Rats getting into shed

[nadogail]

We saw a mouse in our house, I called the pest control service that does our quarterly bug spray.

The tech set 24 traps, got the mouse and there were no more. We were glad to pay $120.

 

[TonkaJoe]

We saw a mouse in our house, I called the pest control service that does our quarterly bug spray.

The tech set 24 traps, got the mouse and there were no more. We were glad to pay $120.

And here I was thinking I was maybe a little overboard with 10 traps lol.. but hey you've gotta do what it takes to get rid of them!.

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[theoldwizard1]

Get one of these. Wild Thing was a rat-assassin for many years before a raccoon got her. She was an aggressive and completely feral cat that would have been put down at any shelter. I rescued her out of a trap and brought her to my barn.

My buddies "barn cats" keep all of the unwanted critters away !

 

[theoldwizard1]

... I sealed holes ...

The best way to "seal holes" against mice and rats is stainless steel wool (very coarse) and spray foam. Make sure the "vermin" can not pull the "wool" out as one section. The foam will help with that. It sticks to everything.

 

[TonkaJoe]

I'm curious to know if they'd chew through silicone? Or next to the silicone it if possible..

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[krux]

Am I seeing light at end of tunnel? It's been 36 hours since I have had one.

 

[Tree Cutter]

I forgot to mention, I have one of those Tomcat boxes with the green poison outside. They don't seem to be touching it? They avoid all of the traps it seems, they'll walk right past the clamp traps as they come in their entry points.

They dont like that stuff. Use Just one bite brand and put it in one of those large black boxes so no pets eat it. Just one Bite will kill them i use it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Re: Mice problem

Chew up a little piece of tootsie roll until its pliable then wrap it around the mouse trap trigger. It's like crack to those vermin.

Twizzlers work good also.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Not sure about rats not liking moth balls, but raccoons, skunks and possums don't like them ! I threw some up in the eaves in my garage and in the small overhang at the front. They last several years.

 

[MScott]

The best way to "seal holes" against mice and rats is stainless steel wool (very coarse) and spray foam. Make sure the "vermin" can not pull the "wool" out as one section. The foam will help with that. It sticks to everything.

I have used the stainless steel pot scrubbers (got them at the $ store.) They will stretch out to a long piece and can be packed into the hole. No way a mouse or rat is going to chew through these.

 

[naturalgas]

I have used the stainless steel pot scrubbers (got them at the $ store.) They will stretch out to a long piece and can be packed into the hole. No way a mouse or rat is going to chew through these.

I second the stainless scrubbers. I have been using them at my bulkhead doors to basement where you could see daylight and mice were getting in and multiplying. Haven't had a mouse in years since packing hole with the scrubber


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[kevmor99]

I second the stainless scrubbers. I have been using them at my bulkhead doors to basement where you could see daylight and mice were getting in and multiplying. Haven't had a mouse in years since packing hole with the scrubber


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Wouldn't they chew next to it though to make a new hole? That's what they were doing on my wood siding...

 

[TractorJeff]

LOL!
One tractor sat in the back shed all winter, this past week I was out there and found a TomCat square bait chewed nearly down to a round marble on the seat! That is a lot for one mouse or rat! I did see something streak by later out in the Henhouse. I figure its about time to resupply the TomCat baits. While waiting for the Feral Cat that makes his rounds to come back by. He helped a lot this past fall.

 

[Tree Cutter]

LOL!
One tractor sat in the back shed all winter, this past week I was out there and found a TomCat square bait chewed nearly down to a round marble on the seat! That is a lot for one mouse or rat! I did see something streak by later out in the Henhouse. I figure its about time to resupply the TomCat baits. While waiting for the Feral Cat that makes his rounds to come back by. He helped a lot this past fall.

I would be worried the mice would take the poison near the chickens and poison them then your egg supply! I have the same problem here.

 

[naturalgas]

Wouldn't they chew next to it though to make a new hole? That's what they were doing on my wood siding...

Bulkhead is metal. Closes down on concrete. They were coming in where the two metal doors close there is a daylight gap I plugged


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[ovrrdrive]

I found a bunch in my shed once... I cranked up the mower, idled it up and closed the door. I let it run in there until it started sputtering. The little bastards were poking their heads out every opening they could to get fresh air and I was popping them with a pellet gun when they tried. It was quite fun, in a weird twisted sort of way.

 

[krux]

Ugh should I be nervous yet. In a 8 day span I have killed 5 mice in my house. First 2 days was 3, then 4 days later was 1 and a day later was 1 again. The first one I caught was bigger and now they appear to be getting smaller and smaller. When I sealed that hole up in my house in November, I wonder if I trapped them all winter and they reproduce

 

[elba]

I had some mice in my garage. I made one of the traps that uses the five gallon buckets . It works really good.

 

[jkwilson]

Ugh should I be nervous yet. In a 8 day span I have killed 5 mice in my house. First 2 days was 3, then 4 days later was 1 and a day later was 1 again. The first one I caught was bigger and now they appear to be getting smaller and smaller. When I sealed that hole up in my house in November, I wonder if I trapped them all winter and they reproduce

They have to have food. If they aren't getting into food in the house, they are going in and out.

