How to deal with a shrew in the garden in effective ways

Who is a shrew

The shrew is one of the smallest land mammals. But, despite its size, the harm brought by its work can be simply enormous, since they are such animals that feed on insects, they can also eat beneficial insects that are helpers in your garden and in the garden. Due to the fact that this is a very nimble and fast animal, it is able to dig through almost the entire garden in a couple of days. Therefore, to get rid of it, you need to take drastic measures and quickly!

But in order to be sure of the presence of this pest, it is still worth noticing this small animal on the site, then it will be possible to take some measures. It will be difficult to calculate it from minks, because they are small in size. Another feature of this animal is that they do not gnaw on plants. If you notice damaged plants, you can be sure that this is not a shrew.

You can recognize a shrew by these external features: it looks like an ordinary field mouse. But there are small signs of difference between these two rodents. First, the shrew has a longer and thicker tail. Secondly, the muzzle is more elongated than that of a mouse. In the gardens of our country, often the most common species of this animal can be called the many-toothed (it is also called the baby white-toothed) and the tiny shrew. The second species is one of the smallest of all species: in size it reaches a maximum of five centimeters. Its coat color is usually light brown. So it’s important to distinguish it from a regular field mouse. It is this smallest species of shrew that brings the greatest amount of harm to gardeners and gardeners.

This species of rodent is found in small areas. It is believed that they came to Europe, brought in the holds of ships. It has a characteristic appearance: grayish-brown wool, small sizes that can reach up to a network of centimeters. In addition, these animals are quite prolific: in just one season they can give up to four litters. A distinctive feature of female shrews is that they can give birth already at the age of one to two months. Thus, it is worth noting that if you do not start fighting these pests in time, their numbers in your garden can become fatal.

What is the harm and benefit

If you start with the harm caused by the shrew, then it is worth noting the fact that they have a very fast metabolism. This means that they must be in the process of obtaining food almost all the time. In fact, despite their small size, and rather cute appearance, shrews are considered quite ferocious predators. Since they can eat different insects and their larvae, which will fall under their hands. The main thing is that they do not distinguish which insects are pests for plants – they eat everyone. In a day, for example, they can eat so many beetles and worms that their number will be several times greater than the animal’s own weight.

Among the minuses, one can recall the fact that shrews dig a huge number of passages and holes underground, and sometimes they use old ones or strangers, which, for example, were left by moles. And so, in search of various underground larvae, this animal can gnaw a lot of roots, root crops, in general, everything that comes in their way. The worst thing that a shrew can harm is a lawn. She can easily ruin evenly cut grass in a matter of days.

Among the advantages of living on your site shrews, it can be noted that their underground passages improve soil aeration. This has a good effect on plants that can survive after the invasion of this animal. But this is the only positive moment in the shrew on your site. In most cases, it will be better to get rid of it. Because spoiled lawns and a dead crop overshadow all the benefits of this cute little animal.

Video “We drive the shrews out of the garden”

Chemical control methods

Over many years of practice, scientists have developed several chemicals that are designed to fight the shrew. Among them, the most effective ones can be noted, for example, “The Nutcracker”, “Rat Death” or “Hunter Anti-Rodent”. As a rule, they can cause suffocation in a rodent and a quick, fairly painless death. The main thing is to be careful when using these drugs. And before that, it is important to read a detailed guide to it. But still, no matter how quickly death occurs for a rodent, this method is not humane.

Folk methods and scarers

Whether it’s folk ways and repellers of shrews. They are very easy to use, though not always effective. One of the most common methods of expelling shrews is to flood the animal’s mink with water.

They say that if you do this procedure several times, the animal will stop visiting your summer cottage. Even shrews do not like strongly pungent odors, as they have a very good sense of smell. So you can briefly leave rotten fish or kerosene in the places where they were seen. But these smells are also unpleasant for people, so you can use plants as a deterrent – imperial hazel grouse, wormwood, peas, beans, lentils, mint.

But repellers can be divided into two groups: ultrasonic and mechanical – the most humane of all methods of dealing with shrews. They do no harm to this small animal. The oldest way to scare away a shrew is quite simple: you need to make a small pinwheel, as a rule, they use a plastic bottle or an aluminum can for this, and attach it to a stick. When this device rotates, it will create vibrations that will drive the rodent away. And such devices, ready-made, are sold in stores.

Video “Shrews and moles: how to deal with them”

The video below is an up-to-date manual, after reading which you can easily get rid of these types of pests in your garden.