Eeewwww!!!

During the winter months I store some potted plants in my greenhouse to overwinter them. This year I have a few African daisy plants, several purple fountain grasses, basil, lavender and three pepper plants.

Last Sunday when I went to water and check on them, I noticed dirt around the base of one of my pepper pots. They are the black plastic nursery pots with holes for drainage. This summer we had an issue with some potted trees being destroyed by voles getting into the pots through the drainage holes and eating the roots. I figured that might be what was happening, so I set a snappy mouse trap with a piece of snickers bar for bait. I learned years ago while working in the basement of an old home that rodents love snickers bars.

When I went to check it Wednesday, the trap had been sprung, the bait was gone, but trap was empty. I decided to resort to glue traps. I usually don’t like them, as they are less humane, but they can be more effective for smaller or larger mice. I put it together, baited it and set it in place.

Here we are Sunday morning. Out I went for the bi-weekly greenhouse check. The pepper plant now has a huge tunnel in it from the top to the base of the pot, and there are roots pulled out and half eared. I checked the trap.

Eeewwww!!! There was a blob of fur in the trap, but I could not identify the creature as it was half eaten! I will spare you the details of what I saw. I am guessing that it was a vole, due to the tunnel in the dirt, and I have to guess that there is another one in there that cannibalized it? My husband asked if it tried to chew a leg off to get free. I told him I couldn’t see a head… yuck. So, another glue trap has been set. And they will keep being set until there is nothing more to catch.

Yuck. Ewww. Gross. Shudder.