Mice in compost

When i open my bin to put stuff in there is usually quite a bit of condensation on the underside of the lid and you can usually feel the heat, particularly if fresh lawn mowings have been mixed in recently. So it should normally be a warm but very humid atmosphere in there.
The stuff you mention should not really attract vermin but mice are a naturally occurring aspect of the garden. It would not be a normal garden if there were not field mice living there. The only real problem is that they can cause damage, like eating my primula seedsm, but you only really get them coming into the house in winter.
I cannot see the point of a humane trap. Mice have a very good homing instinct and it is in fact illegal to release them. They are classes as a pest species like rabbits, rats and grey squirrels. If you catch them then you are supposed to dispose of them. Other wild animals like foxes, badgers, weasels etc are not classed as vermin so you can look after injured ones and release them quite legally. With mice I just use one of those cheap little traps if one gets somewhere it should not be, but protect the trap from birds. Its either that or make friends with an owl or something!!! I prefer traps to using poison - more humane.

 

Thanks Geoff I got some traps today hopefully I catch my wee furry friend soon