HELP! The mice are winning!

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Finally found my little cottage in the woods! It's heavenly, unfortunatly the field mice think so, too! Now I know, they like to be nice and warm like the rest of us, but, I really need to get this situation under control. I'd rather not use poison. I've spent all summer fixing the place up, closing all known entrance points, and they still come in! Did all of the standard stuff. Any homespun remidies out there!? I tried peppermint oil all around the house. The ants loved it. The dog will not tolerate an indoor cat, and the coyotes will make quick work of a barn cat. Any suggestions? Thanks alot. K.

-- k.calabro (karen2@bestweb.net), October 10, 1999

Answers

Many years ago when we moved into a cabin in the woods in Minnesota, we had this same problem, with a baby, a toddler, and a not too smart basset hound in the house I was very worried about poisons...what worked well for me was to put a 5 gallon bucket about 1/2 full of water in the middle of the kitchen floor. Most mornings I found several drowned mice in the bucket.gross, but not poisonous...the dog did find some one morning too...ugh..thats another story! Anyway, I guess they get thirsty, and too cold to go outside and get in for a drink and can't climb up the slippery sides. I also put traps behind the fridge and under the sink. I really did rid the house of mice before too long. I bet the peppermint oil made your house smell better though!! Good luck! Jenny P.

-- Jenny Pipes (auntjenny6@aol.com), October 10, 1999.

We had a simmilar problem with the old mobile home we moved into. The mice kept migrating in all Fall. But after winter started in earnest here in Iowa, the migration eased. Aparently they wouldn't leave their burrows seeking new, better homes for the winter (according to my biologist husband).

We found traping with old fashioned spring traps to work well, if the traps are positioned correctly. The traps need to be placed along the wall, perpendicular to the wall, or in other words, pointing at the wall. We caught mice with no bait this way, though a mixture of peanut butter and oatmeal really atracted them. We could usually trap out the population in the mobile home by mid winter. Though more moved in with the Spring. We also tried releasing rat and fox snakes under the mobile home, but they usually left at the first oppurtunity. Poisons caused problem for us such as a few chicken deaths(the free range hens ate the poisoned mice we threw out) and we had mice die in remote spots where we smelled them rot away for weeks). If you have closed all the entrances, traping out is your best bet. Good luck.

-- Kathy (redfernfarm@lisco.com), October 11, 1999.


Actually I read this in Countryside and it worked for my chicken house. Pour full stregnth amonia in a perimeter around your dwelling to keep mice out. my chiken house is 12x12 and it takes about 1/2 gallon every 4-6 weeks. Got a cat for my living space. She does a good job of keeping me mouse free. Also I try to keep all food in sealed containers and sweep the floors regularly. Mice usually like to hang outy where they can eat.

-- Craig Oxendine (sox@threewings.com), October 11, 1999.

Thanks you all , for the suggestions! I think I'll try them all at once! Time for a reality check here; just last April, when we were packing the apartment, in prep to move here, I was calling the police about a break in next door. The mice aren't exactlly welcome....... but!!! Thanks again. K

-- k.calabro (karen2@bestweb.net), October 11, 1999.

Would it be possible to use an electric devise.My mother inlaw used them said they worked. I didn't care for the High pitch though

-- Rick wyckoff (wittey@aol.com), October 12, 1999.


I have mice and I'm going to try the suggestions above because 2 cats (good hunters) and traps haven't been working. There just seems to be more of them all the time. I didn't have a big problem until after I started using a wheat cat litter product, which I put in their basement litterbox (DUMB!). Perhaps it's coincidence, but I don't think so. The litter is gone, but the mice aren't. I guess they found out where the restaurant is.

My experience with the electric (or electronic?) devices is that they _do not_ work. I have 3 in my rather small house. I think they hold dance parties on them.

-- J. E. Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), October 13, 1999.


Sorry, forgot to say, if you (& your dog) could tolerate another dog, terriers are good rodent killers. Usually.

-- J. E. Froelich (dragnfly@chorus.net), October 13, 1999.

Hello all,

I just happened by this site and decided to look in on the message board. Well, are you lucky I did ! :)

Here is what you do for mice in your house.

Go to town and buy GARLIC, GARLIC, and more GARLIC. You open the big bulb and get all the little cloves out (DON'T peel them) then throw them in any little cracks and crevices you have. These do not hurt children or animals and the mice HATE IT ! You will need to replace these as they dry out (about 3-4 months) depending on where you live and how hot your house is.

