Hi Tweeters,
In a greenhouse setting, a 5-gallon bucket, half-full of water, with a
floating layer of millet, has worked remarkably well as a non-toxic trap for
mice. Lean a board up against the bucket for an easy access ramp. Outdoors,
I would add a lid with an opening just large enough for a rat head, but not
large enough for a Douglas squirrel. Is that possible? This might work and
doesn't involve any poisons and is worth a try. It is much the same idea as
slug bait, aka beer, in a cottage cheese container. I have heard of one
instance of birds pecking grains of the latest iron phosphate slug bait
right out of a container with no lid. This is not the lable approved use of
this product anyway. The lid is important to exclude non-targt species.
Clean-up in the feeding area and only putting out small amounts of feed are
other suggestions short of taking in the feeders. A friend loved birds, but
not the feeder mess, and just went with lots of native plants, hummer
flowers and bird baths...no feeders, no mess! For her, it worked!

Fay Linger
Poulsbo,WA
flinger at silverlink.net