Mice

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 1:21 am

We have an occasional mouse in the house, but the Sonics and the traps do a nice job keeping them at bay and those that do get in, killed.

Up late, watching the news and heard one crawl across the ceiling and he must have went down the wall, but for the last 30 minutes that suckers been knowing near the baseboard behind the hutch which isn’t far from my chair. I’ve banged on the wall 4 times, but I think he flipped me off. The wife can hear him all the way in the bedroom.

Looks like I’ve got to go to TSC tomorrow and get something to put under the crawl space to try and kill him.

Those electronic sonic deter thingamabobbers generally keep them at bay but not tonight it seems. Sounds like a possum eating through the wall.

We live near a creek in a wooded area, so you can’t kill them all nor totally live without them.

I doubt if a cat would help, and they’re hard in the rabbits and quail. We have a dog in the house, but...

Poison inside is a no-go, underneath the house is a possibility. Have no clue what to do in the attic.

I guess those commercial traps around the house perimeter is probably the best defense and just keep them baited...the kind they can’t get out of. Anyone else have any thoughts or solutions that work really well...tried and true?


 
Holdencoal
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Post by Holdencoal » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 6:15 am

The neighbor had mice, lots of them. It took multiple visits from the exterminates to get rid of them. 20+ adults and babies pulled out. Block every small hole you find with steel wool. Mice can get through a dime sized hole.

I had two in the garage. I am guessing coming from the neighbors house to mine as it’s the closets to each other. I sealed up the gap at the trim boards of the garage with concrete epoxy after the second one got in. I’ve been mice free ever since. Even while the neighbors were fighting there infestation.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 7:06 am

WTF guys----even lil meeces gotta get out of the cold--hell, they'll go back outside once spring gets here!!! ,<)

 
KLook
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Post by KLook » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 7:30 am

5 gallon bucket, 4 or 5 inches of water and spread birdseed on the water.....works great for all size critters up to squirrels

Kevin

 
Holdencoal
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Post by Holdencoal » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 7:41 am

Fred, I feel your compassion. But mice are like bad renters they don’t leave.

 
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johnjoseph
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Post by johnjoseph » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 9:31 am

KLook wrote:
Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 7:30 am
5 gallon bucket, 4 or 5 inches of water and spread birdseed on the water.....works great for all size critters up to squirrels

Kevin
Peanutbutter and birdseed mixed together is my goto with your given prescription. It seems to have worked very well over the years. I gained this from my great grandmother whom was born in 1907; she's long since passed, but her many old school tricks of the trade have been helpful throughout my life.

 
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warminmn
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Post by warminmn » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 9:47 am

I hate to say it but you could have a rat Hoytman

Funniest critter I had was a few years ago. I got hit hard with mice and was in the process of poisoning them. I was up at 4 or 5 one morning and a weasel ran across the room. Not a biggy as I know they are great rodent hunters but quite funny to see inside. I watched where he ran and found the hole he left thru and plugged it. Weasels have always lived on my land so it was not a shocker. One of my favorite critters to watch.


 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 10:27 am

KLook wrote:
Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 7:30 am
5 gallon bucket, 4 or 5 inches of water and spread birdseed on the water.....works great for all size critters up to squirrels

Kevin
Worked for us. We bagged 2 chipmunks that were living in our basement that way. You forgot the ramp. Our version had newspaper across the top of the water bucket, with radial cut slits in the newspaper, and food sprinkled on it. They get to the top of the ramp, see the food, go for it, and fall through as the slits open up. Can't get out, and drown.

 
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Post by KingCoal » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 10:40 am

don't ya feel terrible listening to them scream for help before going under though ?

 
Holdencoal
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Post by Holdencoal » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 10:57 am


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Mar. 14, 2020 11:04 am

I am a survivor of the great Chazy mouse war. Our house is 110 years old, and it is surrounded by apple orchard and hayfields. To say that we have had some struggles with mice is an understatement. I'll give you some of the highlights.

When we first moved in the farmer across the road mowed the hayfield, and instantly our house was full of mice. Turned out that the culvert going under the road was a great way for the mice to go from the field, to the daylight drain from my basement (which had no cover). Put a rat guard on the end of the drain, and a drain cover in the basement.

