Shrews and slugs

[wildchild]

Hi new girl here. Just read the input on slugs and using ash. Have just put wee rings of ash around my courgettes and beans so will let you know how that goes. My biggest problem are shrews and I am begining to think that in the still of night that this particular type of shrew is in possession of scissors.
I live in the North Highlands of scotland and am using a Permaculture system growing flowers and veg all together in wee pods. All was going well and then ...shrews!. I wouldn't mind if they were feasting on my produce but instead they are just snipping evething off at ground level. I dont agree with killing anything so has anyone out there got any suggestions??

[Glutton4...]

Hello and welcome to the nuthouse

Sorry, I know nuffink about shrews, but welcome anyway, and good luck with 'em!

[wildchild]

Hey thanks for the welcome message and like the quotes.
All the best returned!

[Two_Sheds]

Just read the input on slugs and using ash. Have just put wee rings of ash around my courgettes (

Of course, you'll have to renew it after any rain ... it washes away. Same with bran.

[Two_Sheds]

All was going well and then ...shrews!. I wouldn't mind if they were feasting on my produce but instead they are just snipping evething off at ground level. (

sure it's shrews? What makes you think so - have you seen them?

Common shrews are insectivorous and carnivorous, feeding on insects, slugs, spiders, worms and carrion. They don't eat vegetables, so why would they bite them?

It's much more likely to be snails.

[Pumpkin Becki]

Hi Wildchild, I have a similar problem on my lottie. I admit I've never actually see a shrew, but we get tunnel entrances all over the raised beds, and often find root crops have been knawed at. The plot is surrounded by rabbit fencing, so I can't be them, and locals say that shrews are just everywhere in our village. The worst vandalism we've experienced is a whole bed of carrots knawed through at ground level. My OH went to pull a harvest of carrots and ended up with a handful of leafy growth with orange carrot tops still attached, but the main root still in the ground - and you could see the teeth marks!!

However - shrews are protected, so you can't do anything about them. It's just one of the joys of gardening I'm afraid.

[wildchild]

Hi all yes I am sure it is shrews as I saw one with its long twitching nose like a wee anteater. Very very cute. Like I said I wouldn't mind if they were eating my veg and flowers, but no just snipping the heads off of things for the hell of it. I woke this morning to find pansies and geraniums de-headed the flowers laying strewn or should I say 'shrewn' all over the place. Far too much damage for snails. Someone suggested pouring urine down the holes or fresh dog poo. Hmmm don't know about that but I guess it could put them off. I will try both and get back to you. Will also try to get a picture of one...!

[snohare]

I've come across the same sort of damage done by voles, which look very similar to shrews - main difference is in the length of nose, I believe...they always gnaw just at ground level. The answer we found was to put down woven polyethylene weedmulch barrier before building the raised beds, then they couldn't dig up through to the plants. Man oh man, did they ever wreak havoc on the root crops !!
I'll bet a raptor decoy would deter them a bit, at least for a while - you know, one of those cardboard silhouette cutouts of a kestrel you get ? After all, that is their main predator.

[Lottieval]

Hi and welcome,
Would the humane traps that you can get for mice work? Not sure how you would bait them tho' and if you were successful you might spend so much time taking them several miles away that you wouldn't have time to do the gardening!

[Two_Sheds]

I've come across the same sort of damage done by voles, which look very similar to shrews

voles are little ginger mice, but with short noses and almost no tail.
they are very cute, we have them on our plots and we love them. I've never had any damage to my crops .. they seem happy munching away at my compost heap.

[snohare]

they seem happy munching away at my compost heap

I think they learn to eat specific types of food and then just stick with that TS, one year with us it was potatoes, the next it was carrots. If they find a pile of food, they never look any further. When food was scarce they were all over the place, trying everything, tipping over pots etc. ( Although to be fair some of that could have been mice I suppose.)