I need advice getting rid of mice

[EddieWalker]

Since getting chickens, our mouse population has exploded. We have two coops and the mice eat the chicken feed all night long. Once the chickens wake up in the morning, the mice hide until they go to sleep again. Any mouse that comes out during the day is killed by the chickens. We're in the process of getting cats later this week, but I doubt they will be enough. In one sitting, we have put a hose into a mouse hole and had over 80 mice come out. The chickens killed and ate every one of them, but it's not enough to get them under control. The next day we got almost 40, then about the same the next day, and the day after that. It's never ending, and that's just one spot in one coop!!!!

We tried poison, but noticed the chickens seemed sick afterwards. Obviously they eat the dead mice and it affects them.

We've put out traps, but it's just one mouse at a time. Or in our case, six dead mice at a time.

I made a five gallon bucket trap, but found it didn't work like I saw on youtube. It catches a few mice, but nothing significant. Most days it doesn't catch any, and then the peanut butter dries out and needs replacing.

I'm hoping to find something to buy that will catch multiple mice, all night long. Does anybody know of a product that actually works as advertised?

 

[cat fever]

Since you know where the hole is, could you put a hose from your ATV exhaust in there for several minutes and kill the whole lot with CO poisoning? Never tried it personally but in theory it should work and still be safe for the chickens if they ate some dying mice.

 

[boomer1025]

Remove the feeders at night and put your buckets in there place.

 

[SirReal63]

If they can get to the chicken food they will not leave. We keep our chicken food in metal trash cans and have no mice issues.

 

[atsah]

The only way to get rid of them would be to stop feeding them. I would think living in TX it's a matter of time before you have nasty snakes all over the place drawn to the mice that you are feeding.

 

[bigtiller]

I have very good luck with the "Tin Cat". It advertises that it will hold up to 30 mice at a time. No bait is needed, curiosity will get them inside the trap. After the first one is caught, others hear the commotion and come in. I seldom catch just one, it's usually 2 or 3 in it in the morning. I put it outside, between the house and garage in the fall when the crops are coming out. I never use bait.

Victor® Tin Cat® Mouse Trap (M310S) - Mouse / Rat Traps - Baits - Ace Hardware

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

+1 to the metal trash can idea. That is what we did with our chicken feed, as well as grains, or anything else (except hay). It all went in steel trashcans or some other covered steel tubs. No need to have chicken feed out at night, we never did. Sure there will always be some scattered on the ground from the chickens feeding, but you can eliminate the majority of the food source, which will only help.

If you get cats, make sure they're not going to go after the chickens (or the chicks). We had a few neighbor's "barn cats" get big enough to take down a full size hen. A 12 ga shotgun takes care of that problem. If they're nesting in/around chicken coops, try the exhaust gas idea only if well ventilated enough not to gas the chickens. If you find nests outside the coop/pen area, the propane fired "weed burner" type burners work exceptionally well at rooting them out. I would not lay poison for any if there's a chance the chickens can get to them, could either kill the chickens, or poison the eggs. You don't want to eat poisoned eggs. Outside the coops/pens poison may be fine, as long as they're not running in there to die.

 

[DieselBound]

Hang your feeder(s). That should keep the rations to only that which is left on the ground by the chickens. I periodically hold back on the feed in order to make sure everything gets cleaned up by the chickens. These things tend to keep me mice free: wish I knew how to keep these darn things out of my truck!

Whatever you do, DO NOT use poison if this is anywhere near your house or any other place that you don't want the stink from hidden and rotting mice corpses.

I've never had a problem with mice in my layers coops. I free-range. Rats are another story, but here too it's pretty rare: except in one fixed Run where we keep ducks and geese (they tend to squander feed).

 

[EddieWalker]

The feeders are hanging from a wire and probably six inches off of the ground. Mice are eating the food that the chickens toss onto the ground. We're pretty close to 100 chickens right now, and will probable that next year. I do not believe it is possible to remove the food from the ground that falls from the feeders. They don't actually eat a lot of food, they free range all day long and get most of their food that way.

There are hundreds of holes all over the place. We put a hose in one hole and the water comes up in different areas. The chicks see this and they all stand around one of the hole full of water. Mice swim up out of the hole and the chickens tear it apart killing it.

We use metal trash cans to store feed and dog food. They work great.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have very good luck with the "Tin Cat". It advertises that it will hold up to 30 mice at a time. No bait is needed, curiosity will get them inside the trap. After the first one is caught, others hear the commotion and come in. I seldom catch just one, it's usually 2 or 3 in it in the morning. I put it outside, between the house and garage in the fall when the crops are coming out. I never use bait.

Victor® Tin Cat® Mouse Trap (M310S) - Mouse / Rat Traps - Baits - Ace Hardware

Thank you. I'm ordering one right now!!!!