Mouse Proofing

[MX5000]

Yesterday morning when I went out to start my truck, I noticed a mouse sitting on the "Hump" on the floor under the dashboard. He ran into the back seat area and lost him. I pulled my work stuff out of the truck to locate him, but he found a good spot to hide. I carry lots of bottled water and wondered why when I picked up a new one to open, It "peed" out of a hole in the side. I thought I slammed the door on them or something. I found he'd been eating the granola bars I keep in the truck. I spent yesterday driving around wondering when I was going to feel something sitting on my shoulder and turn to see him looking back. There was droppings on my dash. After reading this thread, I grabbed a box of dryer sheets and stuffed them in lots of cracks and crevises in the cab. I opened the glove box and it was loaded with shreaded napkins, droppings, and looked like his fur. I believe he got in through a spot where the power cable ran for the diesel tank in the pickup bed. The person who installed it left a big hole around the wires in the firewall. I cleaned all the food / water out of the cab and will probably stop at home depot for some live catch traps.
Howard

 

[rogdan]

I have had my best luck with traps. some of the newer kind look like a clothespin you just put peanut butter on them and then squeeze the back together to set it.

I have used the "Tomcat" brand like this and the mice just eat the peanut butter off without tripping the trap as someone else mentioned. I used another "clothes pin" type good success but the traps will only hold up through 4-5 trapping and then fall apart. I have used the Tomcat "no see" trap which is round with minimal success. I do best with poision per finding several dead just outside of the house. Is it true that the poision drives them outside to water? They have just invaded us again again in the past few weeks, always when the weather gets cold.

 

[Pilot]

When we went on vacation for a month in '93, the mice had a party in our house. We had small packets of mayonaise that we used for making sandwiches while on the road and left the extras at home. The mice loved the stuff. They ate other stuff in the pantry, but I forget what.

The girl who was watching the house put out traps and caught a few, then I caught more when we got home, for a total of 16!

I find the wire spring traps difficlut to adjust. They are either too sensitive and go off several times as I try to set them, or they don't go off at all.

I've taken down my trapline at our church, which used to have a lot of church mice--our minister's sermons are so good even the mice listen--since someone bought the electronic repellers, which seem to work in that situation.

 

[Phils]

I've owned my deer camp for 25 yrs. and mice have been a problem without solution until I spread Habenero dust around the perimeter of each room.

Where do you get that stuff? I've stopped them from getting into our RV but haven't found a way to keep them from building nests under our vehicle hoods on intake manifolds. Wouldn't be bad except they sometimes chew through wires. My last tow and shop bill was for the fuel pump relay wire that was chewed in half.

The cold weather has been driving them harder.... we cleaned out under the hood in a car 4 days ago, then day before yesterday found a huge nest made out of the underhood insulation.

Both cars are now parked with hoods open. I'm hoping that'll help but the Habenero dust sounds like a plan of attacK!

Phil

 

[dmccarty]

I'm trying to find the mouse poison in a Farm Supply catalog. The poison kills the mice but what harm any animals that happen to eat the dead Mickey. Some mice got into our house, I think I figured out how they did it but it took a few weeks to kill them all. The brazen little buggers where running around the house and we could see them! But various traps got them all.

My latest $%^&*( spewing with the little ^&*(((& happened yesterday. I bought a tool belt with three big pockets and strapped this to my DR Mower. I use it to hold a few tools but mainly my water bottle when working. Yesterday I went out to mow our west property line and septic field and the pockets where full of mouse poop!!!!!

The mower sits outside under a tarp. The mice have the whole world to poop in but they have to use my tool belt! GRRRRRRRR.... They have to work to get to that tool belt. Not sure how they got up there in the first place....

Later,
Dan

 

[MikeD74T]

A friend told me yesterday that he was looking for a new carb for one of his snowmobiles. Mice made a nest in the airbox & urine in one of the carbs corroded it beyond repair. I keep green pellets in several locations and am often amazed at where other accumulations show up. MikeD74T

 

[WhyNot]

Well it looks like I need to do a better job in the mouse proofing dept. Just took a load of clothes out of the dryer and it smells like one of those little #@!%* crawled up and died in there. Guess I will be buying a new dryer tomorrow

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Guys,
Have been following along on this thread and just had to add some of my findings. Up at my Vt house this year I have been havin a heck of a time with these darn things I have been putting D-Con in the utility room every day and by morning its all gone. Same thing every day for three days straight. I put out enough poison to kill an entire army of mice Well these little SOB's are carrying it off elsewhere. Not sure where, but Im thinkin the walls somewhere

When my prostrate wakes me up in the middle of the night I can hear them scratchin in the ceiling My wife asks me if we have any water runnin when she hears that noise No honey thats not water My thought is they are gettin in the walls with any slight gaps of the T-111 at the base of the house, and then going up the inside wall to the space inbetween the first and second floor.

Im about ready to try the windshield washer bucket trick Our problem is that we are only there a few days a month. Im pretty much surrounded by fields other than the back of the house which is wooded, so I guess we are fair game

Im not happy ! BTW I have killed a few but not nearly enough!

 

[midlf]

Scott - see post 27 by MikeD74T. That describes a trap that is very effective and works unattended. Our crews have used it to great effect in unattended substations that have mouse problems until they can find and plug the access points.

 

[scott_vt]

Scott - see post 27 by MikeD74T. That describes a trap that is very effective and works unattended. Our crews have used it to great effect in unattended substations that have mouse problems until they can find and plug the access points.

Mornin Steve,
Thankyou !!! I should say thanks Mike also ! That sounds very effective !

OK, I cant wait to try that one out !

Ive gotta think that the mouse population is on the move this winter because of the unusually warm weather !

OK, back to Vermont !