Mouse in the house

[FreezerBoy]

Anyone have luck with electronic/ultrasonic units or repellant powders?

I recently moved to the mountains. Surprise surprise, there's critters up here. Deer blocking the garage is cool. Bear prints outside the door is exciting. A mouse in the house is disease on the hoof.

Obviously, I need to go on crack patrol, sealing up holes or other entry points. I have some humane traps inside the house. Beyond that what do the country folk suggest? Web reading suggests plug in units are a temp fix, that rodents eventually return. Powders need to be replenished. I realize there's probably no permanent fix, that it will be an ongoing campaign. Any help the natives could give a former city boy is greatly appreciated.

 

[h^2 O]

I'd say live traps man...and do it fast before it gets too snowey or cold when you go to release them. Get a live trap or make one...cheese or meat or something...then when you catch them, find somewhere where you can let them loose and they could survive. Side of a dried up marsh or something.

 

[Dislexus]

Get a couple cats, fix them and keep them inside.

Killing mice is like their favorite thing in the world.

Two and they keep eachother company, and mouse has no escape.

My cats are total inside wimps and even they like to catch field mice, birds, grass snakes when I let them out in spring.

OR, kill the infestation inside and go to a shelter to find a big badass tomcat stray. Don't fix him, just make him an outside cat, all he needs is some shelter and a bale of hay, water, food. That way you won't have to worry about mice populations getting close to your house, you will have death walking your perimeter. He won't be the most affectionate but remember you want a trained coldblooded killer not a lap cat

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Get a tiny little bear trap. Just kidding. You're kind to consider repellant vs extermination.

IMO, the ultrasonic stuff is a scam. The hardware store probably has several solutions. Of course, you have to keep pets and small children in mind if going the repellent route.

I just keep a spring trap here and there, wherever I see droppings. Mice don't have a bladder so they're whizzing all over the place. Bad for allergies for the most part. They'll de seed your weed but leave the shells behind, lol. Not to mention their bodily fluids.

They make a glue trap that's folded into a tent. The glue has a scent that attracts mice and snuffs em out once stuck inside the tent. You throw it away w/o touching the mouse. You can do the same thing with a spring trap and the tip of a screwdriver.

 

[yortbogey]

fuck the little scratching...clawing fuckerz.....USE..... the Bait Chuncks.....
Kills them..... period..... this is the only way to finish it off.....otherwise U will have house guest ALL winter long..... they had moved in before U and will not give up

toss pieces off the bait /poison into EVER crack and crevice U find.....in the attic, crawl spaces and under the house.....
then start sealing up EVERY entrance point.....

 

[supermanlives]

snipe em with your gamo varment hunter 1200fps pellet gun with laser

 

[Stoner4Life]

a 5 gallon bucket w/antifreeze in the bottom works well, the can is coated w/some peanut butter and spins freely, the antifreeze stops the little bastards from stinking, kill 'em all. no mercy as those fuckers reproduce like crazy.......

 

[Hammerhead]

lol ^^^^^

 

[yortbogey]

a 5 gallon bucket w/antifreeze in the bottom works well, the can is coated w/some peanut butter and spins freely, the antifreeze stops the little bastards from stinking, kill 'em all. no mercy as those fuckers reproduce like crazy.......

strai8ght UP BARBARIAN......brutal and efficient ....

I like

 

[litebuzz]

deCon...they dry out like a popcorn fart.

 

[Dislexus]

snipe em with your gamo varment hunter 1200fps pellet gun with laser

Netflix "The Salton Sea" the movie is meh but there is one awesome scene reenacting the JFK assassination with pigeons

 

[mrcreosote]

Sticky trays.
Restaurants use em, they work. You may have to steel yourself against little mousie screams of agony as they get stuck but mountain men use that for campfire tales of manliness.

Hot tip: place them where you can't walk. They will ruin a midnight milk and cookie run and you will know why the mousies scream.
They also make wonderful April Fools Day pranks.

