October 19, 201114 yr A 5 gallon bucket half full of water works well for me. I put a walkway up to the top, If they get thirsty enough, they will die for a drink of water :D
October 19, 201114 yr For an "all species" solution, I recommend a generous application of .22 long rifle shot shells. :D
November 4, 201114 yr This problem has has gotten out of hand in CO since the closing of Rocky Flats about 30 mi from me.....The buggars carry Hanta Virus so extreme measures had to be implemented ......I had to de tune it at first cause they splattered everywhere...huge mess.
November 5, 201114 yr Three hungry(actually well fed) barn cats cleaned out my shop when I bought the place about three years ago. Uhhhhh-cats are a pretty well established,environmentally sound, rodent cure.
November 8, 201114 yr Amen to shop cats. Get cats that were born in a barn and they will probably be natural born hunters. I have 3 in the shop, and no rodents live there. It's sport to the cats, and they usually eat what they kill, despite being well fed. I frequently clean up left over body parts. I stopped feeding the birds in winter as I was feeding the cats. They'd knock down 4-5 per week and deposit feathers everywhere. Not good for clients to see... JE
November 9, 201114 yr they have sprays that deter spiders, flea's, ect. makes sense there should be one for mice.
November 13, 201114 yr Im a trapper and Ive done some ADC work..Just plain ol traps work best..Nver liked poisen because theres no telling where they will die..Snug traps up aginst the wall as mice/rats usually travel along walls..Many,many ADC operators dont even use bait..Just lay the trap in the travel ways..I like the Victor "proffesional" traps with the large yellow trigger for this..i also use small steel traps for rats..Like #0 and #1's... Our two farm dogs are Rat terriers..They are holy terrors on anything small and furry..Watching them kill a rat is something to see..Ive lived on a farm all my life so Ive had to deal with pests all my life, espically in the feed rooms.. Mice also have a bad habit of drowning in uncovered quench oil :angry:
November 14, 201114 yr Our indoor/outdoor cat caught a mouse last night right outside the front door. Problem is that he doesn't really know what to do with them after he catches them except play with them---of course that probably results in the ones that get away expiring soon after; but I'd prefer something more certain.
November 14, 201114 yr I live in the country. Come autumn, mice try to come in the house. Solution : feed wild cats living in the barn and around the place. That's for outside. Traps inside. No mice in my shops. None in the house.
November 14, 201114 yr One drawback to the shop cat solution is the need to keep the coal supplies well covered. A "stinker is much worse than a clinker"!
November 15, 201114 yr Easy way to keep mice, rats, snakes, cats, skunks, oppossums, and any and all other unwanted type critters out of the smithy is to just host a hammer-in. Take "group" pictures and hang in shop where it can easily be seen.http://www.iforgeiron.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=35802 No more unwanted critters! Come to think of it, it has been quite a spell since even a travelling salesman has been to the shop! WARNING: May not be suitable for young children to view as it has been known to cause nightmares in some cases! :blink:
November 15, 201114 yr One drawback to the shop cat solution is the need to keep the coal supplies well covered. A "stinker is much worse than a clinker"! Ahhh, yes..cats love to use coal piles for a litterbox..Espically stoker size..My wifes papaws cats use to use the coal pile all the time, make me so mad I couldent stand it...
May 5, 201214 yr Don't know if this has been mentioned, but a few years back I had a big issue with mice in the basement. I try not to kill things without a good reason and I heard clove and some other spices act as natural mice repellent. Luckily, I had a box of Stash brand green chai tea on hand with some of these spices in it. I stuck a bag in places I had seen mice as well as anywhere I thought they could get in the basement. Never saw another mouse after that. Still haven't replaced the bags and they still seem to work. No mess, no killing, the little buggers find somewhere else to nest and the tea bags smell kinda nice too. ^_^
May 5, 201214 yr This may sound odd but...Bounce laundry sheets, the ones you throw in the drier, keep the mice out of drawers and cabinets. I dont know why exactly but it sure works. We had a seasonal house on a lake and the mice used to move in but not after using the bounce sheets. Good luck.
July 13, 201213 yr .22 works every time and you can get really silent sub sonic ammo online. Fired out of a rifle it is real quiet.
July 13, 201213 yr This may sound odd but...Bounce laundry sheets, the ones you throw in the drier, keep the mice out of drawers and cabinets. I dont know why exactly but it sure works. We had a seasonal house on a lake and the mice used to move in but not after using the bounce sheets. Good luck. The Bounce laundry sheets keep the mice away? Do the mice know something we dont?
July 14, 201213 yr Ok I got one for ya. I shot this video a long time ago to test my skill in figure 4 trap making. so heres how it happened i was hearing a mouse but never saw it just traces of it. So thats when i decide to make the trap you see in the video. I used a stainless steel antenna under about 2 lbs of pressure and 50 lbs spiderwire. well thats it, all im going to say is soooo close. Enjoy!! http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk101/RangerJ03/?action=view&current=MouseSnareFail2.mp4
July 15, 201213 yr Take a 5 gallon bucket and tie thick paper (I’ve used Tyvek home wrap) over the top as tight as you can, and cut an X allowing for about a 2 1/2"-3" diameter hole. Hang some twine directly above this and tie some cheese about 5" above the X. Spread saw dust over the top of paper to camouflage the hole, and set up some scraps of wood etc. in order to create steps up to the bucket top. Very fast trap set up and it yields great results! I did this in high school and trapped about 6 in one night and threw them all live into a person's locker ha ha! They deserved it trust me ;-)
July 16, 201213 yr I haven't had any problem since this guy moved in, he will take care of mice, rats & the occasional unfortunate possum. The ranger said he'll grow to about 5 meters long and will get used to me banging around in the shed. Cheers
July 16, 201213 yr Well they keep warning me about how rattlesnakes like scrap piles out here; but while it would help deal with mice; I'm afraid that it might deal with me too. The black widows, centipedes and scorpions I coexist with well so far.
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