Put Me Down!!

PUT ME DOWN !!!!

We have just started a project to determine how land use practices affect small mammals.

Forty traps have been set on each of three different parcels. The parcels include one area where the grasses were cut for hay last year, another where cattle were grazed, and a third where no activity took place.  These land uses result in different amounts of fresh and decadent (decaying) cover.  

The picture above is of the area that was cut for hay last year.  There is moderate fresh growth, and almost no thatch layer.

This area was grazed last year, and irrigated this summer.  There is a lot of fresh green growth in this plot, with grasses that are knee high on me (thigh high on Teri!!).

This third area was left alone last year.  There is moderate fresh grass in this plot, and large amounts of dead thatch on the ground.

We bait the traps with peanut butter and set them in the evening. In addition to the bait there is a big wad of cotton in each trap so that the rodents can stay warm overnight.  It is getting down in the 40's here at night, and those metal traps can get cold!

Teri baiting and setting a trap

 The traps are left closed during the day, to prevent catching and baking anybody during the warm, incredibly sunny days. 

Each morning we check each trap for rodents. When we find a closed trap we peek inside to see if we have a capture.

Happy little Deer Mouse.  Plenty to eat and a place to sleep!

We then empty the trap into a clear plastic bag to determine what species is caught. 

Deer Mouse

Meadow Vole

We record the species and mark its belly with non-toxic black shoe polish. This is so we can determine if we are catching the same animal over and over.

The tricky part is getting the little rascals out of the bag to be marked.  So far I am zero for two on Deer Mice!  They are quick and jump right out of the bag.  I've re-caught both of them on the ground. The Voles are more mellow!

Marking a mouse with shoe polish

See the black tummy?

Then we set them free.

In the first two evenings we have caught 3 Deer Mice and one Meadow Vole. We will continue the trapping for a couple of weeks.

Mark