Mice have carried rat poison onto my seedlings bed

[jem10jane]

I put a bait station in the polytunnel because mice were digging up the seedlings. However, I noticed this morning that they seem to have carried some of the grans of poison onto the top of my seedlings bed.

I have taken off what I can see but I want to know if this will contaminate my crop?

[Nicos]

hmmm...maybe next time a few 'little nippers' might be the answer to controlling your mice problem??

...that's the problem with poisons...I bet you'd feel awful if you found a dead owl on your plot, having just eaten a mouse half poisoned in your polytunnel- or a dead hedgehog or feral/pet cat?

sorry- no idea how your seedlings/soil will now be affected- maybe contact the manufacturers????

[Olorin2001]

That sort of thing happens when you play with poisons.
Old fashioned trap might get your finger occasionally but you don't have dangerous chemicals all over the place - contact the manufacturer for advice

[polc1410]

What is the poison?
Are you transplanting seeds later?

No self respecting owl eats an already dead mouse. They would eat a mouse thats just filled up on poison though. BUT they are unlikely to have eaten enough of a still alive mouse to kill them unless they are eating lots of them...

Personally I'd have tried a ultrasonic thingy as its a confined area...

[jem10jane]

Sorry to have upset people with the fact that I have used poison. But I back on to fields and a brook and in the wet weather we get infested not only with mice but rats, so I am afraid I would be losing an up hill battle with 'Little Nippers'.

It was so bad with rats at one time, that I had to hire a professional company to sort things out, as they were in the garage even during the day.

The small pieces I have found are in a raised bed with salad and carrot seedlings growing.

[binley100]

As a deterrent to mice try sprinkling round your seedlings with ground dried chillies as mice have sensitive noses and also put some very prickly leaves/twigs round them.
Rats tend to go for food rather than seeds ie potatoes, sweetcorn..
If you put down traps make sure they arein a pot or something so birds can't get caught and also tie them down as we think theres a couple of rats on our site that went off wearing a trap,,