouble with vermin eating his trees. He didnt have a cold frame but left them out I guess surrounded by hardware cloth or some kind of metal garden fencing and let them get covered by snow as protection.

BTW its not just mice, you need to also worry about squirrels and rabbits

Rabbits cant get to my trees typically and I havent had trouble with the numerous squirrels around here.
They might have easier pickings than my trees. I also have 2 big dogs that have access to the yard my trees are in so that probably helps too.

 

[Shogun610]

Do they make electronic deterrents that have a frequency to keep them out ? Started to brainstorm winter protection myself. I had a crab apple chewed up and some branches on stuff here and there .. but following along.

 

[Dav4]

Fwiw, I also place spring traps along the perimeter of my cold frame and outdoor storage area. I can kill 3-4 mice some weeks.

 

[BillsBayou]

My greenhouse gets little bags of rat poison. Winters here are mild enough that trees outside of the greenhouse don't need mulch. Given the nests and carcasses I've found while cleaning my shed, I'll need extra poison.

 

[Lorax7]

After having problems with rodents chewing on my maples, I've taken to wrapping the trunks of my deciduous trees with copper mesh when they come off the bench and onto the ground for the winter. This is the stuff I use. I've never had an issue with rodents messing with my conifers. Either I've just been lucky or they don't like the smell of the terpenes and leave them alone. As others have said, wait until after you've had a few hard frosts before taking the bonsai off the benches. You want the critters to make decisions about their winter quarters without factoring the availability of a bonsai tree buffet into their plans.

 

[karen82]

Like people said, wait til it is nice and cold and mice have already made their winter burrows before mulching. I don't have a problem with mice - just rabbits, which luckily don't burrow under the snow. But I have found that putting a teaspoon or two of ghost pepper sauce in a spray bottle of water and spraying plants down helps a lot.

 

[Paradox]

Like people said, wait til it is nice and cold and mice have already made their winter burrows before mulching. I don't have a problem with mice - just rabbits, which luckily don't burrow under the snow. But I have found that putting a teaspoon or two of ghost pepper sauce in a spray bottle of water and spraying plants down helps a lot.

Yea my trees typically dont go into the cold frame until after we have had a few frosts and temperatures threaten to get down to below 30.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

I sprinkle Bonide Vole Max on and around my pots in the fall when I put them on the ground. It is basically small clay granules saturated with castor oil which rodents of almost all kinds hate. So far no rodemt damage to my trees.

 

[rockm]

over my 30 years in bonsai, I've never had an issue with mice eating my trees over the winter (knock wood). I have a feeling that's because I overwinter under mulch that is exposed to the elements. The more sheltered space you give your trees, the more shelter space you make appealing to mice, voles, etc.

The mulch in my backyard beds is laid over bonsai on the ground at about Thanksgiving, after (hopefully) several frosts and freezes. I wet everything down, pot and mulch before I push the mulch over the pots. The rain and snow help keep things on the wet side--which isn't a problem if the pots are given 1/2 or a bit more to drain underneath. That constant damp/wet exposure makes things uncomfortable for rodents. It offers no real shelter if its wet and frozen...

 

[AJL]

I live in England and have never had any problem with mice or any other rodents damaging my trees.
For what its worth mice dont normally eat bark or trees but voles, squirrels, rabbits and probably your
groundhogs might do if theres nothing else for them to eat. Maybe get yourself a guard cat?!

 

[Gabler]

I plant catnip around my benches. Mint is a repellant to rodents, so I figure catnip might share that quality with other mint species. More importantly, it attracts the neighborhood cats, which scare away rodents even though they’re too stoned to catch any.

 

[BrightsideB]

I actually was working in the yard and smelled something dead over the weekend. Took hours to realize there was a big dead rat laying in my propagating area on the lava rock. I have never had rat problem. But it seems like people here have great advice!