 

[Dislexus]

The Silence Of The Mice And Men

 

[Useful Idiot]

I did a little investigation for ya there Freezer. I live in the sticks as well and we HAD a mouse issue. I think poison is cruel, I do however think mouse traps are in order. Instant kill without any suffering. I honestly hate killing any creature unless I am going to eat it. BUT, mice are very destructive and need to be dealt with.So with that said, I suggest traps with peanut butter for the little ones inside. Then secure your house,mice are VERY small and can fit through spaces that are ....well unbelievable.A couple of cats as suggested WILL do it for ya, BUT, I understand the fact that you are not goin to get cats to remedy the issue and then have to take care of cats to solve your prob.OK with that said here is some material for ya to read.
Rodent Control

To control rats, implement the following procedures:
Rodentproofing - Rodentproofing is changing the structure of buildings in order to prevent entry of rats and mice. In considering rodentproofing, you must know that

• Rats can squeeze through cracks ½ inch wide; mice, ¼ inch wide. Any place a pencil can be poked, a mouse can go.
• Rats can climb the inside of vertical pipes 1½ - 4 inches in diameter.
• Rats can climb the outside of vertical pipes up to 3 inches in diameter and any size if within 3 inches of a wall.
• Rats can jump vertically 36 inches, horizontally 48 inches, and reach horizontally or vertically 15 inches.
• Rats can jump 8 feet from a tree to a house if the branch is 15 feet above the roof.

Figure 3. Rodentproofing a vent.


Rodentproofing requires the use of rodent-resistant materials. The following materials are considered rodent resistant:

• Sheet metal (26 gauge or heavier).
• Perforated metal (24 gauge or heavier with openings no more than ¼ inch).
• Hardware cloth (19 gauge or heavier with openings no more than ¼ inch).
• Brick with mortared joints.
• Cement mortar (1:3 mixture).
• Concrete (1:2:4 mixture).

Figure 4. Rodentproofing openings around pipes with sheetmetal (left) and concrete (right).


A gnawing edge is the edge of substances which rats can gnaw through. The gnawing edges must be protected with rodent-resistant materials. Places to rodentproof are edges of doors, windows, holes where pipes enter buildings, ventilation holes in foundations, roof vents, exhaust fans, and eave vents. Rodents can also enter homes through toilets.

Figure 5. Rodentproofing a door, placing channel at bottom and cuffs at sides over channel.


To be effective, rodentproofing must block all possible rodent entry points. During the first 2 weeks of completing rodentproofing, searching rodents will find breaks in the rodentproofing. Inspect frequently during this time and promptly repair any breaks. It will also be necessary to eliminate the rodents trapped indoors due to rodentproofing.
Sanitation - Good housekeeping or sanitation is a basic factor in rodent control. Eliminating food, water, and harborage for rats and mice can reduce rodent populations rapidly. To implement sanitation practices:

• Clean up garbage and rubbish.
• Properly store garbage (Metal garbage cans should have tight fitting lids).
• Properly store food (store raw or prepared foods and refuse indoors in covered, ratproof containers or in ratproof rooms).
• Store pet food and bird seed in rat proof containers.
• Remove harborages (remove piles of rubbish, trash, junk, boxes, and protected enclosures).
• Dry up sources of water.
• Pick fruits and vegetables when ripe so rodents will not feed on them.

Sanitation must be used constantly in rodent control to be effective. Yearly clean-up programs are generally ineffective for rodent control.
Predators - Many people have relied on cats and dogs to control rats, but in general cats and dogs are not good tools for control. Food put out for pets is excellent rat food. Most people put out more food than the pet can consume in one day. Rats then clean the bowl overnight. Because pets are well-fed, they are too lazy to hunt. Studies have shown that although predators can keep an area rat free, they can not remove an existing infestation.
Birds of prey, hawks and owls, feed on large numbers of rodents. Barn owls are exceptional rat killers and a pair can be expected to kill several hundred rats over a one year period.
Many species of non-poisonous snakes are very beneficial in rodent control. Snakes such as rat snakes, king snakes, pine snakes, black racers, and coach whips eat numerous rodents and are important in controlling rodent populations. Do not kill non-poisonous snakes.
Trapping - Trapping is an underrated method of controlling rodents. One reason trapping is often overlooked is that snap traps have been around for a long time and are cheap. Traps can be used to eliminate rats where poison baits would be dangerous, to avoid dead rat odors, and to eliminate bait-shy rats.
It is important to place traps where the rats are. Rats and mice are used to human odors so there is no need to use gloves when handling traps. Since mice travel only 10-30 feet but rats travel 100-150 feet from harborages, more traps are needed to trap mice than rats in a house.
Rats and mice also have different behavior around new objects. Rats are cautious, and it may be a week before they approach a trap. Mice are curious and will normally approach traps the first night. If you don't catch a mouse in the first few nights, the trap is in the wrong location. To help rats overcome trap shyness, place traps unset, in place, for several days. This allows rats to overcome shyness and results in better catches.
Baited traps rely on the rat's being attracted for feeding. The bait must compete with other available foods, so no one bait is ever the best bait for all locations. Rodents living on garbage or spoiled food prefer something fresh. The following are some baits that have proven to be successful:

