OT - Mouse problem

I have recently started a war on mice at my camp(Me vs. Them). I have been so busy the last couple years that it is hard to head north and forget about home for the weekend. I do not like to set and leave traps while I'm not there, I have a weak stomach when it comes to rotten odors. So what I'm looking for is something to deter them, is there such a thing? I also don't like to use poison, they live long enough after they eat it to get to their nest and again, the odor. Are there any tricks? I would rather not kill them, but deter them.

If you can get one of those "Tin Cat" mouse traps, where they crawl in and a teter-totter blocks them from going out, then you might be able to train the raccoons to "empty" it for you.
Once they learn to open the lid, and it is filled with delicious mice, they should come along every day and empty the trap back out.

Then, it will be how to get rid of the Raccoons.

Bottom line as long as there is water, food, and shelter, there will be plenty of mice.
Eliminate one, or add more predators.

Technical Specifications for De-Mouser

Get yourself one (or more) of these:

National Stock Number: 8820-00-321-9876

Nomenclature: Mouser, Fur-bearing, Self-Guided
Unit of Issue: EA
Packaging Quantity: 1/EA

Specifications: Optically Equipped, Aural-Enhanced, Multi-Fanged, Equipped with Rear-Mounted Flexible Multi-Angle Counter-Balancer and Ten Forward-Mounted Bilaterally Positioned Deployable/Retractable Anti-Rodent piercing devices.

Accessories: Augmented by high-level olfactory neurons.
Certain versions of the Mouser (e.g., polydactyl) are equipped with more than ten Anti-Rodent piercing devices. Total quantity varies with the specific unit issued.

Available in two models:
1. Mod-1 is capable of causing replication
2. Mod-0 has the ability to provide replication.

Be sure to specify in your requisition the model required.

WARNING: Do NOT mix Mouser models. Anterior-posterior co-joining of a Mouser, Mod-1 with a Mouser, Mod-0 may lead to undesired self-replication in very undesirable quantities.

Regards,
Stan Db

Cat

Wandered in

Acted hungry

Took the job for small bowl of cat food daily

Also does: Moles, Small Rabbits, frogs/toads

Very efficient/ cheap

(This model appears to be Non Military version)

snake

Tin Cats work well also.

dkmc said:

Cat

Wandered in

Acted hungry

Took the job for small bowl of cat food daily

Also does: Moles, Small Rabbits, frogs/toads

Very efficient/ cheap

(This model appears to be Non Military version)

Click to expand...

X2 for get a cat. Mine does in rabbits, snakes, birds, etc.. as well as mice and rats. I once watched him bat around a 2 ft. copperhead for about 30 minutes, then he held his neck down and bit his head off. He won me over that day.

I think your answer lies in one of these Ball bearing mouse traps the guys are talking about.

one of my friends has free roaming chickens for about a year now and they seem to have taken care of his mouse problems...



dave

Get a kingsnake.

They're murder on mice and other snakes.

Not as hard on birds as a cat.

No problem leaving them unattended for long periods of time.

Hmmmm ... Pennsylvania.

May have a bit of a problem in winter when the snakes hibernate.

It's OK though, they wake up hungry in spring.

When I lived in the West Indies (Trinidad) we had quite a few cats around the place. They were very effective against mice, rats and snakes. The oldest had no fear of Coral Snakes or even dogs!

Only downside was they sometimes save their kills as "gifts". I remember waking up several times with a bloody mouse on my pillow and a purring cat laying next to it.

-DU-

One of these will do it aka "Shop cat"
Will also critique your CNC programs and claim he can do a better job just by walking across the keyboard
Will also dispose of all evidence for you too...... especially those pesky health and safety inspectors

Boris

Oddly enough, my six-year-old Newfoundland dog eats mice.

I have never seen her do it.

But I have seen her vomit up the skeletons.

I stopped using poison when I discovered this.

