# MICE! i am going to kill them all! please help me....



## par0thead151 (Jan 15, 2010)

i have had it!
this is the third time i have cleaned up a HUGE mess in my wood pile from mice.
the pile is housed in my garage. the door is only open for when the cars go in or out. granted a garage door is easy to navigate when you are the size of a mouse.
i have traps out with peanut butter, but they only have caught 2 all winter. i think there are atleast 203 mice left.
i am considering putting out D-con and a boat load of snap traps. is there anything i can do to make it less desirable for mice in my garage?
i also have a great dane dog, so i am kind of hesitant to use poisons, in the event the dog finds them.
they are chewing up my wood and making a huge mess from where they do their business on it.
what do you guys do about mice?

thanks


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## Roxburyeric (Jan 15, 2010)

I had mice for years and finally a couple years ago I bought a plug in device (the size of a golf ball) that makes a low noise to keep them away. Put one in my garage and Attic and I'm two years plus mice free. It was like $20 at lowes for a 3 pack - no need for the expensive whole house one.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jan 15, 2010)

Next year you may want to store the wood outside, away from the house.  

What traps are you using?  If it's the traditional ones, are you setting them so the slightest touch sets them off?  Are they stripping your traps?   

Are you setting them by the walls?  Mice generally stay by the walls.

If peanut butter isn't working, try imbedding a Bacon Bit in it.  

Have you tried a few sticky traps?

Matt


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## tickbitty (Jan 15, 2010)

The traps I found that REALLY worked were these grey plastic ones I could only find at Target (or Amazon).  THey are like a big chip clip and you just unload dead mousie without touching with just a pinch and put the trap back, still loaded with bait usually.  I had a huge mouse problem, put several of these out one night and caught like nine mice and then didn't get another one all season.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jan 15, 2010)

A mouse post wouldn't be a right without this:

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0012674212177a.shtml


Matt


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## heatwise (Jan 15, 2010)

here kitty, kitty. our little hunter caught one just the other day.


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## szmaine (Jan 16, 2010)

heatwise said:
			
		

> here kitty, kitty. our little hunter caught one just the other day.



2x 
Will the dog put up with a cat?


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## laynes69 (Jan 16, 2010)

We live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by farmlands. There was a stray cat that we decided to keep, since we didn't have an outdoor cat. Well she has been here since spring, and I haven't seen a mice since we got her. I could catch as many as 5 or 6 mice a day when she wasn't here. Now all the traps are set, but nothing. I'm surprised how well she does. There are also some homemade traps you can make that you place in outbuildings that baits them in and they drown.


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## JSJAC (Jan 16, 2010)

We had a mouse problem when we move in here. I found out they were getting in at the ends of the garage door. I installed a a gasket on the bottom of the door.
Look at the bottom of the door where the bottom board meets the vertical boards. It could be bent and that is where they are getting in. I put angle iron on it to hold the boards straight.
I also put decon in the wood shed all year. In the early fall I put it out around the house (outside).


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## Hogwildz (Jan 16, 2010)

Roxburyeric said:
			
		

> I had mice for years and finally a couple years ago I bought a plug in device (the size of a golf ball) that makes a low noise to keep them away. Put one in my garage and Attic and I'm two years plus mice free. It was like $20 at lowes for a 3 pack - no need for the expensive whole house one.


2x
I also have a few have a heart traps set with peanut butter on a cracker. These are set in the attic of the unfinished addition & the garage that has no floor yet. None in the main house.
Have caught about 20 or so in the unlived in spaces. Ig I get to them bfore they die, I take them up to the wetlands about 5 miles away and release.


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## LLigetfa (Jan 16, 2010)

Our puss is a wuss and won't go outside in Winter.  The dog takes care of the mice in Winter and she steals the mice away from the cat any other time of year.

I usually find one or two nests in the woodpile.


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## BrotherBart (Jan 16, 2010)

Found this little girl hanging out by the wood stacks a year and a half ago. Took awhile to make friends but she now lives in the basement and heads out every night from six to nine to work the wood stacks. The time the mice are most active.


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## FireAnt (Jan 16, 2010)

I use Reese's Pieces peanut butter cups on a snap trap when there is an occasional mouse in the attic. In fact I am going to set one tonight. I heard one scratching in the insulation last night when I went to bed.


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## Shari (Jan 16, 2010)

I don't have a picture of this but here's a home made mouse 'trap':

Supplies:

1 five gallon bucket
1 12" to 18" dowel
peanut butter

Drill a whole to somewhat larger diameter than the diameter of the dowel at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock about 1" lower than the lip of the bucket.

Add water to the bucket, about 1/2 full would be fine

Insert dowel from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock.

Dab some peanut butter about middle of the dowel

Place 'trap' where you want it.

The idea is the mouse climbs up the side of the bucket to get to the peanut butter, walks across the dowel to get the goodies, dowel rotates, mouse looses his footing, falls in the bucket and drowns.

Shari


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## laynes69 (Jan 16, 2010)

Thats what I built and it does work. I used a piece of copper wire strung across the bucket about 2 to 3" down from the top. Then I used a soup can that I punched a hole in the center of each end. You can then smear peanut butter or bacon grease on the can to attract them. Then I made a boardwalk so they could get to the can. You want it within jumping distance so they can't get back on the can. I have heard of people leaving traps like this in old barns and in a day or two finding over 30 mice. Just don't forget to check them, they can stink!


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## pulldownclaw (Jan 16, 2010)

> I use Reese’s Pieces peanut butter cups on a snap trap when there is an occasional mouse in the attic. In fact I am going to set one tonight. I heard one scratching in the insulation last night when I went to bed.



