Shrews in the country: how to get rid of the pest and why the harm from the rodent exceeds the benefits

Hello! I will share with you my bitter experience of trying to create a small plot with a lawn in the country. The beginning of the story was positive: flat ground, beautiful shoots.

But then shrews took up the matter. In just a couple of days, only a few pieces remained of my lawn.

I figured out this pest, but I don’t want to make more attempts to grow a lawn. Want to know how to get rid of a shrew in the country? What can they not stand on the spirit? I will share with you all my experience that I have gained lately.

How can I get rid of a shrew in a summer cottage

Shrew is the smallest mammal in the world, which is ubiquitous. Such animals live in the steppe, mountains and forests.

Shrew shrew has become widespread in Russia. But she is not as harmless as it might seem at first glance. Due to the fact that she is constantly stirring the topsoil, various crops are affected. So sometimes you have to apply various options for dealing with the animal.

Chemical methods

Chemical poisons are a radical way to deal with a shrew, and the most effective one. Excellent results were observed when using poison. For these purposes, you can use drugs such as the Nutcracker, Rat Death, Hunter anti-rodent.

After the drug is selected, it will be placed in each mink. Another tool can be laid near the entrance. When using chemicals, safety precautions must be observed.

Also, the product must be used strictly in that dosage, which is indicated on the package. It will also be interesting to learn about how to apply fertilizer to top up tomato seedlings.

Mechanical methods

To combat shrews in the country, you can use traps and traps, which are often used to lure rats and mice. A mole repeller will be a great option for a shrew. Mechanical traps in the form of rigid turntables can be placed throughout the site.

But they start to work with a strong wind. Shrews do not like constant noise, as a result of which they move to another place.

Such scarers do not work on pets and humans, but they are unpleasant for shrews.They react very quickly to the noise that has arisen and leave the site along with moles, mice and snakes.

Folk remedies

There are many proven home methods of fighting rodents. Of course, they cannot be called quite effective, but as a temporary measure they are suitable.

Water flooding. Some gardeners and summer residents use this method of combating shrews. They just take and fill the mink of rodents with water. But since the animals are quite small, and under the ground they can have a large number of minks, this method cannot be called effective.

It acts only if there are several rodents in the area and the exact locations are known. Of course, to shoot such animals from a gun or to send poison gas into a mink is also not effective.

Deep digging. Sometimes, to combat shrews, they can use the method of deep digging a site. This method is considered time-consuming, but quite effective. But do not think that the animals will leave the site for good.

But to reduce their number is quite real. As soon as they find themselves without housing, they will want to leave this site in search of another place. But this does not always happen and new minks can be seen in the garden.

Bad smell. Shrews have an excellent sense of smell and do not like the smell of rotten fish. Thus, pieces of fish can be decomposed around the site, deepening it into minks. You can use fishmeal as a fertilizer.

The material impregnated in these compositions should be placed in minks. Of course, a 100% guarantee cannot be achieved, as shrews can make new workarounds for themselves and bypass the bait.

Barrier Installation. To protect the site from shrews, you can install a barrier. A fine mesh made of plastic or metal is perfect for this. It should stand around the perimeter of the garden. Dig it to a depth of 1.2 m.

On the surface, you can leave 10-15 cm of mesh. It can later be fixed to the fence. A similar design will block all underground passages for shrews.

So shrews don't like beans and euphorbia. In the garden you can plant as many peas and beans as possible. It may not be possible to completely get rid of small animals, but to reduce their number is quite real.

You can also use ordinary marigolds to fight animals. To do this, you need to dry the culture, finely grind it and scatter it over the site before digging. It is known that the shrew is scared away by the smell that this plant emits.

Even marigolds can be planted along the edges of the garden, then the animals will not enter it. As for the plant itself, it is completely unpretentious in maintenance and can be an excellent decoration element of your garden. Another unpretentious plant is turnip, but how to grow turnips is indicated in this article.

Homemade traps

If you do not want to spend money on the purchase of ready-made traps, then you can try to make your own. To do this, use the following options:

This design is considered the simplest. It is called a wire trap. It is necessary to install a spacer near the entrance to the hole.As soon as the rodent touches it, the locking mechanism is activated. Now you only need to remove caught rodents from the trap from time to time.

