Keeping out the mouse

[jpwazz]

Does anybody have a tried and true method to keep the mice away? I continually find the little buggers up under the hood and dash of my tractor, to say nothing of in and on my lawn mower when I lay it up for the winter. Do dryer sheets actually work? I would hate to spend a few dollars just so those under-grown rats can have a fresh smelling nest for their young-uns! JP.

 

[dex3361]

Does anybody have a tried and true method to keep the mice away? I continually find the little buggers up under the hood and dash of my tractor, to say nothing of in and on my lawn mower when I lay it up for the winter. Do dryer sheets actually work? I would hate to spend a few dollars just so those under-grown rats can have a fresh smelling nest for their young-uns! JP.

After reading about it on TBN I started putting out the regular Bounce fabric softener sheets and it seems to keep them at bay.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Does anybody have a tried and true method to keep the mice away? I continually find the little buggers up under the hood and dash of my tractor, to say nothing of in and on my lawn mower when I lay it up for the winter. Do dryer sheets actually work? I would hate to spend a few dollars just so those under-grown rats can have a fresh smelling nest for their young-uns! JP.

Barn cats, females. Two that is. One will run off but two keep each other occupied. No Tom's, they piss everywhere and stink things up.

I hated cats until 3 years ago. My dog passed and a neighbor gave my daughter 2 six week old kittens. I put in a kitty door in the barn, bought a $10 pet bed, and spend $10 per month on food. They each cost me $25 at the humane society to have fixed and not a single mouse in my barn or house since.

I had only had 1 mouse in 7 years but would catch a good dozen each year in the barn with traps or poison. Now, no more damage. They have saved me money in the long run.

Chris

 

[whistlepig]

I'm not a cat person either but we do have a couple of barn cats. They make a difference. I keep my equipment in a separate barn that's sealed too tight for these cats to get in I am constantly having to keep poison out in the barn the cats can't get in to.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Get a $12 kitty door. Keep it open for a few weeks till you see them going in and out. Put some food in there for them so they want to come back. After a few weeks shut the door and you are all good. I still get a kick out of my one cat after 3 years she paws at the door for a good while to get it open then goes in and out while the other will go in and out just pushing it open with her head at 30 mph.

Chris

 

[whistlepig]

Never thought of that even though we have a doggy door in the house. Although the barn is sealed tight enough to keep the cats out the rear of the barn has a slider door on it. Something is crawling under the door and pooping on the barn floor. No doubt it's racoons or skunks. I have heard of racoons going through kitty doors in to people's houses.

 

[wedge40]

Get a $12 kitty door. Keep it open for a few weeks till you see them going in and out. Put some food in there for them so they want to come back. After a few weeks shut the door and you are all good. I still get a kick out of my one cat after 3 years she paws at the door for a good while to get it open then goes in and out while the other will go in and out just pushing it open with her head at 30 mph.

Chris

I've always wondered about "other" small animals finding their way in.. Nothing like heading out the barn and finding a skunk or raccoon making it home.

Wedge

 

[E/S]

Try moth crystals, rodents hate them.

E/S

 

[beenthere]

I control the mice with poison pellets.
Don't/won't have a cat.

Put pellets out "once-in-awhile" and they will store them and then eat them. Keep the poison outside so they eat it there, and avoid getting them inside (that way they will not die inside and stink).

Has worked well for 40+ years, and never had a mouse in the house.

 

[NWOH_Grizz]

Yep, female barn cats. Mine chase down the little field mice they find in and around the barn. bat them around for a while, then bite their heads off and leave them laying in the driveway in front of the barn. Sort of proof that they are doing their job and deserve some food. Never have found the heads yet, must be tasty.

 

[jimmer2880]

Never had cats until last year. Now, I don't know why it took me soo long. We had horrible mouse problems. 2 days after getting our first cat was the last time we saw a sign of a mouse.

We keep some at work as well. Every now and then, we "accidentally" leave the shed door open enough for the cats to get in. No more mouse problems there either.

 

[TGReaper]

We have had success with the "Bounce" sheets. I place them in the two sports cars,the camper and the cabin. Since I started this each fall we have had no mouse damage.
However things do smell a bit strange for the first few days after we open them up.
Dan

 

[Diamondpilot]

I've always wondered about "other" small animals finding their way in.. Nothing like heading out the barn and finding a skunk or raccoon making it home.

Wedge

Have not had that issue. My cats are pretty feisty. It would be one heck of a fight.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yep, female barn cats. Mine chase down the little field mice they find in and around the barn. bat them around for a while, then bite their heads off and leave them laying in the driveway in front of the barn. Sort of proof that they are doing their job and deserve some food. Never have found the heads yet, must be tasty.

Mine eat the mice whole but I find bird heads from time to time. They do just as yours do and leave a big pile of feathers and the head right by the door like a trophy for me to see.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

Never had cats until last year. Now, I don't know why it took me soo long. We had horrible mouse problems. 2 days after getting our first cat was the last time we saw a sign of a mouse.

We keep some at work as well. Every now and then, we "accidentally" leave the shed door open enough for the cats to get in. No more mouse problems there either.

I was the same way. Took me about 37 years to learn. I also keep about 8 ricks of firewood stacked and each and every time I used to go out to bring it in a mouse or a nest of them would jump out at me as I picked the pieces off. I have also been startled by 3 or 4 snakes in there over the years. Guess they were after the mice. It would always startle me.

Well so far this year I am on my 3rd rick and not a single one. I did see one of the cats in a tree perched just above the wood piles the other day just waiting for one to come out. It took them a few years to learn this is a hot spot for mice but now they have it under control.

Chris

 

[whistlepig]

Our cats are pretty wimpy. Our Doberman and our American Staffordshire Terrier are not. Our dogs have got tangled up with so many 'coons and skunks that my wife now puts a shock collar on them for the trip from the house to the horse barn. A can of cat foot and a kitty door for us would probably not be a good idea. As it is now all horse feed cans and kitty feed cans have to have the lids tied down with bungee cords. One of the joys of living in the country.

 

[adjusterr]

I had problems with spiders spinning webs in the LP gas burner on my motorhome hot water heater and refrigerator, was told to place some mothballs near the burner. I made a small container from a plastic bottle, keep in full of mothballs and have never had a bug problem since. I wonder if it would work with mice, I bet it would in a confined area, worth a try for no more than it would cost. Good luck.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

I put half a dozen boxes of moth balls around the cabin when I leave for the winter to keep the bears out. (no problem with mice) For the first 10 yrs or so it also killed all the spiders. Now either they make them less toxic or I have bred super spiders because when I come back in the spring spiders are all now alive and kickin
Rick

 

[OzGrasshopper]

Here we use toilet urinal blocks - pick a scent u like & cabs & machines r mice free & smell good when season starts

 

[fredhargis]

Try moth crystals, rodents hate them.

E/S

Yup, been using moth balls for years...they really work!