Looking for advice after a recent home invasion

How do I get rid of them?   I spotted nine this morning.

They're multiplying throughout the neighborhood and my garden, and made some kind of a nest on the school playground.

Is this something that local kids can take care of, or do I need to call professionals?

Mice? What kind?

What kind of nibblers did the home invasion?

Nine is a lot! Raccoons? Mice? Squirrels? Snakes?

Maybe live traps would work for whatever the nibblers were.

The forums have gotten several threads on rats and mice lately.

During the summer the threads were on voles.

Definitely not racoons or snakes.  I can only see the faces on most of them, not the bodies.  But definitely not rats.  These seem smaller, rounder, and are in various shades of light to dark brown.  They don't move quickly at all, but a couple of them look like they are wiggling about frantically.   I think they came from the Christmas trees.  I'll set up a trap and upload some photos later.

Got 'em... at least some of the smaller, slower ones.  

Had to bait 'em to trap 'em.

The next question is whether I should free 'em into the wild or attempt to domesticate 'em?  

Or....um...dispose of them?  Or should I notify the appropriate permaculture professionals?  Advice?

P.s. Please don't tell my wife I opened this inside the house.  

Oh Lordy, that's serious. Hard to identify if they're elves or trolls. Put the lid back on -- don't let them loose in the forums!

I am afraid that some of them have gotten loose in the house and are secretly looking for that Christmas tree.

Rest assured they will come out next December and find the tree.

Until then ...

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Oh Lordy, that's serious. Hard to identify if they're elves or trolls. Put the lid back on -- don't let them loose in the forums!

I did some research: they're some species of garden-variety gnomes!



They're apparently endemic to my region but thankfully quite harmless.

Surprisingly, they're mighty low on the food chain, with saprophytic fungi being their main consumer.  I suspect the smaller ones would only live two years in the wild, but perhaps many decades as pets if brought indoors.  Anyway, here's my permaculture solution to my home gnome invasion:

First I made caught a half-dozen more with a wood burner live traps.  I learned that they are especially fond of tupperware lids and socks, which they like to steal from unsuspecting global citizens.  (Have you ever found yourself missing a single sock or plastic lid?  Better check for gnomes.)  

Next, I put a little string on some of them to keep them from running away and multiplying, and I hung them on some evergreen Christmas tree boughs which I had decked around a playground fence a couple weeks prior.  About a dozen of the smaller ones I kept in the tupperware trap and gave them up for adoption to the local preschool teacher.  Apparently kids love little wooden tokens, burndoodled or otherwise.

Lastly, I had a digital sign posted on my neighborhood's community Facebook page warning everyone to be on the lookout!  It was fun to be outside working and see a parent here or there walk up with their kids to "adopt" a native garden gnome.  

So yet another problem solved with permaculture!  

Love love love it!  I love Gnomes!  I grew up reading all about them.  These were my bedtime stories as a child. I can still read them daily and not be bored!  

Here is one of my favorite books. There are many more by the same author. Showing how they live and work and help the world to be a better place!