Keeping mice out?? Help

[sevenstars]

When my pole barn was built we set up the floor for radiant heating so all around the slab there is an inch of insulation which goes between the building and the slab.
Apparently the mice have started chewing through the insulation as a means of getting into the shop and its a slight inconvenience. There is absolutely no food or water source in the shop (unless they like beer ).
I cant use poison because I have pets that are regularly outside. I have set the decon traps with ok results. So I need to know what else I can do to prevent them from easily getting in. :

One idea I have used in the past is Great Stuff, the mice don't seem to like to eat through that spray foam and it plugs their holes up for the time being.

I also am planning to put 3' of stone all around the pole barn in the near future, I was thinking when I was doing this I could dig out and down 6" all around the shop to the bottom of the insulation. Then I could either fill it with rocks that the mice couldn't move or possibly mix large rocks with concrete and pack that all around the border essentially not letting them easily get to the insulation.
The only concern I have with using concrete is would the contracting and expanding of it effect any of the foundation or the insulation? I know nothing about concrete at all and I figure this is the best place to ask.

And heres some mandatory pics of the shop:

 

[hydramatic]

decon or havoc is all I can recommend...you may ask a health food store guy if peppermint oil works on mice and rats...squirrels can`t stand it..keeps there *** at bay from my house...it`s pricey,but user friendly..got 7 grandkids....good luck

 

[redsky49]

Well, what do you expect? You've been providing them a banquet of corn all year just next door. Wait till it gets cold and they are looking for a warm and cozy winter retreat.

I suspect that some sheetmetal will be called for. Those rodents can be tenacious.

 

[Chris Adams]

I'm assuming your too kind hearted to put out about a 100 traps?
Mouse traps work fine, don't hurt pets. I have had a Golden nose one (1) mouse trap, but after it went off, she won't get closer than three feet of one anymore.


When my shop gets infested, about once every three years, I just use the traps. Leaving a dead mouse in the trap all day tends to send some kind of message to the others. I have had them all leave after just a couple die.

Mice can get into any hole that you can push a peanut into. I mean the kernel, not the whole thing.

Their only limit on squeezing in is their skull size.

They are VERY fast. I have actually seen them flash through an open door to get into the house, between people’s feet. Just a grayish blur, and he’s in.

Sticky traps work great, but are very hard on you when you find one or two stuck, screaming mice and have to ‘dispose’ of them.


A 'catch em alive' trap won't hurt the little monsters till you release them back in the wild miles away works well. But costs a lot and is usually only good for one.


Most low price and benign is a slick trash can.
We used to use them in stores where the female employees wouldn't tolerate traps and poison resulted in stinky dead mice behind fixtures, thus not a good solution.


We would take tall trash cans, slick inside, and put bait, usually peanut butter, in the bottom.

Then lay a stick like a yardstick, from the ground to the rim of the can. In the morning you would find one or more mice in the bottom of the trash can, unhappy, but unharmed. Sometimes we would get three or four in a can, all hopping and climbing over each other.
A mouse can jump straight up well over a foot, and if you tip the can even a little they can explode out of there, which is great fun, screaming employees, running mice, etc.

Anyway, that method is usually free, works great and doesn't kill the little monsters.
Dump them at least a mile away, or they will beat you back...

 

[LGMechanical]

Keep a cat or 2 around the garage

 

[sevenstars]

I'm assuming your too kind hearted to put out about a 100 traps?

That's the least of the worries, they all need to die IMO. I just don't want to spend that kind of money or devote the time to put out that many and check them.

I had the problem taken care of last year as we found where the mice were nesting and proceeded to shiska-bob (sp?) all of them long screwdrivers, I guess another family moved in?

That's good to know they can get into spaces as small as 1/4". I wont spend that much time trying to fill in around the shop as it seems futile.

 

[tfdcruiser]

I am in the desert of Tucson and we have pack rats, mice's bigger more destructive cousin. I have found that generic moth balls have kept them out of the storage sheds I have in the back yard. They also obviously keep moths and other insects away from the stuff we are storing but you have to be okay with the smell. I empty out a box of moth balls every six months to a year in the sheds and have not had them come back yet. This probably doesn't help your shop situation but maybe you can spread some moth balls around the places where they enter. My dogs don't touch the balls either.

 

[dreamingmuscle]

2nd vote for cats. They work 24/7 365 days a year. Just stop by your local shelter and pick a few up. You will be saving their lives, and they will repay you many times over in the service they provide for you.

Glen
________
one vaporizer reviews

 

[caper150]

I agree with the cats as well.Ever since I got my two I haven't see a mouse, unless it's in the cats mouth.

 

[twostory]

My cat is a killing machine. I have never seen a mouse turd in the house or garage, but he leave plenty of "remains" in the yard. Cats like to show you their kills, so do not be suprised if they leave kills next to your door.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Another vote for a pack of cats.
Our last cat was made road kill about a year ago and I can tell the mice and squireels have moved back to town.