I have lived in this home since 1992 and have only had one small mouse in all these years...my garlic had dried up and one came in.

Good luck, Marcie in IN. (mouse country) ! :)

-- Marcie D. (spacedup@ecicnet.org), October 13, 1999.


All you guys are great! I feel like I've made 5 friends! So do I go for smelling like ammonia or garlic? The spoiled dog, will not tolerate a cat, let alone another pooch! The electronic boxes are out of the question ( I swear, I can hear them!) Okay, so the mice aren't so big. ewwwww. Thanks all. Love K

-- k.calabro (karen2@bestweb.net), October 13, 1999.

Try cornmeal and cement. The mice really get a tummy ache from that. You can also try cornmeal and baking soda next to a bowl of water. Mice can't burp. You might run into the smelly mouse problem for a while, but just think of all of the great daydreams it will give you. Maybe the mice will live long enough to tell it's relatives not to eat at your diner, the food is terrible.

-- Carol Eastep (mushroom@mmind.net), October 15, 1999.


get a can of peas and put a couple around where they come out of. and when they come out to take a pea wack em with a stick.HEHEHE

-- Rick wyckoff (wittey@aol.com), October 15, 1999.

Mice and rats hate the smell of a ferret. You could try getting a new pet ferret!

-- JCW (JC@Waldner.com), October 15, 1999.

Lots of good suggestions to solve your mouse problem.

I would suggest three other things.

1. Do a thorough search and seal up all openings that a mouse can get through. That means any crack greater than 1/4 inch.

2. The importance of keeping the mice out can be simply said by the words Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. This is ugly and has a high mortality. Keep 'em out and stay healthy.

3. Clean up mouse poo and pee with chlorox to kill the virus. Avoid raising ANY dust because that is how you can be infected.

-- Nick (nikoda@pdqnet.com), October 16, 1999.


Thanks again, everyone. Looks like I'm not the only one dealing with this! Have applied (most) suggestions, am seeing less activity, and the glue traps have been empty for 2 days straight! Now if I could only get rid of the "rodents" with HOOVES! Just built a chichen wire cage around my prized clemantis, that I've been carting around for years! Bow and arrow opens realllly soon! See ya. K

-- k.calabro (catfish@bestweb.net), October 16, 1999.

Okay, we have to get a posse together to go visit Rick. I think the mice have overrun him and are munching on his brain. It's either that or he has been too long without human contact. Can someone please check on him???

Anyway, we too, like a lot of country folk, have our problems with mice moving in once the fall arrives. We have found that the spring traps with peanut butter or cheese work well for us. We put them up against the wall on the kitchen counter behind the blender so we don't accidentally catch one of our Great Danes' noses in them. It does take a few days to get through them all and you have to change the type of bait you use so they don't learn to avoid it.

Incidentally, we seem to have smart mice because they will chew through plastic bags such as for bread or cookies, etc. if they are left either in a drawer or on the counter. I have to put all food in the refrigerator or in the overhead cupboards if I want to keep them out of it. I even found they were getting under the lid of my stove and stealing the tinfoil that I wrap the heating element inserts with. Nervy mice!!

-- Colleen Lanza (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), October 25, 1999.



I have tried steelwool stuffed into any cracks that the little munchers could possibly get thru' and it has worked. The explanation was that the steelwool feels bad on their teeth, just like chewing on tin foil to us, I guess. I used an old butter knife to stuff the wool into the cracks and wear gloves, sweetie, cause the filings can get into your skin! Good luck! ALso check any clothes you may have in aany closet that don't get worn much...I had a silk blouse sent for Xmas that it was too cold to wear, so I hung it up and, you guessed it, in less than a month, the sleeve was shredded. I found the threads in their nest in an unused drawer, ARGGH!!!

-- Ginger Morgan (vermort@spacestar.net), November 02, 1999.

One thing that has worked for us is to set out jar lids of mashed potato flakes under the stove or wherever they are running.Usually they hug the walls or travel under stuff.The mice will eat their fill of the flakes and then get thirsty,so they go outside for a drink.The water swells the flakes up to the point that they die of bloat.The nice thing about this is that you never have to touch the dead mice because they die outside!It really does work,you just have to check the lids and keep them full.We also use a new kind of trap called the better mouse trap,and these are perfect.They can't steal the bait and you dont have to handle the dirty,bloody end of it at all!They are made of gray plastic and they are very,very,effective.