Boris said:

One of these will do it aka "Shop cat"
Will also critique your CNC programs and claim he can do a better job just by walking across the keyboard
Will also dispose of all evidence for you too...... especially those pesky health and safety inspectors

Boris

Click to expand...

He looks suitable impressed ... NOT!

Reminds me of my once upon a time cat BC (Black Cat).

Mom said he had to go when the local rabbit population ran out and he started eating her chickens.

Dad took him to work with him at the airport ... and their pigeon problem disappeared.

Normally a cat would be my first choice too, but the OP said this is at his camp and he's not there much.

Many of the terrier breeds also excel at dispatching small rodents. The added advantage is they don't kill birds for sport.

I have several...

I have several of the 8820-00-321-9876 Mod1 and Mod2, all but two has recieved field modification FMM-X or FMF-X (Mod1 and Mod2, respectively) which prevents replicational provisions. All were surplus, and while they're all in civilian use, two of them are clearly EX-GI, as they're still rather militarized, and frankly, it's better that way.

My 8820-00-321-9876's will take out mice, moles, voles, groundsquirrels, snakes, and birds... one the still-military-hardened units is incredibly effective at deterring the neighbor's insurgent Black Lab and in conjunction with another (apparently equipped with an exceptional adapt-and-overcome feature) at chasing raccoons en-masse out into the kill-zone of my 8820-NHD-12ga-000 close-range PB-Distribution Armament System. My units patrol 24/7, and are totally reliable at properly determining friend from foe, and are also excellent alerters of intruders greater than the scope of their natural capacity, such as packs of coyotes and skunks.

Two of mine are in stealth black, one came in multicolored camo, one in black/white camo, one came in safety orange (?? ex DOT??) and the youngest one (apparently CIA) wears black tux with white tie.

I've used the poisons that dehydrate the mice which makes them go find water - so I've yet to have one die inside.

We have a five member strong furry assassin squad at the ready too. well, the numbers vary in good weather as they go off for days but theres always two or more lurking about the place.
They have been trained NOT to attempt entrance whilst carrying freshly culled gift as my wife is seriously phobic about mice and dead things, but they still try now and again.
They are reinforced by squad member #6, big black dog, who loves all #5 and dislikes things that are outside their natural kill size, so the cats all bolt to the safety of round his kennel when bigger stuff is around.
When we're away, someone fills up the food hopper every couple of days or so and they operate autonomously without issue. And y'know, theyre much nicer to have about the place than some mechanical trap...

Jack Russel Terrier. Not seen a mouse in the basement since I got one.

Jack Russel: Free (warranty replacement for a Toy Fox that almost died, but recovered, so I have both)

Damages to home: $2000

Replacement Shoes/flip flops: $350

Damage to Garage: $45

Replacement screen doors: $160 (buy cheap ones)

Damage to SD chips: $45 (plus loss of photo's)

Vet bills $600 (two years shots, heart worm and spay)

Damage to fence $35 (use cheap fence)

Tennis balls: $25

Play toys to prevent damage to above: $zillion

Maybe you better just get the cat.

Meet Tator Salad, my Jack:

Another vote for a Model-1 unit, Code name "Buddy"

Seems to work best during graveyard shift.

Provides evidence of finished work by placing the "jobs" next to the metal brake.

Only have one problem.

He must be so focused in his work that sometimes he can't make it to the head in time.

Okay, so...

So after thinkin about it, what Anchor's sayin', is that he'd like something automatic, totally unattended, and totally keeps mice away.

Gee, that WOULD be nice.

As noted, Mice look for nice safe cover, food, water, and bedding. They don't need a place to pooh- they do that everywhere. They don't need any particular source of bedding- they'll chew up everything in sight, and cram it into the most inaccessable, impossible place to GET, and, as a result, put it somewhere where you can't get it out.,

Case in point:

I have a 1971 Kaiser-Jeep Jeepster Commando... 43,000 original miles. Has the ex-Buick "Dauntless' 225 odd-fire V6, and a T-series (I think T-86... 3spd, first gear left and down). From underneath, the bellhousing is TOTALLY CLOSED... there's no access holes that aren't covered with heavy tin and bolts. The throwout bearing fork is totally shielded- not even a spot where you can stick a finishing nail through there.

