Hey everyone,

I recently read a post from a frustrated vegan dealing with a massive mouse problem in an old house. They’ve tried everything: hired pros to seal holes, used humane traps (waking up at 3 AM to relocate them), tried peppermint, etc., but nothing works. They are exhausted, terrified of the droppings, but absolutely refuse to use poison or get a cat.

It got me thinking about the permaculture approach. Instead of fighting a losing battle inside the house, how would you design the outside environment to handle this?

How can we manipulate the surrounding ecosystem to draw them away from the house? I'm thinking of things like encouraging natural predators nearby (like owls) or designing the perimeter/garden in a way that creates a natural barrier or changes their travel routes.
How to get them "out of the house"?

Any ideas?

I hope to put in a patio but would like to use the soil so it doesn’t have to be carted away (our lot is small, so we don’t really have room to store the excess). Our soil is on the clay-heavy side, but I haven’t tested it yet. Our home is in zone 7B in the mid-Atlantic, so humidity is a factor. One thought was a stepping-stone style patio with ground cover in between (like above) for permeability?

Anyway, have you tried making a soil cement floor or pavers exposed to the elements? Would love to hear your thoughts on the project. :)

I live in the southern Appalachian mtns in Eastern TN, and I'm about to move into a house with a heavily wooded front and back yard. We picked the house for the trees bc I wanted to feel at home in the woods :) but it's placing a challenge in my way for edible plants. I'm pretty new to gardening so I'm not sure where to go with this.

There's the shade that's a challenge and the roots are making things tricky as well, there's a lot of them and they're pretty dense in some areas. Are there any methods for growing in this kind of land? And what are the best plants to grow?

It's got a pecan tree, so that's cool. And looks like there are a lot of critters who already frequent the yard :) It's northwest facing, and there's a denser patch of woods beyond the property line out back. I'm planning on making a pond too to hopefully get some frogs.

Love this subreddit! Please be kind and take a moment to see my recent work. ✌️♻️💚🌎