I Hate Mice

alfadog said:
I have a couple mice in my house that I have not got around to catching. Lately, I keep my dog's food bowl (dry food) in the microwave and the bag of food in the dryer because those little suckers chewed through a thick plastic container I was using. I bought some traps and need to catch them and release some miles away.
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I release mice into the garbage, with the trap still snugly around their little bodies. That's if my cats don't get them.
 
MonkeyClaw said:
I get pack rats up here. No magical concoction of peppermint, herbs or anything found on any home-remedy site will keep them away for long. Nor do those 'ultrasonic' repellers work. The best thing I've found is the electric kill traps by Victor Pest. I recently learned about the A24 automatic rat and mouse trap though, which may be getting a lot of use soon...
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I haven't seen any rats here. Probably the worst nuisances are the red squirrels. Shooting is the easiest solution for those little commies. It's the only reason I bother renewing my hunting license.

Rich
 
RJM62 said:
I've always wanted to be the proprietor of a cat house.
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When I was 10 years old I built my very religious grandmother a house for her cat. I was so proud of it that I announced to the crowd that had gathered inside the church before services which of course included my grandmother, "Grandma, your cat house is done!"

Everyone laughed.

I didn't know why. Now I do.
 
Zeldman said:
I get animals dumped on my property occasionally and usually find homes for them. I had one long hair grey cat that I really wanted to find a good home for, but it came up missing two weeks ago. I think either coyotes got it or stray rez dogs.

There is a really healthy looking pair of coyotes running around together, I expect more in the spring.
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Easy fix for yotes
 
James331 said:
Easy fix for yotes
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The coyotes are in their home area. The cats and dogs that folks dump on my property are not. So I keep trying to find homes for them and I'll just watch the coyotes.

For most of the summer there has been a fox on the property across the road from me that starts barking around 10pm, and just irritates the crap out of the neighborhood dogs....:lol::lol:
 
EdFred said:
A 5th of Crown? Ted will happily accept. But since I'm much closer to you than he is, I will happily accept a 5th of Crown on Ted's behalf.
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I didn’t say crown, but if u wud take what I was meaning by “a 5th” I’d gladly buy you a fifth of Crown! Lol
 
They chewed up an emissions hose on our Subaru, chewed up vaccum lines going to the hub actuators on my F-150, and I'm still trying to locate an emissions leak on the same truck that I suspect has the same cause.

We're in the country, they're everywhere. Tasty snacks for the dog when he catches them though and he's quite good at it.
 
I bought some Rachel Ray cat food at Dollar General last night (one of the few brands that isn't mainly grain, according to the label), and set it out in a double pet feeding bowl with water. No takers yet.

I may have to build a cat house and hope for feline squatters. It's the wrong season to be raising outside kittens unless I happen to find some that were born wild but are still naive enough to like humans. But the existing feral cats might move into a cat house, especially if it has cable.

Rock Auto shipped the harness already with promised delivery by Friday. Based on my experience with the company, I expect it to arrive tomorrow, and wouldn't be surprised if it arrived later today.

Rich
 
Besides the pet proof ‘bait houses’, keeping grass, brush, & woodpiles away from the area and buildings helps too. Mice & other rodents get very nervous venturing out in the open, otherwise soon to end up on the dinner plate.

My Fall expanded weed-whipping is almost complete.
 
sourdough44 said:
Besides the pet proof ‘bait houses’, keeping grass, brush, & woodpiles away from the area and buildings helps too. Mice & other rodents get very nervous venturing out in the open, otherwise soon to end up on the dinner plate.

My Fall expanded weed-whipping is almost complete.
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The driveway is on gravel. Maybe I should park further from the house.

I have no problem baiting for the rodents, but I'd rather use something like zinc phosphide, which I'd have to get my Pesticide Applicator license back to legally use. Although rapidly and acutely toxic to rodents who directly ingest it, it has very low secondary toxicity.

Of the OTC rodenticides, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) probably has the lowest secondary toxicity, but it's still higher than ZP.

I guess I could also ask one of the local farmers to set out ZP. Even if they only have a Private license, they can legally do it as a favor or for barter of services. Transportation of a case of beer could be construed as a barterable service...

Rich
 
tonynsx said:
That Jack Daniel's might attract people :)
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The good kind of people, at least, not those White-Claw-drinking dingleberries I've been hearing about lately. Hard seltzer? An oxymoron if there ever was one.
 
Zeldman said:
The coyotes are in their home area. The cats and dogs that folks dump on my property are not. So I keep trying to find homes for them and I'll just watch the coyotes.

For most of the summer there has been a fox on the property across the road from me that starts barking around 10pm, and just irritates the crap out of the neighborhood dogs....:lol::lol:
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We had that a few years ago, now just the occasional fox (coyotes moved on) ... we do get skunks which my previous dog probably thought were cats. Tomato sauce doesn't work. Only on the last time she was sprayed did one of the "tricks" absolutely work 100% to get the smell out of the dog (and bathroom) ... Dawn detergent and vinegar.
 
PaulS said:
Unfortunately that food will attract rodents too, and they will chew through the JD just to **** you off.
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One of the local farmers told me to look for one with as little grain as possible and the mice would leave it alone. I know no one had eaten it the last time I looked.

I'm thinking the affordable housing option might be a more effective attractant. I can pick up a sheet of rigid foam insulation and glue it up into a house, then throw some straw in there. They have plans on the Interwebs. Apparently feral cat shelters are an actual thing.

Rich
 
Fiveslide said:
FTFY.

I'm all about animals living good lives. I volunteer more hours at the animal shelter than some welfare cases work in a whole week. But mice, rats, pests that damage homes and cars and airplanes, they had their chance and they effed with the wrong dude. Time to die, rodent!
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FTFY...
 
RJM62 said:
Pricey stuff, but worth it if it works.

It's impregnated with capsaicin. Same idea as adding cayenne pepper to the bird feeder to keep the squirrels from eating it. The squirrels hate it, but it doesn't seem to bother the birds at all. I wonder if it could be mixed into something that could be painted onto the wires, like an acrylic-based paint?

Rich
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Birds aren't sensitive to capsaicin, mammals are. https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_did_birds_adapt_to_eat_hot_peppers2

Dried hot peppers are sometimes found in parrot food.
 
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RJM62 said:
I can pick up a sheet of rigid foam insulation and glue it up into a house, then throw some straw in there. They have plans on the Interwebs. Apparently feral cat shelters are an actual thing.
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I made some for my girlfriend's outside cats out of Styrofoam cubes frozen Omaha Steaks came in. Put a canvas flap on the door, a rain shed roof over it and straw inside with a few ventilation holes. She kept them on her deck under a glass top table with a tarp for a wind break on one side and the garage wall on the other. They were all quite cozy every winter.
 
I just killed one with my bare hand. I was in the crawlspace building rigid ducting for the dryer vent and something started scurrying past me. I hammer fisted that rodent and it popped like a grape, complete with satisfying pop sound.
 
Fiveslide said:
I just killed one with my bare hand. I was in the crawlspace building rigid ducting for the dryer vent and something started scurrying past me. I hammer fisted that rodent and it popped like a grape, complete with satisfying pop sound.
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Wash your hands!!
 
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