• Whole nuts for rats and mice.
• Raisins or grapes for roof rats.
• Sardines packed in oil for Norway rats.
• Peanuts or peanut butter for rats and mice (soak whole peanuts in water overnight; old peanut butter becomes rancid so replace it frequently).
• Dry rolled oatmeal is excellent for mice.
• Bacon squares.
• Small wads of cotton for mice and rats (they look for nest material).
• Gumdrops for mice.

Baited traps should be set a right angles to rat runs (Figure 6). Traps can be nailed to rafters and beams to take advantage of areas where rats travel. Set traps along walls, behind furniture, and near holes. Remember to set traps where children and pets will not be hurt.

Figure 6. Traps at right angles to rat run.


Runway traps - catch rats when they accidentally bump the trigger. Runway traps are available or can be made from snap traps by enlarging the trigger with cardboard, hardware cloth, or screening (Figure 7). There is no bait to go stale, so there is an increased chance of success. In placing runway traps, the trap should be placed at right angles to the wall or along runways. To hold the trap in place on pipes or rafters, use rubber bands, nails, or hose clamps.

Figure 7. Runway traps made from enlarged snaptraps.


Glue boards - Special glue can be placed in pie tins or paper plates. The glues do not harden but will hold a rat in place. Other rats become curious and also get caught. Placing a small piece of bait in the center of a glue board can increase effectiveness. Dusty and wet conditions will impair the trap's effectiveness. Glue boards are better suited for mice and safe for children and pets. Boards may be cleaned with cooking oil.
Poison Baits - Traps are effective usually when dealing with small numbers of rats or mice. When rats are plentiful or where unsanitary conditions exist with harborage, poisoned baits are an effective tool to use with trapping.
Poison baits are avilable as ready to use, premixed baits. They come in many forms; parafinized blocks for outdoor use and high humidity areas, treated meal, seeds, or parafinized pellets in bulk or in "place packs" for indoor use. Water baits are sold as packets of concentrate that are mixed with water. They are administered with a chick fount, available at most feed stores, and are useful in areas where rodent food is abundant but water is in short supply.
There are three types of rodenticides; acute toxins, calcium releasers and anticoagulants. Most acute toxins are no longer avilable due to the risk of accidental poisoning. Zinc phosphide baits react with stomach acids to produce phosphine gas. This product is restricted use and mostly used for agricultural rodent control, because it offers little risk of secondary poisoning of beneficial predators. It has no antidote and is not appropriate for use around children, pets, or livestock. One new acute toxin that is considered safe and effective is bromethalin. Bromethalin is a mitochondrial poison that shuts down the rodent body's ability to produce energy. It also has no antidote, and is considered a minor threat of secondary poisoning because it causes the rodent to stop feeding days before it dies, so most of the poison has been excreted prior to death and possible ingestion by a predator or pet. Vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol is a calcium releaser that causes too much calcium to be released into the blood, resulting in kidney, liver, or heart failure. The advantages of vitamin D3 are that it kills anticoagulant-resistant rodents and there is no problem of secondary poisoning of pests or wildlife that eat poisoned rodents. The most common rodenticides are the anticoagulants. The older, multidose anticoagulants include chlorophacinone, coumafuryl, diphacinone, pivalyn, valone, and warfarin. The newer generation of anticoagulants are effective after a single dose and include brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difethalone. The single-dose anticoagulants are generally effective against rodents resistant to the older multidose compounds. Rodents poisoned with anticoagulants die from bleeding internally. Because the effects show up days after taking the bait, they do not associate their poisoning with the bait. Anti-coagulants are considered safer rodenticides than the acute poisons, because larger doses are necessary to poison humans or pets and these poisons have a simple antidote, Vitamin K1.
Whenever a rodenticide is used, safety must be the first consideration. Poison baits must be placed where they are inaccessible to children, pets, livestock, and wildlife. Where rodent runs are exposed and in all outdoor situations, tamper proof bait boxes must be used. A tamper-proof bait box or station must be inaccessible to a 4 year old child or a dog. This means that the station can not be opened and the bait can not shaken out. Bait blocks must be secured inside the station or if loose bait pellets or meal is used, then the station must be secured to the ground so a child, dog or raccoon could not move it. Baits stations should always be placed near where rats live and breed or along travel routes.
About 1 pound of anticoagulant bait should control most rats in and around homes. The baits should be placed in stations with 1/4 pound of bait per station (Figure 8). Shallow containers for holding the bait are best. For added effect, water may be provided separately for the rats to drink. Pick up dead rats wherever they are noticed. A few cases of pet poisoning have been reported when pets feed on dead rats or mice. When rats die in areas where they can not be removed, it may be necessary to ventilate the area or use odor absorbent or masking products. Usually anticoagulant poisoned mice are dehydrated and do not produce severe odor after death. Rats on the other hand are large enough to produce an unpleasant odor for up to two-four weeks if they die in inaccessible locations.