-- Rebekah Leaf (daniel1@transport.com), November 29, 1999.

I guess I'll throw my oar in for what it's worth:metal"Tin Cat"traps.Critters get in and don't come out.You then drown the vermin.Steel wool in crevices works to some extent.Remember the critters can get through 1/4" spaces.My current war with them is regards their gnawing of my 'phone[and computer]lines.May be I'll starve the better half's 2 felines,so they'll eat more rodents[only 1/2 kidding-my luck the cats will jump on the counters[a water or air pistol[with felt cleaning pellets] cures THAT habit].Seriously keep any traps butted against walls[mice brush against the walls in their travels].A stick balanced over a bucket of water[water depth over the depth of the mice[or rats] will result in drowned rodents.My dad employed that in a butcher shop 40+ years ago;ditto the terrier-or a dachshund. Happy hunting.

-- Karl (kbechler@frontiernet.net), December 19, 1999.

Dittoes to Rebekah Leaf on The Better Mousetraps. We moved into the house we are currently living in on 11/15/98, and by 3/15/99 I had caught 55 mice in those traps with only approximately 5 trips without a mouse. You can find them in the Gempler's catalog and also the FarmTek catalog, I believe. They are a little bit pricey, but well worth the it, because they work. I also went around the house where the dirt meets the foundation and looked for holes to plug and found plenty. I used either the yellow expanding foam or a real good Latex exterior caulk to fill in the holes. Remember to go down to your cellar or basement and fill in those holes as well. In cases such as ours where we had probably upwards of 100 mice living in our house, I would say it is a distinct possibility that they have burrows under the ground as well. After doing all this we haven't had hardly a mouse this fall and winter now, and I suspect the ones I have caught were probably still permanent residents from before we moved in.

-- David Tidman (tidman@midiowa.net), January 01, 2000.

Tin cat traps can also be found at agway and ct farm

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), January 05, 2000.

We have a large garden that encourages nature to visit all summer long. It's hard to tell a critter that when the weather changes so do the rules of our homestead. If you leave feed out for the bird, squirrels and deer your also leaving meals out for rodents. Birds go south and squirrels make nests in our trees, deer disappear at the first sound of gunshot - so that leaves us with the vermin that we didn't really invite in the first place. Every fall there is a home invasion, like it or not, we have to deal with it severely and promptly or we'll be the visitors and the lil critters will run our home. This works and has worked for years..... When tomatoes are ready to harvest we purchase 12 standard mouse traps and add chunky peanut butter, placing them in shed, basement, attic & garage. We check these traps daily - replacing food stuff & ridding mouse carcasses. As fall approaches, we'll get 4 mice or so a day for about two weeks then the mouse hunt stops - the occasional loaner is found but he easily eradicated using the same method. We spend about $10 a year on traps and bait and about 5 minutes a day for three weeks setting traps. Its well worth it, no home damage no unsanitary coonditions and I still feel comfortable catering to nature the followingspring.

-- Jackie (city003@aol.com), January 08, 2000.

Seems like this is a 'universal' problem! I feel so much better! Anyway, the mice are to a minimum-near none! I'm (almost) disappointed when the glue traps are empty! Found the glue traps thru a local wholesale, cheap, cheep! Early season 'tactics' are the key! Get rid of the little buggers, early! Thanks all! Kathy

-- aka Kathy (karen2@bestweb.net), January 09, 2000.

Just happened upon your question. This goes back about a kazillion years, but it works. Get a 5 gallon plastic bucket (this is an update). Find a small can - tomato juice, V8, whatever - we're looking for 6 oz here. Punch a small hole in the center of each end - you'll be able to get the contents out quite easily. Now string a wire through the can and secure the ends to the top of the bucket. You have a small can suspended above the bucket, halfway across. Fill the bucket about 1/3 to 1/2 way up with water. Put some peanut butter on the 6 oz can. Lay a board up to the top of the bucket from the floor. The mice will tight-rope to the peanut buter, then swing the 6 oz can around so they are on the bottom, then eventually fall off and drown. It really does work! Good Luck!

Brad

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), February 14, 2000.


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-- ihateallyou Bastards (poonjabb@hotmail.com), June 06, 2001.

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