Do not think that shrews are harmless animals. If they are in the garden, then you are unlikely to succeed in growing a full-fledged crop. But if you use the presented methods of fighting with animals, then there is a high probability that the rodent will be neutralized and leave the site permanently.

How to remove a shrew from the garden

Shrew is an insectivorous mammal of the family of shrews. Basically, in our area you can find a shrew shrew. The animal looks like a mouse and a mole. It features an elongated muzzle, similar to a proboscis, very small eyes and ears.

A shrew in the garden is useful because it feeds on insects that harm the garden.

But her minus is that in search of food she digs many moves if she does not find strangers left by voles or moles. This can lead to the death of plants. For this reason, many gardeners declare war on her.

How to fight

If this small predator appears in the garden, then you can achieve his departure. There are many ways.

Various pesticides are sold that kill rodents, but it is worth remembering that such methods of control should be carried out with great care. This can damage both human health and animals.

Wild and domestic cats are good helpers in the extermination of shrews. Although they do not eat them because of the smell of the musk gland.

It is possible to use various traps based on the principle of mousetrap. For lure use some kind of larva or worm.

A large amount of water is poured into the minks. In a hole located in the center of the passage, lower the hose and leave it with water on until water overflows over the edge.

Modern technology offers a large selection of ultrasonic repellers designed specifically for this purpose.

Her signs

Take a closer look, perhaps not a shrew to blame for the troubles in the garden. Shrews often use other people's moves for their own purposes. From moles and field voles much more harm. After all, an animal that absorbs insects in a huge amount deserves leniency.

• The most reliable way is to see the animal.
• Crawling to the surface, they almost leave no land, minks are very small.
• If the tubers of a dead plant are nibbled, then this is definitely not a shrew. They feed only on insects.

How to get rid of a shrew in the country

There are two country residents, the benefits and harms of which cause heated debate. This is a mole and a shrew. The first representative of insectivores is more noticeable, its size is 15 cm, moreover, you can not confuse it with anyone.

In Russia, shrews and shrews are most commonly found from shrews. The latter species is the smallest in size, but it does much more harm.

The coat of both species is light brown, velvety and soft, the legs are thin and seemingly very fragile, and the forelimbs are very short. The size of an adult is usually 3-4 cm, maximum 5, and weight does not exceed 5-6 grams. The head is rather large with small eyes.

The first step is to distinguish the shrew from field mice:

There is a miniature animal throughout Russia up to the Arctic Circle. The reason for this spread is hidden in the high metabolism of the shrew. For the same reason, they are forced to spend most of their lives in search of food.

Pest lifestyle

This insectivore can eat up to 20-30 grams of arthropods per day, which is 5-6 times its own weight. Due to metabolism, they become seriously addicted to food, without it they can live a maximum of 11 hours.

The animals live alone. For a day they bypass a small area of ​​1-1.5 square meters, but in total “hunting grounds” can occupy an area of ​​up to 10 meters.

But because of the miniature area of ​​residence, one does not need to think that shrews are harmless. The enormous fecundity makes them fear more moles and other underground animals. Up to 40 cubs can be in one litter of a female, a female gives 2-3 litters per season, and young cubs become sexually mature in just a few months.

Therefore, if you do not counteract the first signs of the presence of a shrew, then in just a few months your and all neighboring areas will be attacked by an army of underground diggers. They can do terrible harm. Shrews do not feed on plants, but dig the ground and damage their roots.

For traveling on underground passages, the cubs cling to each other's backs and tails, after which the entire “train” clings to the mother’s back and tail.

Shrews are useful for wildlife, they eat a lot of insect pests, such as bears, wireworms, larvae of flies. But besides this, they destroy earthworms, which help to loosen the earth.

For the garden, these animals still do more harm than good. They damage the roots of plants, dig up the soil to such an extent that crops sometimes just fall underground.

Despite the harm, shrews are recommended to scare off and drive away from household plots, but at the same time not to poison or kill.

