I may be in the wrong place forum,but here's my question. I have a 2 part flower plant with a tomato plant growing,and a mouse. Do mice like to eat plant(tomato) roots? Mickey will get bird seed and go to the base several times a day. Sometimes the mouse will go inside for minutes, and I hope he's not eating the roots. Any help? ed moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
I don't think your question is in the least bit dumb. However, I have never come across a problem with mice eating the roots of tomato plants. Mice much prefer to eat things like seeds, grains, fruits, insects, spiders and other small invertebrates. Maybe they will nibble on the tomatoes when they're ripe but I don't think they'd bother with the roots of your plants.
Perhaps you should encourage your mouse to take up residence in another area. Some animals will dig a hole next to a plant because it smells interesting. They never fill in their hole after their curiosity is satisfied. The mouse, an opportunist, has made himself at home. It is time to check out the new mouse hole listings in the local newspaper. Jerry
Ed, if you can determine when Mickey is not in residence, you can put hardware cloth (1/4" will do) or two layers of chicken wire laid so that the holes aren't together (one layer, then the second layer laid so the wire hits halfway across the first) or something thorny like rose trimmings to cover the dirt in the pot. This is not a dumb question. Mice can do damage, but as Eileen said, probably not to tomato roots. However, when you get tomatoes, that's a different situation!