Last week we got a 10 week old Tom cat and he is going to make a good mouser.
...He will have to if he is to survive; I'm cutting his food way back so he will have to revert to his native instincts...

 

[Dave Carney]

Another vote for a pack of cats.
Our last cat was made road kill about a year ago and I can tell the mice and squireels have moved back to town.

Last week we got a 10 week old Tom cat and he is going to make a good mouser.
...He will have to if he is to survive; I'm cutting his food way back so he will have to revert to his native instincts...

Please feed the cat. Starving him will have no affect on his mousing.

 

[R1chy]

Be careful when using Mothballs, besides making your shop smell like someone's grandmother, they are toxic. In my pole barn I've had good luck using Mothballs under my RV, but use dryer sheets inside.

Also, a slight variation on Chris' trash can method is to fill the can with antifreeze - for some reason mice are attracted to the antifreeze but they don't know how to swim and... well you can guess the result. But in this case be careful as antifreeze is toxic to pets.

Search the web, you can find all kinds of setups using a lid with a small hole in it and a rotating cylinder (e.g. coffee can) inside that the mice crawl onto and then rotate into the antifreeze - if the hole is small it will keep cats and other pets out but allow those pesky mice in.

Good Luck, R1chy

 

[Monte406SS]

I put together this little puppy and it worked like a charm. As mentioned, a couple of floaters seemed to send a message to others. Just add a little plank for them to crawl up.

Mice try to get the peanut butter, but when they hit the toilet paper roll it is like they are log rolling and in they will go.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk31/Monte406SS/IMG_3563.jpg
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk31/Monte406SS/IMG_3564.jpg

 

[babzog]

I'd like a few outdoor cats to keep the mice and chipmunks away, but the cold and the fishers would do them in quick.

Traps for me. Gets all the rotten vermin out. Really honks me off when I find the reason for my car performing poorly is a mouse nest under the air filter.

 

[Bull]

Please feed the cat. Starving him will have no affect on his mousing.

A big "ditto" on this. Cats can't healthily live on mousing alone.

We have a number of cats (indoor only) and they really do a good job of keeping the mice under control. Somehow, the mice still come into the house every year, but they don't last long before one of the cats gets to them.

Oh, and btw, bitchin' Camaro!

 

[ddawg16]

Want to borrow my cat for a week? That is about all it would take...the little ***** is a mouse machine.....

I came home one night from a late shift....she was sitting on the driveway....looking at a box....didn't flench a wisker when I said hi.....kept looking at the box.....figuring out what she was doing I gave the box a little 'kick'....out pops a rat....it makes a bee line near her....she reaches out with one paw...snags it's little ***...pops it in her mouth...gives me that sarcastic "thanks" look and struts off for a 'snack'.......

Yea....get a cat or two....

 

[Bull]

One cat of ours is very friendly and sort of timid...does not like loud noises or strangers. But, when he gets a mouse, it's like he's transformed. He latches onto that thing like nobody's business, growls, and will NOT let go.

Pretty cool to see instincts take over.

 

[Kevin54]

Please feed the cat. Starving him will have no affect on his mousing.

Double ditto on feeding the cat. Our Tom can have a full belly from food, but let him see a mouse or shrew and he turns possessed. The only thing he will concentrate on is stalking and playing with it before killing it. But if you get a cat, get it either spayed or neutered first. For one it will keep a Tom from spraying.

 

[Question]

I use the sonic devices that you can buy at HD, 6-8 for $20.. haven't seen a mouse since.. Put a couple in wall outlets close to doors and one in the attic... done!!

 

[TheShrine]

Meet Sammy and Ozzie. They take their jobs VERY seriously! I have NO mice, no rats, no lizards, no toads, no scorpions, gofers, no moles,....you get the picture.

 

[Rick B.]

I use this. He's also been known to dispatch the occasional snake that may wander in.

 

[Bull]

^^^^That cat has very cool eyes!

 

[Chris Adams]

I use the sonic devices that you can buy at HD, 6-8 for $20.. haven't seen a mouse since.. Put a couple in wall outlets close to doors and one in the attic... done!!

I tried 12 of them, got them from Costco a few years back. Found mouse droppings on them. They actually seemed to lure the mice in.

Yours may be different, but never saw any tests that would confirm they work.
You may just not have mice.
We only see them every few years.



Cats are good for mouse control but where I live outside cats last about a day-maybe a week if they are wicked fast. Cars, coyotes, pit bulls, etc.
Don't see 'free range' cats in the neighborhood, haven't for years.

My wife is allergic to cats or I would have one in the house anyway.
Some cats make fantastic pets, even for men. Had some great ones in the past.