Methods of struggle

When choosing a method of struggle, remember the enormous fecundity of shrews. If you can not get rid of them with 2-3 attempts, then most likely you will have to fight with dozens of pests. Therefore, give preference to effective rather than cheap methods of protection.

Folk ways of struggle. First of all, you can try free folk fighting methods. But it should be borne in mind that most of the popular methods of fighting shrews do not work quite effectively or even openly harm.

Other people advise getting a dog or cat. But here you need to remember that shrews under the tail have glands that secrete an extremely fetid and even poisonous liquid. Pretty soon, your pets will realize that shrews cannot be hunted.

The safest way to control is to plant an unpleasant odor on the territory of the plant. For example, you can plant onions, garlic, legumes, peppers. The problem is that such plants “protect” only a small area around them. Shrews can also get used to the smell.

Flooding of tunnels with water is also in great doubt. For some reason, no one advises putting poison gas into the underground passages of shrews. Then why did everyone decide that flooding would help.

Deep digging of the earth, as a method of combating shrews, also raises questions. Perhaps in the spring this method is relevant, but when the seeds have already been planted and seedlings have appeared, no one will dig the entire site.

Digging up only places with discovered holes and moves is also useless. Moreover, this is not a radical method, it will scare away the pest only for a short time.

An interesting method of struggle is to dig up a vertically standing slate to a depth of 40 cm over the entire periphery of the site, thus creating a "barrier" for shrews. The method is really good, despite the complexity.

Chemicals against rodents. Overview and Comparison There are several common rodent medications. They are great for killing not only shrews, but also moles, rats, and other insectivores and rodents.

The biggest problem with using chemicals is the danger of poisoning pets and children. Time must also pass for the pest to find and eat the bait.

Common remedies for shrews

If after one use the remedy did not help, then you need to re-treat the territory with another poison.

Shrew Repellers. Since the shrew is the most developed sense organ is hearing and the ability to pick up other vibrations, the most effective means will be a repeller.

This device generates various infra- and ultrasonic waves that create significant discomfort for shrews. As a result, they are forced to leave their "hunting grounds."

A good repeller always uses more than one frequency and works, periodically changing them or completely stopping work for a while. Thanks to this, shrews cannot get used to the constant sound discomfort.

Many repellers for work will need to be stuck in the ground to a depth of 30-40 cm. Also, most can ensure the safety of an area of ​​300-500 square meters.

When installing, remember that ravines or solid obstacles such as large boulders prevent the sound from spreading underground. When choosing a repeller, also focus on batteries. Solar panels need to be cleaned periodically, and batteries must be replaced. Most models cost 1000-2500 rubles.

Fighting a shrew in the country

The shrew is a land mammal, which, despite its small size, can cause a lot of problems with its activity in the summer cottage.

The negative side of useful activity is that a shrew in search of food breaks passages in the ground, thereby causing damage to the root system of plantings, and is able to dig up the entire site in a matter of days, so ignoring this problem is not recommended.

Folk methods

The fight against shrews in the country can be carried out using various special traps and pesticides, but for a start you can use some folk remedies.

This method of struggle does not require significant material costs, but the results are significantly inferior to the use of more effective methods. Folk methods of fighting shrews are presented:

The use of pungent odors that can scare away the animal. There is an opinion that shrews react negatively to the aromas of some plants. There is no scientific evidence for this statement, but such a simple way can still be tried.

So, plants with odors that are unpleasant to the pest are represented by milkweed, peas, lentils, beans and other legumes. Planting the listed crops in the garden may scare off a shrew.

Use of repellers and traps

The fight against shrews on the site can also be carried out by physical methods involving the use of special traps and repellers. This approach is considered more effective than the use of folk remedies.

The distance over which the sound effect extends is in the range from 20 meters to 1 kilometer. Thus, each summer resident will be able to choose the optimal model, taking into account the size of the suburban area.

As for traps, it is possible to use special devices for shrews, which are intended to be placed directly in burrows.

If there is no desire to acquire special devices, preference should be given to ordinary mousetraps, which must be placed in the pest moves. Worms and larvae can be used as bait.

