Shrews are small, highly active insectivores that occasionally become unwanted guests in residential yards. These mammals possess an extremely high metabolism, compelling them to constantly seek food. While shrews are often beneficial to the environment by consuming insect pests, their presence near homes sometimes requires proactive management. This guide details how to identify shrews and implement effective methods for their removal and prevention.
Identifying Shrews and the Damage They Cause
Shrews are often mistaken for mice or voles, but their physical characteristics are distinct. The most identifying feature of a shrew is its long, pointed snout, which is more elongated than the blunt face of a mouse or vole. Unlike moles, shrews do not have the large, paddle-like forefeet adapted for subterranean tunneling. They are small, typically measuring only three to five inches in length, and their fur is often velvety and gray.
The signs of shrew activity differ from those of other yard pests. Shrews do not create the raised, volcano-shaped soil mounds characteristic of moles. Instead, they use existing tunnels or create small, barely visible runways beneath leaf litter or grass. Shrews are primarily carnivorous, feeding on insects, spiders, worms, and small rodents; they do not eat plant roots or bulbs like voles. Finding a dead individual is a common indicator of a shrew population, resulting from their high-energy demands.
Environmental Adjustments to Deter Shrews
Managing shrews involves making the yard less appealing by removing sources of shelter and food. Shrews prefer areas offering dense cover and moisture, allowing them to hunt and hide. Removing piles of wood, rock stacks, or overgrown vegetation near the foundation eliminates potential nesting spots. Regularly trimming ground covers and keeping the grass cut short reduces the protective layer shrews use for travel.
Reducing the shrew’s primary food source is an effective long-term deterrent. Shrews feast on a wide range of invertebrates, including grubs, snails, beetles, and earthworms. Targeted lawn treatments controlling soil-dwelling insects, such as grubs, reduce the available protein supply. Eliminating areas of standing water or excessive moisture also reduces populations of slugs and snails, which are part of the shrew’s diet. Minimizing the insect population makes the yard less capable of sustaining the shrew’s demanding metabolic needs.
Active Removal and Exclusion Methods
Physical exclusion is a non-lethal method preventing shrews from accessing vulnerable areas like gardens or sheds. Hardware cloth, a galvanized wire mesh, can be buried around the perimeter of structures. This mesh should extend at least six to ten inches below the soil surface and bend outward at a ninety-degree angle to deter digging. The above-ground portion must be high enough to prevent shrews from climbing over it.
Trapping offers a direct way to remove shrews from the yard, using either humane or lethal methods. For live-catch trapping, small box traps are suitable, but they must be checked frequently, ideally every four hours, due to the shrew’s high metabolism. Baiting requires high-protein, fatty foods, as shrews are insectivores. A mixture of peanut butter blended with rolled oats or bacon grease is effective, as is using live or frozen mealworms.
The bait should be placed directly on the trap’s trigger plate, using a small amount to ensure easy activation. If a shrew is captured alive, relocate it several miles away to discourage immediate return. For lethal control, standard mouse snap traps can be used, placed perpendicular to active runways or near burrow entrances. Because shrews can carry diseases and some species possess venomous saliva, they should never be handled without thick gloves.