 

[krux]

They have to have food. If they aren't getting into food in the house, they are going in and out.

Good point.

 

[MScott]

They have to have food. If they aren't getting into food in the house, they are going in and out.

Of course, if they have been there for a while they may have built up a storage supply inside. I remember in my former house which was two story with a basement, we found a large supply of dog food pellets in a drawer on the second floor. We had the dog's dish at the bottom of the basement steps so those mice had to carry each pellet up two sets of stairs to get to the storage area. That would have meant more than 100 trips up those stairs carrying one pellet at a time. Amazing.

 

[langss]

I use D-Con Bait traps ..... I have had real good success. Surprisingly I have found all the carcasses.....usually still alive and suffering.(love it) I tried the Electric Traps (Rat Zapper and the Victor)..... all they did was give them a thrill and a quick snack.

 

[Jazz1]

Am I seeing light at end of tunnel? It's been 36 hours since I have had one.

Yes.. mice are easy to rid using traps. You may have had a family move in since you caught numerous mice. Leave traps set in house for a while in out of the way areas if you don't want them in your view. Similar scenario could repeat itself next year same time. Set out traps again and you may catch a pair before they breed. Rats can be a real pain to get rid of,,completely different animal,,smarter than most humans. I used to raise rats for lab at university.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Mice problem

Here's our little critter killer -- Chloe. They're called "rat terriers" for their superior critter killing capabilities, plus she's lovable. We rescued her from a dog rescue place 2 years ago when she was a pup. Came to us housebroken already and is just a great dog. Helluva a watchdog too. They were used in the trenches during WW1 to rid them of rats and to deliver messages.

The picture to the left is now a 90 pound boxer. While he is not a fan of cats, he has an even greater hatred for rodents.

From time to time, he will bring a captured mouse onto the deck, play with it until he is bored then snap it's neck.

He and his sister are both lovable members of the family, and great watchdogs.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Ugh should I be nervous yet. In a 8 day span I have killed 5 mice in my house. First 2 days was 3, then 4 days later was 1 and a day later was 1 again. The first one I caught was bigger and now they appear to be getting smaller and smaller. When I sealed that hole up in my house in November, I wonder if I trapped them all winter and they reproduce

They reproduce at the drop of a hat. just keep up with the traps, and hope you get all the breeding females

 

[MScott]

I just discovered something that I am anxious to try. I was discussing problem bears with the owner of a campground near my place. She mentioned that she had had a problem with bears getting into their dumpster and had tried a number of different things until she happened on Frank's Red Hot sauce. Her game cameras showed the bears would come in until they smelled the sauce, then just leave. Sprinkling a bit of the sauce around the dumpsters kept the bears away all last year. Apparently most mammals do not like hot pepper sauce. (I know there is a special bird food that is infused with hot peppers to keep squirrels away) so there is no reason it might not work on mice and rats. I intend to try it to keep problem bears away from my compost bin and bird feeders and I may also spread some around to see if it also works with mice.

 

[krux]

They reproduce at the drop of a hat. just keep up with the traps, and hope you get all the breeding females

Thank you for responding.

As of this morning I caught number 6. It was about 36-48 hours between catching the last one. In the last 11 days I have caught 6 mice. They are getting smaller and smaller. The first night was the biggest one (Hoping my mind isn't playing tricks on me). This last night was very small compared to the others.

What I have done:
*I have all the food locked up and sealed.
*8 snap traps with peanut butter. I have caught 3 in the same location with the others spread out.
*Outside has been looked at good, applying steal wool and foam.


Here is my question. One night a 3/4 of a granola bar went missing. No crumbs or anything in the box. Could they have broke it up and brought it back to the nest? Could they have been eating this and now they are getting hungry and slowly coming out?

My thinking on how it came down:
* Seen a mouse and plugged the outside in mid-late November
* Very very rare did we see odd things between December-March.
* March 13th seen mouse
* March 13th-24th caught 6 mice.

Summary: Thinking once I trapped them in and until now they breaded one nest and now I am killing their babies and the parents off? If more than a nest I would kill more than one a night? Never have I killed more than at one time.

 

[Hephaestus29]

Sounds like a good reason for a night hunt.

 

[krux]

It's been a week and caught another mouse. Is this good or bad news? Can they go a large amount of time not eating? Trying to figure if this means they are coming from the outside or not.

 

[btdobie]

I am not a fan of cats, but I have one anyway because my wife loves them. The litter box smell is not what it used to be; I guess litter technology has come along nicely. Anyway, I was talking to my neighbor and found out he has a mouse problem. Out of curiosity I asked my other neighbor, and they had mice too. I don't have any mice, but I haven't seen the cat catch any either. I think the presence of a cat alone keeps them away. The cat doesn't even need to catch any. I on the other hand am starting to like the cat a bit more.

Just my 2 cents.