Chemical Destruction

If the above methods of control do not bring the expected results, or if the pest population is so large that folk and physical methods turn out to be just a waste of time, it is necessary to dwell on special chemicals.

According to the recommendations of many summer residents, the following remedies have positively proven themselves in the fight against shrews:

1. Rat death is a toxic substance that leads to the development of internal bleeding and suffocation of the pest that has tasted it. The use of this drug is recommended only in critical cases. It is important to place the pesticide in such a way that pets cannot poison.
2. Hunter Antigrizzun - a tool that is designed to destroy shrews and moles. The drug is represented by a briquette with cheese, flour and other substances that attract rodents, which subsequently die from suffocation.
3. The Nutcracker is a dense substance intended for placement near the entrances to the burrows of shrews.

In order to destroy shrews in the suburban area, you can use any other pesticides intended for the extermination of rodents. But you should remember about safety measures and restrict access to places with poisons for small children and pets.

Interesting Facts

These animals live alone, dig passages on the surface layers of the soil. Cats do not eat them, because insects have a rather unpleasant odor. Young growth often does not survive the winter, and only the strong and hardy remain.

In a shrew, the body length can reach 18 cm, and this with a weight of 100 g. Females live a month longer than males, and their breeding season falls in July-August (up to 40 individuals per hectare).

So, there are many methods to combat shrews, but the timeliness of their use is important in this matter. Shrews reproduce very quickly and soon you will encounter an impressive population, which will be much more difficult to get rid of than a single animal.

Guilty without guilt

In our area, you can mainly find a shrew shrew. Its body is covered with short soft fur: on the back it is dark brown in color, on the stomach it is lighter. The length of the animal is 4 - 9 cm, and the weight, as a rule, does not exceed 10 - 12 g.This is one of the smallest species of mammals. Externally, the shrew is similar to a mouse and a mole.

This tiny animal is one of the oldest. His ancestors lived in those distant times when there were no modern animals on Earth.

The shrew itself is not very suitable for digging holes. It got its name because of the elongated proboscis nose, with the help of which it searches for hidden insects in the upper layer of loose soil and in soft plant litter. At the same time, loosening the soil and thereby saturating it with oxygen.

Despite its small size, the animal is very gluttonous. On its menu are slugs, bears, May beetles, nutcracker beetles, leaf beetles, weevils, moth caterpillars and scoop, worms, larvae, wood lice, spiders.

The animal has a very intense metabolism. Therefore, it is simply doomed to a constant search for food. The “working” day of the shrew is 12.5-16 hours. According to scientists, in the summer, all shrews living on 1 ha eat 5 to 20 kg of various insects per month, and 102 to 210 kg per year.

The body of the animal is adapted for very fast digestion of food with the release of a large amount of heat, fat in the body of the shrew does not accumulate, so it does not hibernate. In winter, she is forced to hunt, laying her winding passages under the snow and looking for her victims, as well as seeds left from the fall.

Vision in the shrew is poorly developed - the eyes are small and blind. She finds her prey with the help of smell and touch. But the main instrument of orientation at night among the interweaving of roots and stems is echolocation, which has been experimentally proved by scientists.

Pregnancy lasts 13 to 20 days, and on average five babies are born. On the 17th day, they begin to crawl out of the nest, but they do not depart far from the mother.

And in order not to get lost, they line up in a chain where everyone holds his teeth by the tail in front of the walking one, and the first - by the tail of the mother. On the 22nd day, these very tiny creatures settle and look for food on the site belonging to the mother.

But the adult female does not stop at one litter. Very often she still feeds her cubs, and is already pregnant again. In July-August, the number of animals reaches its maximum - an average of 40 per hectare, and then decreases again: old people who have outlived their lives die.

The males are the first to leave, the females live a month longer. One of the reasons for the short century of shrew is an intensive metabolism that causes rapid aging of the body. The first year, a young and frisky shrew is growing and gaining strength.

After wintering, if you are lucky and remain alive, it is already capable of breeding. Having fulfilled his duty to nature, he dies and cedes his hunting grounds to the next generation.

