Mice! Vermin!

[Metalhead]

So I live in the country. Not too far outside of city limits, but country nonetheless. I moved into this house three years ago, and never have had an issue with mice until now. Seems this year every mouse within a mile radius has decided that my house is the perfect place to shack up for the winter. My poor dogs have been trying to battle them but are losing, and I couldnt talk the wife into getting a cat. Therefore I deployed plan C - Operation Trap Jungle.

I dont know where they are coming in from, but from their droppings I know for damn sure where they are hiding. They have set up their forward base in the bottom cabinets of the kitchen. I have moved most the pots and pans out of the cabinets (save for a few - want to leave them a... little bit of terrain) and have deployed a number of traps to kill the vermin. I started the op at about 1pm today, and as of now, 11:45pm, I have killed and disposed of freaking 17 of the critters. Makes me wonder if they were here long before now and I am just a retard and didnt notice.

Peanut butter has been my lure, and thus far no mouse has been able to withstand its siren's call. I almost feel bad for them, but then I saw the amount of mouse poop under my frig when I moved it. I did get the satisfaction of stomping the ever living hell out of the one that lived past the initial blow. That made me happy. Is that wrong?

[Guest pfries]

Might not qualify as good sportsmanship,

Never the less, I do not think it is wrong, rather view it as a self-satisfying humane effort as the trap did not kill said vermin instantly.Therefore, you did the moral thing and did not let it suffer.

Edited December 12, 2011 by pfries

[Jasongar8]

This needs to be moved to the hunting sub-forum.

[TMF]

I had this problem with a place I rented a long time ago, so I went around with spray foam and filled every possible location they were coming in from. Before I sealed everything up I killed a couple dozen with traps; afterward only one or two. I never saw them after that. I'm pretty sure they were getting in through a poorly sealed hole where the pipe to the water heater came through the floor.

[Mike.357]

I get mice every year when it gets cold.

Snap traps and peanut butter are the best weapon.

[peejman]

17 in one day?!? Dayum.

I had problems with them in my attic and garage shortly after we moved in. I found they were eating the bird seed and dog food. They were chewing through the bags so I bought big plastic containers for that. I got a few using peanut butter in traps. My most effective trap turned out to be my recycle bins. Seems the mice smelled the the little bit of food residue still on the containers and crawled in the bins. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't crawl back out. Unfortunately for me, I didn't discover this until a couple weeks later when it was time to empty the bins (P-U!). I got 6 that way. I was a bit surprised to find evidence of cannibalism.

[dlm37015]

get you a couple of tough outdoor cats

[Curiousgb]

I had a few last year. I trapped a them. Last summer I was installing a new bathroom. When I pulled out the old tub and shower. I found out where they had been living. There were little pockets all over. Some were filled with bird seed. It kind of freeked me out. So as has been mentioned been mentioned I sealed what i could and then put all bird and dog food in big plastic paint cans. I haven't seen and sign of them yet but the cold usually brings them in.

[1gewehr]

I put our our used cat litter around the outside of the foundation of the house a couple of times each year. Especially right before it gets cold. We used to have a problem with a few mice seeking shelter each year. We haven't seen any evidence of mice since we started doing the cat litter treatment. It seems to keep the moles away from the shrubbery as well. One pan of used kitty litter treats the whole house!

[dunndw]

I see you and Ben along with some night vision and supressed .22s running night ops on your kitchen

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[Guest db99wj]

Hmm, interesting. Got one in a trap this morning, still alive, the velocity made while swinging it down toward the ground, like you would a hammer, is enough to kill them by the way. He was a little pissed when I pulled him out from underneath the cabinet and the dishwasher, he squeaked, which my daughter thought was cute, my wife not so much.

We found a dead one late last week in a vase, they can't get out of those, the smell.....well not so good.

I used Graham Cracker, will go to some peanut butter and see how that goes. Wife wants them out. The dog does not like the traps.....anymore.

We don't live in the country, but the ones we have are the typical field mice. I've seen him for the last couple of weeks, heard them too, in the walls. I'm hoping mouse 1 and mouse 2 don't have offspring....we will see.

[Metalhead]

Yeah one on them my traps got looked pretty preggers. I am hoping I killed off another generation with it. Does that get me bonus points?

I will get some used cat litter from my brother when he changes it. At this point I'll try anything.

[Dennis1209]

Yep, got them here in the country also. I'm controlling them pretty well in the house, however, could use some advise on the vehicles. Never had this problem before I moved to BFE, anyway... Since we retired and moved to the country we don't drive much anymore, maybe once every week or two. Decided to check the car & truck's oil, washer fluid, etc. the other day. There's more acorns on the engine block and batteries than on the ground, with several visible nests. Also caught a glimpse of one on the floor board while driving the other day. I'm worried about the mice chewing electrical wiring and destroying the vehicle. Traps, poison and glue strips just don't seem practical for obvious reasons. Thoughts guy's??