My sister raises Golden Retrievers, she says they make good 'mouse catchers'.

They are hell on ground squirrels and she says they catch mice around her ranch.
No cats for her as the other dogs (not the Goldens) play tug-o-war with cats as well as squirrels.

 

[Chris Adams]

I use this. He's also been known to dispatch the occasional snake that may wander in.

Cat's are the best thing for snakes.
When I was a kid living WAAAY out in the country, went out the door one morning and found ten or more of our cats had a sidewinder on the front porch.

They had the thing surrounded and were taking turns clawing at it. The snake would try to strike at one cat, and a cat on the other side of the circle would rake it, making it turn, so another cat could get it. I shot the snake and you never saw more disgusted cats as they stalked off.
Killed their 'toy'.

 

[SunDvl]

What about chipmunks? I have 1 or 2 that just made a burrow right under the garage. My brother-in-law said they are super destructive, so I want to get them before they get me.

 

[Bull]

What about chipmunks? I have 1 or 2 that just made a burrow right under the garage. My brother-in-law said they are super destructive, so I want to get them before they get me.

Possibly the least harmful rodent I've ever seen!

 

[redsky49]

[QUOTE My sister raises Golden Retrievers, she says they make good 'mouse catchers'.
They are hell on ground squirrels and she says they catch mice around her ranch.
No cats for her as the other dogs (not the Goldens) play tug-o-war with cats as well as squirrels.[/QUOTE]

Years ago we knocked over the old corn crib we were demolishing on my Uncle's farm. The dog got to work, digging frantically. He would pull out a rat, kill it, throw it to the side and get another one. My recollection is that he killed close to a dozen that day. Never saw such a thing. He was like a possessed animal, spraying dirt for yards in search of the rats. Kinda scary in hind sight. These "domesticated" animals never entirely lose some instinctive habits.

Plus one for a pair of cats.

 

[Question]

I tried 12 of them, got them from Costco a few years back. Found mouse droppings on them. They actually seemed to lure the mice in.

Did you turn them on...

 

[Chris Adams]

Did you turn them on...

HA HA.

Duh.

They really don't seem to work, I gave six of them to my sister in the Portland, when she was by for a visit. Animal lover...
She tossed them.

They would be such a great simple fix if they worked.

 

[Tom2]

What about chipmunks? I have 1 or 2 that just made a burrow right under the garage. My brother-in-law said they are super destructive, so I want to get them before they get me.

I have a TON in my yard. They are VERY destructive and VERY difficult to get rid of.


You can fill a bucket half with water, then put sunflowers on top and a trail of sunflowers to the bucket (using a board, or bury the bucket) They'll go in after the sunflowers and drown.


I don't quite have the heart to do that though.. Yea, Im a wuss.

I stomp there holes closed about every week. They seem to be thinned out a little this year, so hopefully they'll start moving away..



I had mice in my garage this winter. I just set a bunch of traps, and that took care of 'em, no problems.

For a barn, cats are definitely great! Cats also kill chipmunks and all sorts of other pests.

 

[babzog]

Rat traps for the 'munks that wander into the garage - dispatches 'em right quick. Don't care at all about the ones 20 or so yards out form the house, it's the ones that come closer that dig all their holes everywhere that I hate. Vermin.

 

[Worsedog]

We have cats at our shop at work and no rodents. We tried to get them badges like our K9 units have but it didn't fly with the brass.

 

[sharpe427]

Get a rat terrier..dog bred for purpose and very diligent

 

[Ray-CA]

Get a hold of the guys having snake trouble. Have them sent to you, install "Snake- ver-01" in the garage. After a short while, you won't have any mice, rats or other rodents hanging around.

Ray

 

[dtj5]

That is what I have used for around 3 years and the sonic work for me...knock on wood

 

[dustin19]

What about chipmunks? I have 1 or 2 that just made a burrow right under the garage. My brother-in-law said they are super destructive, so I want to get them before they get me.

got a woodpile outback and they like to nest in it during the summer and they love eat car wiring... ever saturday when im not busy ill get a chair set down 20 feet away with the 12ga pump and wait for them to start there morning hunt for wiring harnesses.

 

[lodemia]

I second the cat motion. We have a number of ferile barn cats and don't have to worry about mice. Also, if you're a farmer, you can write off the cat food, etc as rodent control on your taxes (seriously).

 

[rickairmedic]

This is GK ( garage kitty ). Her and her sister showed up a couple months ago and I started feeding them . I put a cat door in the garage so they can get into the garage out of the cold but still come and go as they please . I havent seen a " live " mouse since .

Rick

 

[z28snksknr]

I have some mice in the house right now. Spotted one running around the garage inside perimeter, so I set a few traps- nothing. The other day, I found droppings on the top of my car.

It's time to get serious about these guys.... I'll be using a few of these tips.