The shrew has almost no enemies. She is saved by sweat glands that secrete odorous liquid. Therefore, animals and birds hunting ordinary mice do not catch shrews.

If this small predator annoys you in the garden, then you can achieve his departure. There are many ways. For starters, you can take advantage of the fact that the shrew has a well-developed sense of smell. The heads and entrails of the fish are buried in their minks (as well as in moles). The strong smell of decomposition makes the animal leave the inhabited territory.

Odorous reagents, such as Creatol, Ekar, Pomethanol, Fitodent, and others, are also used in pest control. But the use of chemicals can cause significant harm to the health of not only pets, but also humans.

It is possible to use various traps built on the principle of a mousetrap. For lure use a larva or worm. You can arrange in the garden and mechanical repellers that make certain sounds.

The simplest of the devices is a spinner made of a plastic bottle on a metal pin. The most effective means are specially designed ultrasonic repellers.

How to get rid of a shrew in the garden once and for all

If you have any problems with the soil, you notice holes appearing from somewhere, it’s worth considering - perhaps a shrew has started up in your garden. They can also use other people's moves, for example, moles, for their own purposes.

Who is that

Shrew is called one of the smallest terrestrial mammals. But, despite its size, the harm caused by its work can be huge, since they belong to such animals that feed on insects, they can also eat beneficial insects that are helpers in your garden and in the garden.

But to be sure for sure in the presence of this pest, it is still worth noting this little beast on the site, then it will be possible to take some measures. It will be difficult to calculate it according to the burrows, because they are small in size.

Another feature of this animal is that they do not gnaw plants. If you notice damaged plants, you can be sure that this is not a shrew.

You can recognize the shrew by such external signs: it looks like a regular field mouse. But there are slight signs of difference between the two rodents. Firstly, the shrew has a longer and thicker tail. Secondly, the muzzle is more elongated than that of the mouse.

The color of her coat is usually light brown. So it’s important to distinguish it from a regular field mouse. It is this smallest type of shrew that does the most 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 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 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 number in your garden can become fatal.

What harm and benefit

If you start with the damage caused by the shrew, then it is worth noting the fact that they have a very fast metabolism. This means that they should be in the process of obtaining food almost all the time.

In fact, despite its small size, and quite cute in appearance, the shrew is considered a very ferocious predator. Since they can feed on different insects and their larvae, which fall into their hands.

The main thing is that they do not distinguish which insects are pests for plants — they eat everyone. For a day, for example, they can eat so many bugs and worms that their number will be several times higher than the animal’s own weight.

Among the minuses, one can recall the fact that shrews dig a huge number of moves and holes underground, and sometimes use old or strangers, who, for example, left moles.

And so, in search of various underground larvae, this animal can gnaw a lot of roots, root crops, in general, everything that meets in their way. The worst thing a shrew can harm is a lawn. It can easily spoil evenly cut grass in a matter of days.

But this is the only positive point in the shrew on your site. In most cases, it will be better to get rid of it. Because the spoiled lawns and the dead crop overshadow all the benefits of this cute animal.

Chemistry Control Techniques

Over many years of practice, scientists have developed several chemicals that are designed to fight shrews. Among them, the most effective ones can be noted, for example, The Nutcracker, Rat Death or Hunter Antigryzun.

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 would come for a rodent, this method is not humane.

Folk techniques and repellers

Whether it’s folk methods and shrew repellers. They are very easy to use, although not always effective. One of the most common methods for driving shrews is to fill the animal’s mink with water.

They say that if you do this procedure several times, the animal will stop visiting your summer cottage. Shrews do not like very sharp smells, as they have a very good sense of smell. So you can leave for a short time in the places where they were seen, rotten fish or kerosene.

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 repel shrews is quite simple: you need to make a small spinner, as a rule, use a plastic bottle or a can of aluminum for this, and attach it to the stick. When this device rotates, it will create vibrations that drive the rodent away. And also such devices, already finished, are sold in stores.

The video below is an actual guide, after reading which you can easily get rid of these types of pests in your garden.

