In a world where luxury penthouses are sprouting like mushrooms after the rain, and 30-square-meter flats are called “urban oases,” one British initiative has shown that a true host is not measured by square footage, but by care for its tenants. Welcome to the latest ecological sensation: tennis balls transformed into housing complexes for Britain’s smallest mammals — harvest mice.
This is a real conservation project led by the UK-based wildlife charity The Wildlife Trusts, with none other than the prestigious Wimbledon as a key partner — the breeding ground of sports legends and, of course, used tennis balls. Yes, those very balls that once chased after Djokovic and Federer have found a new purpose: they’ve become miniature homes for tiny tenants.
How does it work?
Very simply and ingeniously — you take a tennis ball, cut a small hole in it, and attach it to a post at the edge of a field. Harvest mice, excellent climbers and even better opportunists, move into these “ball-homes” faster than the average person clicks on a “city-center, fully renovated, move-in ready” apartment ad.
As reported by Core77, Wimbledon uses around 55,000 tennis balls every year, so the potential for a future “mouse city” is more than abundant. While humans struggle with the real estate market, these mice have finally found a way to escape the housing crisis.
Why help mice at all?
Harvest mice aren’t pests — they are small, quiet allies of farmers. They help control populations of actual pests, reducing the need for pesticides, and they play a key role in the food chain.
Unfortunately, these rodents face serious challenges. Their natural habitats have been destroyed or fragmented by modern agriculture. Combine harvesters, pesticides, harsh weather, predators — all place enormous pressure on harvest mice, while the question of their survival is rarely considered in development planning or agricultural practices.
Luckily, the tennis ball initiative has proven that these adorable rodents are well worth protecting — even though, as the British conservation group Wildwood notes, they are still not protected by law.
In short — harvest mice deserve a place in the sun, even if it’s through a hole in a tennis ball.