Fall came, house full of mice again. Did a wiring project in the basement and discovered that the circuit breaker panel had mouse turds in it. 2" conduit ran underground from my workshop to the panel, and was not blocked on either end, and there were open knockouts in my panel box - so the mice could walk from the shop to the house through the underground conduit. Blocked both ends of conduit with duct seal, and plugged knockouts in panel.

Winter came, could hear mice in the attic. Discovered hole from attic to garage attic. Blocked hole, put pail with peanut butter and birdseed in attic with windshield washer fluid instead of water (won't freeze). I was horrified at how many mice the pail caught in 24 hours. Pail got all the mice, and we did not have any mice for the rest of the winter.

Next fall, was working in basement and heard weird noise. Walked over to the basement door just in time to see a mouse squeak under the door and go shooting into my stack of coal bags. Made a sweeper for basement door out of hardware cloth and made it through the winter without any issues.

For the next few years, we would get 2-3 mice in the 5 gallon trap up in the attic, but none in the house. I was ready to claim victory when I started catching a few mice in the basement traps again. I went around the entire house about 5 times before finding a small hole in the basement window frame. Looked like the hole was drilled for cable or phone and some point, and the mice had found it. Got that blocked and we have not had any problems with mice in the house for the last few years.

Unfortunately, it seemed like when I got the mice out of my house they decided to focus on my workshop instead. I had moderate success tightening up the building and trapping the mice, but in the end I decided to take my dads advice and start a year-round poisoning program. I had avoided poison up to this point for fear of the mice dying inside the house, and also for pets eating the poison. I felt that I had tightened the house up enough that a poisoned mouse dying in the house was low risk, and I made bait stations to ensure our dogs could not eat the poison. I use "Just One Bite" brand bait that I get at our local farm store, and follow their directions to the letter.

I am happy to say that once I got the house sealed up, the last mouse living in the attic trapped, and started killing the mice before they got in the house, we have not had any more problems with mice.


Below is the website for the mouse poison that I use - they have a lot of good information about rodent control:

https://www.justonebitebrand.com/rodent-resources ... l-strategy

 
NoSmoke
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Post by NoSmoke » Mon. Mar. 16, 2020 4:27 am

I hate our cat, but she is a great mouser, and so every few months she gets a mouse and I feel she earns her keep.

She keeps the house well patrolled, but the barn is another matter as she is an inside cat. In the barn, the problem comes in cycles, but I put out rat bait, it knocks down the population, then after a few months, it starts again. I see from some holes yesterday that it is time to start putting some bait out again.

My go-to for rat-hole blocking, or what I call "Big Mice" is steel wool and spray foam with mouse control.

Interestingly, the ducks do well on the lawn. They LOVE ticks, so they help knock down the tick population immensely, but also love snakes. They get on a snake, and they will gobble them up whole, the same with frogs and toads. Since having ducks, I have never seen a snake where they are allowed to roam. (Katie saw one in the garden, but they are fenced out of that which is why it was there).

While not mentioned, bat houses help with insects. When I was sheep farming, the insect population was kept in check with ducks/bats. The ducks got the low-flying, daytime insects, and the bats got the higher flying, night time insects. It is not 100% coverage, but I never bought insecticide because it was never such an issue that I needed too.
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Odyknuck
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Post by Odyknuck » Mon. Mar. 16, 2020 9:00 am

I have issues with mice in my house, garage, Skidsteer and all of my vehicles. Been using tried and true spring loaded mouse traps. Bait used to be cheese or peanut butter until one day I noticed the bar soap on the garage slop sink was chewed up and mouse turds all around it. As it turns out they love the stuff. So it is now the new go to bait . It does not dry up and stays attached to the traps. First time I used it I got 6 mice , one a day!

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Mar. 16, 2020 11:30 am

Traps should be your 2nd defense, not primary. Get some bait stations outside and knock the mouse population down.

 
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Homesteader
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Post by Homesteader » Mon. Mar. 16, 2020 3:00 pm

I always take the shrouds off of my mower engine in the spring when I do my spring servicing. Air cooled 24 HP Honda motors don't fair well with mouse nests plugging up the fins.


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