How to get rid of a shrew in the garden

Small rodents shrews can often cause great trouble in the suburban area. They, like moles, do not feed on the roots of cultivated plants, however, in search of worms and larvae, they break through many passages on the site.

At the same time, not specifically shrew will inevitably damage the root system and root crops of many significant plants. Who will like it?

The shrews themselves build their underground dwelling, but they can often take advantage of another animal left by the mink, a half-rotten stump and various outbuildings available on the summer cottage.

Housing is additionally insulated with dry grass, moss and fallen leaves. When everything is ready, it's time to think about the numerous offspring.

However, not everything is so bad. Each shrew owns a territory of up to 30 m2, so the descendants will not be concentrated precisely on your site. But how then to explain the amazing speed with which new tunnels appear?

It's all about the rapid metabolism of this animal. A constant feeling of hunger makes the shrew with a vengeance look for fresh larvae, worms, small lizards and toads.

We list the main methods that will help drive away the annoying animal from your site:

Ultrasonic repellers against rodents have proven themselves well. This method is not only extremely simple and effective, but also humane in relation to the animal.

The simplest sound repeller can be easily made by yourself. Take thin metal rods of a meter length and carefully stick them into the ground. On the top end, put inverted aluminum cans of juice or beer.

At the slightest wind, vibration will occur, which will be transmitted to the ground along a metal pin. This method will scare away many underground pests from your site.

If a dog or cat will regularly appear on your summer cottage, shrews and moles will most likely prefer to keep a respectful distance from this place.

Along the perimeter and in the intervals between cultivated plants, you can plant garden crops repelling shrews: garlic, onions, peppers, etc.

Important plantings can be protected with solid sheets of sheet metal and slate dug around them to a depth of about 40 cm (adjacent, perpendicular sheets should be pressed tightly against each other, without gaps).

In specialized stores poisons are sold, which should be used with great care.

Effective Ways to Combat Shrew

The shrew can be called the smallest mammal on earth, and at first glance a very harmless animal. However, it gives a lot of trouble to gardeners and gardeners, since, hunting for worms, larvae and other insects, it breaks through many moves. It also harms the harvest of vegetables, eating root crops.

The peculiarity of the shrew is that it reproduces very actively, therefore, having noticed the presence of at least one animal on the site, you should urgently think about the question of how to deal with the shrew.

What does it look like

A tiny animal resembles a field mouse, but the shrew is smaller (up to 4 cm), its muzzle is slightly elongated into a movable proboscis, its eyes are small. It has a very long tail, which is longer than the shrew itself.

In search of food, she loves to rummage in the ground - that’s why it is called a “shrew”.

Living in the garden, a shrew can be useful, it eats a lot of pests (it eats 15 g of insects per day). But the harm from her presence is also significant, she eats not only insects, she also likes the vegetables growing in the garden: carrots, beets and other root vegetables. It can also bite the roots of tomatoes, peppers.

The life span of the animal is about 1.5 - 2 years. The female reaches puberty in about 1 under after birth, at a time gives birth to 14 cubs. Such active reproduction of shrews requires urgent measures to combat it.

Pest Control Methods

There are a lot of methods and ways to get rid of a shrew: as they say "folk" or modern alternative. By the nature of the action, they can be divided into such methods:

• Mechanical. The use of traps, traps.
• Electromechanical.Shrew repellers (on electrical or electromechanical basis).
• Chemical. The use of poisons and various poisons.

The mechanical method involves the use of traps and traps with the use of certain baits, most often using ordinary mousetraps or rat traps.

Almost the same principle is based on electric or electromechanical repellers that emit sounds of a certain frequency, which bring discomfort to the animal and force it to find another place.

The use of traps and repellers is a more humane method for dealing with shrews. It does not require special monetary costs and efforts, but your site or garden will not be affected by the use of pesticides.

Fight with poisons. Getting rid of shrews using poisons is not a very humane method. But if the damage caused by the life of the pest is very large, then as an alternative method it can be effective.

For these purposes, poison for mice is quite suitable. It can be poured into minks in the garden or left as baits in front of the entrance. When using poisons, you should be extremely careful, since children or pets can suffer from a poisonous remedy.