farmhunter, i see that youuse black corrugated pipe as i do. one thing i have done to help with mice (those that decided to live in the pipe and snack on the tree) was to raise the pipe off the ground a little. i simply put afew flat rocks under the pipe to hold it off the ground a few inches. my thinking was thatthis wouldprevent the pipe frombeing an enclosed area that the mice woulduse fornesting. it seems to have worked for many years now.