Description
The smallest rodent in Europe could use some help. The harvest mouse is increasingly threatened by land clearing and is often the victim of mechanical land cultivation. Every year, more and more young die before they can leave the nest due to the harvesting of grain fields and the mowing of grasslands.
The harvest mouse makes his nest in high grasses from reed beds to forest edges, meadows, roadsides and grain fields. The nest is a ball of grasses with a central entrance. In a year a female has 3 to 7 nests.
The Ecovery nest ball has small holes at the bottom for ventilation. The short semi-circular roof above the entrance ensures that it cannot rain inside.
Besides the fact that the artificial nests can maintain the populations of harvest mice, they also have a positive effect on many other species. The harvest mouse is a prey animal for many other species that are having a hard time.
In the United Kingdom, the use of artificial nest balls for harvest mice is a well-known faunal facility. There, for example, Wimbledon tennis balls are donated to nature organizations that make nests out of them.
