Mice

[Daren Todd]

I stay away from poisons because of the dogs. I was putting out poison, till found a rat in the back yard that had been chewed on by the dog with green goop coming out of it's belly.

After that I worked on prevention. When we installed new flooring.in the house, I found a mouse expressway into the home through one of the door casings.

So I pulled all the baseboards. Sealed any questionable spots with expanding foam for door and window casings.

I also sealed around pipes coming in through cabinets with the metal trim rings and more expanding foam. I stuffed steel wool in some of these opening before sealing around them as well.

When in installed the baseboards I dropped them tight to the floor.

This worked for keeping them out of the house. But didnt keep them out of the walls. So you still heard the buggers scratching inside the walls at night 🫤🫤🫤🫤

 

[Mark_BX25D]

All of this talk reminds me of being a kid and visiting my paternal grandparents. There was a feed mill across the alley behind their house, and there were rats everywhere, even in broad daylight. The mill boss would pay us 5 cents for every rat we killed, so we sat in the alley and went to war with our BB guns.
I remember filling 5 gallon buckets with rats, then using the money we earned to buy Dreamsicles & candy (and BBs) at the corner store. My parents loved it because we were quiet & occupied.
Good times.
Note the target peep sights.

Heh. Sounds like my mom paying me to pick horned tomato worms off her tomato plants. She only made that mistake once. Said they were the most expensive tomatoes she'd ever bought.

But I"'m quite sure your money maker was a lot more fun than mine!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

But didn't keep them out of the walls. So you still heard the buggers scratching inside the walls at night.

The old trailer was infested with them!
One night we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep, and it sounded like the mouse express way in the walls.
Wife jumped up and screamed, she really wanted me to blast the walls with a shotgun.
I was right there with her too.
The next few days went into setting up ways to do them in for good.
It never really worked they just kept showing back up and moving in.
It really was annoying hearing the click, click, clunk, of dog food bits falling every time they pushed them over the electrical path hole in the studs.

 

[GeoHorn]

Yes lots of mice this year! I just keep feeding them poison blocks! I have a bucket trap outside but its frozen now.

Dont feed the birds and animals outside! The food source will just keep them coming!

I’d have to be willing to withstand a Spouse-Mutiny to quit feeding the birds. I’ve tried to explain that’s why we see mice in the Fall/Winter and Snakes in the Spring/Summer.… but it’s like Pizzing up-wind…

 

[Daren Todd]

The old trailer was infested with them!
One night we were laying in bed trying to fall asleep, and it sounded like the mouse express way in the walls.
Wife jumped up and screamed, she really wanted me to blast the walls with a shotgun.
I was right there with her too.
The next few days went into setting up ways to do them in for good.
It never really worked they just kept showing back up and moving in.
It really was annoying hearing the click, click, clunk, of dog food bits falling every time they pushed them over the electrical path hole in the studs.

Ours was gaps between the bottom of the wall and siding. So they could squeeze on in. So unless I pulled the siding and took care of the gap in what ever was used for the outer walls, we were pretty much stuck with them getting into the walls.

That wasn't an expense that was in the budget.

I would turn the ceiling fan on in the bedroom at night and not hear the mice scratching inside the walls. Wife could still hear them though.

 

[fried1765]

Dealing with mice can be a real challenge, especially when you've got dogs to think about. It's great that you've taken steps to prevent them from getting into your home. Sealing up those entry points with expanding foam and steel wool is a smart move.

That mouse post was two years ago.
How long do the same mousies live anyway?

 

[DustyRusty]

It isn't how long they can live, but estimates are 12 to 18 months if they don't get eaten by other animals. The bigger problem is how many offspring they can produce.

Theoretically speaking, two mice can give birth to as many as 60 pups per year. Let's be conservative and say that only 21 of the 60 pups are female. With the females of each litter giving birth 6 weeks after their own arrival, you could see as many as 5,082 mice in one year!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

That mouse post was two years ago.
How long do the same mousies live anyway?

Don't know, but the spammer rats come out for years and years!

 

[Runs With Scissors]

As a preventative measure, when we got our place up north, I ordered some of this stuff and I have not had a problem.

Xcluder Rodent Control Fill Fabric


This stuff was nasty stuff and I made sure to handle it with good gloves on, and stuffed every crack and crevasse I could find with it.

It was pricey but it sure seems to work.

 

[Poohbear]

One Calico Cat, Several Wolves, and several electronic traps.

+1 on the Calico cat. The one we had not only got mice but also gophers and copperhead snakes. she would bring the kills to the back door and proudly show her trophy

 

[Flintknapper]

+1 on the Calico cat. The one we had not only got mice but also gophers and copperhead snakes. she would bring the kills to the back door and proudly show her trophy

Our Calico is the best 'mouser' I have ever seen. But not only mice, will catch/kill gophers, rats or just about anything She can catch.

Had a baby rabbit the other day (just playing with it). I took that from her. She shows up with a medium sized 'rat' she found someplace. Next night comes up to the porch with a flying squirrel.

Today had another baby rabbit...but had eaten most of that one.

We've had NO mice around the house, barn or outbuildings that I can tell in the last year that we've had the cat. If any show up....she is quick to dispatch them. Never seen such a accomplished huntress.