A few years ago, I had problems with the starter bendix 'sticking'. Okay... well, I only drive it a couple'a times a year. I live with having to turn the key an extra time to get it to 'go'. A while later, I noticed the clutch was slipping. Yeah, well, it sat quite a while, probably sticky fingers in the pressure plate... so I keep workin' it to keep it free... doesn't help much.

Finally, the damned starter JUST WON"T GO. Solenoid clicks, but won't fling the motor. So I pull out the starter, and find that the solenoid and bendix are all wrapped-up tight with... yep... a MOUSE NEST. It's BAD... I can't even pick the crap out'a the bendix. Of course, it's an old reman, so no allegience to keeping it 'original, so I take it over to my favorite starter-guy... he tells me to reinstall the flywheel cover... Uh... it's never been off... and he swears that it's the only way I'd have a mouse-nest in there. Okay...

Go to install the new one, take a light, and look in the hole... and the WHOLE CLUTCH HOUSING is FULL.

So I go on a rampaging inspection, and find NO (and I mean absolutely none) point of entry.

WTH???

I'm still baffled... and I'm still pickin' pieces of cloth, newspaper, straw, string... out of the flywheel housing of my Jeep.

Fortunately, the Jeep was designed from the factory, to be able to FORD creeks. (even says how in the owner's manual!!! Ah, those were the days). Before I put it in the storage building (used to be sealed really tight, but I've since changed that), I pulled down the cowl vent cover, so it's not a mouseable entryway into the body... fortunately, the interior has not been compromised YET.

So here's how I dealt with the situation:

I took out one of the windowpanes in the barn basement window. I rearranged a few things in the barn basement, and slid open one of the hay chutes about 6"... and took one board out of the chute at the upper main floor. Then I put an FM radio by the big doors, turned it on to the local rock station. Raccoons don't like hard rock... but Simon (ex-USMC-type barn cat) goes through window, to chute, up chute, and into barn. He's got several spots of vantage, including up into the hay loft, where he keeps watch, kills mice and birds. When weather is bad, I know where he'll be- I've got a spot in there that's boxed-in with tarps, and an old bath-mat... and under that mat is a piece of styrofoam board... between 'em is a small thermostatic electric heating mat (about 4 watts)... so on a -20F day, he's got a cozy-warm spot to hang out and break the chill.

But Anchor's problem sorta precludes the use of somewhat-domesticated guardians.

You can't drive mice away... and you can't keep 'em from getting in. Their teeth grow FAST, and they NEED to chew with 'em to keep 'em worn down, lest they'll die... SO they pick something to chew on, that gets 'em into places we don't want 'em. Not a matter of IF, it's simply a matter of WHEN.

You can't trap 'em with a trap that doesn't automatically reset. IF you trap 'em, you'll have to deal with stinky dead mice.

If you poison them, you'll have to deal with stinky dead mice.

So your last two options are pretty clear:

Lure them away... give them reason to want to NOT be there... or

Leave, and surrender your property to their savagery.

Dunno how to do the former, but unless you're gonna give up, that's your only choice.

I'd say... get a Tin Cat trap, and rig it with a secondary stage... where a trapped mouse runs to one side of the tin, the tin flips, and drops the mice into a tin barrel with vertical sides about 4' tall... so that the mice CANNOT climb out. Set it up with really good *but inaccessable) bait. Yeah, you'll have a barrel full of stinky, dead mice when you get there... put on a clothespin, and carry 'em out to the bonfire... deal with the queasiness long enough to get the job done, and live happily knowing those 495 mice will not procreate and grant you another 32,031 more baby mice to dispose of.