Getting Rid of Mice in my shop ?

[HiTechTed]

I tried the bucket, It froze and they ate all the peanut butter. I also tried the tractor exhaust thing. Will never know until the place starts to stink of dead mice. Mice won't chew on closed cell foam, So I finally went around my camp and foamed every crack I thought a mouse could crawl through. Then I set my traps as a backup. Been a year without mice.

^^ this is pretty much what I did...I just repaired any spots that they could enter the building, and I've been mouse-free for several months. They can climb straight up walls (I didn't know that until I saw one do it right in front of me), so make sure to seal areas up higher that they might be entering.

 

[TNTractor1]

Lots of good ideas here! I like the moth balls and sealing it up with steel wool for preventative measures and the spinning can of death method for catching them. I had always heard that mice won't stay in a building where there is no food source. If so, I would think as long as there is no food products at all in a shop/garage that the mice would not have a reason to come inside... but maybe that's wrong?

 

[Treemonkey1000]

It doesn't take much to be a food source for the critters. Sheet rock, wiring, dog food, people food, horse food.. Anything is on their menu. I bought a Chevy truck to haul my wood chips for tree jobs. I had a really loud vibration when I turned on the heater fan. So I pulled out the squirrel cage fan and found a complete nest in there made out of the insulation from under the hood.. Must have been a heck of a ride for them. I didn't find any mice by the time I had taken out the fan..
The cats at my house like to drop off their trophys at our front door. Sometimes it is the whole mouse or rat. Sometimes it is just their head... :confused2:

 

[Degolyerent]

You can use a large trash can with a handful of dog food in the bottom and place it by workbench and they jump in and can't get out. One time I built a electric feeder that was fairly entertaining by using a large metal pan for them to stand on with a book as an insulater in between and a smaller pan on top.to hook up wires you just drill two small holes in each pan and get a electric cord and skin ends of wire and run thru holes and twist it back to itself, one lead to each pan, put peanut butter in smaller top pan and plug in cord and watch from distance as they stand on lower pan and make contact with upper pan it only works a couple of times as they all get the message pretty fast! This is a very dangerous set up so take care if you make one

 

[ehchvac]

No,... I didnt read the whole thread, but when I am looking for critter holes, I take a steel bucket, can, etc and light up a couple HVAC type smoke bombs and wait until I see smoke and start sealing until I dont see smoke anymore.
Then to kill off whatever is in the building I start up a lawnmower with a full tank of gas and shut the doors and let it run until it kills everything that moves.
Just air out the building very well after or you will be the next critter dead on the floor.

 

[Milton Burro]

You can use a large trash can with a handful of dog food in the bottom and place it by workbench and they jump in and can't get out.

I like that idea. I'd have a supply for kitten training. Mama cat just had four new ones.

 

[new jersey mike]

I buy all my stuff from "do it yourself pest control .com"
I use low profile bait station for rats and buy 4 lb buckets of blue block, it works like a charm. The smaller stations just don't get the activity so I just use the large and check them regularly.

 

[Jay4200]

Back in the 50's, my dad had a grey fuzzy mouse bait in his tackle box. I wonder if you could take those frisky mice, make a little harness, add a little floatation, and throw them out over a weed bed...

Live mice make great bass bait. Been there, done that.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

I've had good luck with these:

Getting Rid Of Mice! Victorｮ TIN CATｮ Mouse Trap, Model M310

I don't catch and release though.

From the review section:

I bought a Tin Cat yesterday, baited it with crunchy peanut butter crumbles, and left it against the wall as directed in my kitchen behind the stove near the dogfood. This morning I heard metallic tapping and found two cute and fuzzy little brown mousies inside. I drove them to a friend's horse barn on the edge of town, opened the top and released them, where they will find food and protection from the winter weather that is on its way here in the Rockies.

I wonder if the friend with the horse barn is a mouse-hating TBNer.

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

Lots of good ideas here! I like the moth balls and sealing it up with steel wool for preventative measures and the spinning can of death method for catching them. I had always heard that mice won't stay in a building where there is no food source. If so, I would think as long as there is no food products at all in a shop/garage that the mice would not have a reason to come inside... but maybe that's wrong?

Not true. I have mice n' some things that are way bigger - rats or squirrels or something (seen the big flash shoot past me at night) and there is no food of any kind in there. Just some tools and a tractor. They do occasionally bring in a pile of acorns and deposit their shells along with plenty of poo in some of my tool cubbies. Man, I hate that.

JayC