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Metalhead, after wiping out 17 in a day, you may be in a perfect mood to read this classic old science fiction short story--

A. Bertram Chandler - Giant Killer Www.ebizar.tk

SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN!

[peejman]

Yep, got them here in the country also. I'm controlling them pretty well in the house, however, could use some advise on the vehicles. Never had this problem before I moved to BFE, anyway... Since we retired and moved to the country we don't drive much anymore, maybe once every week or two. Decided to check the car & truck's oil, washer fluid, etc. the other day. There's more acorns on the engine block and batteries than on the ground, with several visible nests. Also caught a glimpse of one on the floor board while driving the other day. I'm worried about the mice chewing electrical wiring and destroying the vehicle. Traps, poison and glue strips just don't seem practical for obvious reasons. Thoughts guy's??

They will do that very thing in short order. Same thing with mice in the house, for whatever reason they like to chew the insulation off wires. If you've found nests, check your wiring (home or car).

The cat litter trick sounds like a good one, pour a border around each vehicle. Or just get a farm cat.

[Just2Honor]

Live in the country but no problem so far with mice. Have one cat indoors and one outdoors. The outdoors one brings us "presents" og mice, voles, and chipmonks all the time. Tough little bugger! Even brought a squirrel through the little doggy door in the garage. He had to have worked to get it paralell to his body and under hiss legs to allow both of them to fit.

[robin48]

I use baits in my attic and storage shed. Seems to keep them at bay.

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[enfield]

I never had any luck with peanut butter, but bacon rind tied on the trigger with frayed yarn is deadly. Even if they miss the rind, they get their teeth tangled in the yarn (so goes the theory) and trip the skull-splitter. I won't live with mice. Lizards are a different story -- they eat bugs I don't like.

In Michigan, I used to leave food in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket and a stick leaning against the rim of the bucket. In an unheated garage, I used to collect a few mouse-sicles every winter.

Jack Russell terriers are deadly against mice, but not in the house. They'll keep all critters out of your yard. They've been known to attack a bear. Unsuccessfully.

Edited December 13, 2011 by enfield

[Guest lostpass]

In my experience, which I suppose isn't worth much, until you discover the entry point you'll be fighting them. Seal the entry with caulk and steel wool and you'll stop new ones from getting in. Ours were getting in through a PVC drain net to the heater. They'd run everywhere. Once we figured out where the were getting in (and some of them living) my wife went "mouse fishing". She crammed a shop van hose into the PVC tube and listened as the little critters went thunk, thunk, thunk. The living were released well away from the house. Plugged the hole up with some 00 steel wool, no more new mice.

they seem to really enjoy water heaters, so check there as well. My favorite trap is a five gallon bucket, peanut butter and a paper towel tube. Put the peanut butter in one end, balance the tube on the bucket. Mouse walks to the peanut butter, tube and mouse fall in the bucket. Mouse is stuck. Dispatch or release as you wish.

[strickj]

I had a couple of rats once. Those little ****ers are smart!

The old fashion traps did not work at all. They would set off the traps, somehow, and eat the food on them.

I then set out some glue traps. Nope, little ****ers would jump over them. Even with 4 in a row. [scratches head] I eventually cut the bottom out of a box, turned it on it's side and set several glue traps up against each other. Success! One caught... but the other one wised up to this technique and would avoid my sticky tunnel-o-death.

Next, I sat a garbage can on a milk create, filled it half full of soapy water, scooted it against the counter and bridged the gap with a thin piece of wood. On top of the can I stretched a piece of saran wrap with a piece of bread with peanut butter on it. Next morning I awoke to a very clean dead rat

Once both were dead, I placed them in a shoe box and left them on the doorstep of my neighbor with the horses, whom I suspect they came from. Ok, I didn't really leave the rats on her door... but it would have been so much cooler if I did

Edited December 13, 2011 by strickj

[Guest db99wj]

Got another one tonight tried to slam him on the concrete, he scurried away. Bastard.

[peejman]

Got another one tonight tried to slam him on the concrete, he scurried away. Bastard.

They're tough little buggers. I recall chasing one escapee around my yard while trying to whack it with a shovel (the only thing within reach). While my wife (the animal lover) was ok with dispatching the mice in the garage, she's wasn't really happy with that particular method.

[Guest db99wj]

Got another one this morning. He actually walked away from the kill zone with the trap attached to his wee little ass. He was in the den behind the desk. We heard him trying to get away and the trap banging the back of the desk. He did not get away.

[LI0NSFAN]

I went and got 2 bags of the green bricks of poison and put them all in my crawl space and put 2 traps under my sink and after 2 days I have not seen a trace of one since. An exterminator once told me that this was the best plan of attack plus filling any holes going into the house, but they keep eating through the spray foam. We get a couple every-time it gets cold.

[Metalhead]

Got another one this morning. He actually walked away from the kill zone with the trap attached to his wee little ass. He was in the den behind the desk. We heard him trying to get away and the trap banging the back of the desk. He did not get away.

Got one last night like that. I had to finish him off with the butt of a shotgun that happen to be nearby.