Figure 8. Tamperproof rodent bait station.


When you control your rats, encourage your neighbor to control their rats at the same time. The greater the area that is controlled, the more effective the results will be and the longer it will take new rats to migrate back to your property.
Check with your local county health department to determine whether a rodent control project is active in your neighborhood. They may be able to offer advice and aid in controlling rats. Remember itis no disgrace to acquire some rats, but it is a dangerous to maintain them.
Footnotes


1. This document is ENY-224, one of a series of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Universityof Florida. Publication date: June 1991. Revised: June 2005. Reviewed: June 2008. Please visit the EDIS Website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.


2. P.G. Koehler, professor/extension entomologist and W.H. Kern, Jr., assistant professor, Entomology and Nematology Department, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.

 

[Useful Idiot]

Oh by the way Freezerboy, welcome to the country life friend. You are going to love it!!! I would not chage the way I am living for nothin. I worked hard to get where I am and am sure you did as well. ENJOY, I am happy for ya.

 

[mrcreosote]

a 5 gallon bucket w/antifreeze in the bottom works well, the can is coated w/some peanut butter and spins freely, the antifreeze stops the little bastards from stinking, kill 'em all. no mercy as those fuckers reproduce like crazy.......

What the F**k is that...THING doing in the kitchen???

Why Honey, that's my new Ronco Bukkit O' Rat. Bukkit O' Rat will rid our house of unwanted guests or turn them into lucrative circus performers.
Spin and plop, watch 'em drop. Ronco, set it and forget it.

 

[Useful Idiot]

What the F**k is that...THING doing in the kitchen???

Why Honey, that's my new Ronco Bukkit O' Rat. Bukkit O' Rat will rid our house of unwanted guests or turn them into lucrative circus performers.
Spin and plop, watch 'em drop. Ronco, set it and forget it.

OMG....that, for some reason, just REALLY made me LOL,really DAMN>

 

[Sam the Caveman]

you drink naddy light, wtf??

 

[Abja Roots]

a 5 gallon bucket w/antifreeze in the bottom works well, the can is coated w/some peanut butter and spins freely, the antifreeze stops the little bastards from stinking, kill 'em all. no mercy as those fuckers reproduce like crazy.......

Simple and effective.

 

[FreezerBoy]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Useful Idiot again.

Day'am! I got's me some reading to do. Thanks!!!!!

a 5 gallon bucket w/antifreeze

Let's hope it doesn't come to that but, I will if necessary. I like Mickey Mouse and Cinderella as much as anyone but, wild mice are disease ridden invaders that I will not suffer.

Unfortunately, my landlords are adamant against indoor cats. I'd be afraid to get an outdoor model. We have wild cats, coyotes, bears, I'm afraid a cat would be someone's appetizer. Tried snap traps in the past but have seen them merely maim too often. I'm such a wuss when it comes to animals. I'd rather just lock them out. If I have to kill, I'd like to do it instantly.

Thanks one and all. I love this place.