That is a complete waste of a Reese's peanut butter cup, which happens to be my favorite candy.   

We had a mouse problem here last year, but not because of the wood, we don't store any in the house.  They got in and were having a field day in our pantry.  We are very "live and let live", but when there's mouse poop in your  silverware drawer every morning, it's game on.  Bought some good 'ol fashioned traps and smacked about 8 or 9 and haven't seen any since.


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## FireAnt (Jan 16, 2010)

pulldownclaw said:
			
		

> > I use Reese’s Pieces peanut butter cups on a snap trap when there is an occasional mouse in the attic. In fact I am going to set one tonight. I heard one scratching in the insulation last night when I went to bed.
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It was a Reese's Christmas Bell. I love the cups too. The problem I have with them is they fall down the walls or get hung up in the insulation and die. The smell lasts a couple of weeks...


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## Oldmainer (Jan 16, 2010)

A nice wood shed would get your wood out of the garage and solve your mouse problem. I don't get uptight about things like that when the fix is so easy... Franklin


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## smokinj (Jan 16, 2010)

szmaine said:
			
		

> heatwise said:
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+another one.... we have an outside cat and a inside cat.The meanest one is inside.


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## gzecc (Jan 16, 2010)

Every week that goes by your mice can increase by 10% in numbers!


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## EKLawton (Jan 16, 2010)

szmaine said:
			
		

> heatwise said:
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with the right cat the ? is - will the cat put up with the dog?????


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## raiderfan (Jan 16, 2010)

Man...  Am I glad I found this thread.  Was scrolling through the turkey fryer thread, and happened to glance at the title of this one just before getting off of the computer.  This will be like group therapy for me 

I live in a house that was built in 1895.  It has a stone foundation.  I've lived here for 7 years and miracurously NEVER noticed a mouse in the house.  (My garage, yes, but not my house).  All of a sudden, my girlfriend calls me at work freaking out about a hole in the bottom corner of her trail mix bag which is in our "chip" cabinet.  We set a trap and got a mouse the next day.  Problem solved, right?  NOPE!!  We left two more traps up there just in case, and BAM, the very next morning two more  Then this morning, one more 

The thing of it is, the "chip" cabinet is above my stove.  Its not even a lower cabinet.  And i see no evidence of mice anywhere else in the house or kitchen.  So I'm not sure where they are coming from.  Possibly my kitchen ceiling, and then dropping down??  (My cabinets have no backing to them.  Sides, shelves and doors for fronts, but the backs of them are my outside kitchen walls).  So, I guess from what i read here and from what others have told me, just keep setting the traps until they don't come back, hey??  (good 'ol fashioned snap traps are what we are using -- 100% confirmed kill accuracy thus far!!)


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## jeff_t (Jan 16, 2010)

We used to have a cat that was an absolute predator. Did it for sport. The other cat wasn't as bloodthirsty but was pretty good, too. Never ever had a mouse inside. I used to burn corn and would leave a couple kernels on the basement floor on purpose. They never got eaten. 
Those cats did good outside, too. They had to start venturing across the road to find prey. Kinda worried me.   Sadly they are both gone now. The two we have now aren't quite as efficient, but they are getting better. I won't have a cat that doesn't earn its keep.


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## Shari (Jan 16, 2010)

You do know when you are trapping rats with a snap trap you have to tie the trap down to something or else the rat could run away with the trap, right?  Our son had mice in his garage (in the bird seed, inside a metal container that they somehow found out how to open).  Turns out he had what are called 'deer mice' (bigger than normal but still not a rat).  He ended up having to tie a cord on to his traps because his 'mice' were running off with his snap traps.

Shari


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## par0thead151 (Jan 16, 2010)

Shari said:
			
		

> You do know when you are trapping rats with a snap trap you have to tie the trap down to something or else the rat could run away with the trap, right?  Our son had mice in his garage (in the bird seed, inside a metal container that they somehow found out how to open).  Turns out he had what are called 'deer mice' (bigger than normal but still not a rat).  He ended up having to tie a cord on to his traps because his 'mice' were running off with his snap traps.
> 
> Shari



i had one move on me last night. not because it was a big rat, but because it somehow only caught the mouses foot.
dragged it clear across the garage to the other side, and set off another trap in the process!
i now have 10 traps along all 4 perimeter walls of the garage and D-con in 2 locations.
BRING IT ON!


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## basswidow (Jan 17, 2010)

When you live out in the country - you're on their turf.

I've got so many here that I can see them jumping in the grass infront of the lawnmower.  My shed is loaded with them.  I took out the christmas decorations and in one box alone - I killed 12.

Thankfully,  we don't have them in the house, garage, basement, or attic.

The old fashion snap traps with Peanut butter works best.  I've trapped and killed atleast 40 in the last 2.5 years and there seems to be an endless supply from the woods, bottomland, and tall grass.  The mice were here long before me.


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## Hunderliggur (Jan 17, 2010)

We live on a farm.  We have two cats that are allowed inside/outside and five cats that out outside [they are all fixed].  We have no evidence of mice in the house or basement.  The inside cats venture into the basement from time to time but never get anything, just outside.  We also have Buckeye Chickens who really do a number on mice.  Interesting to watch 4 or so chickens torment a mouse.


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## ribs1 (Jan 17, 2010)

Good ole snap traps are my favorite.  I like to set them up so the mice has to walk over one to get to the other, otherwise they get smart and lick the peanut butter off without setting off the trap.
My cat was once a great mouser.  He hasn't caught a mouse now in probably 10 years at least (23 year old cat)
He was a blood thirsty killer when he was young.


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## Gooserider (Jan 17, 2010)

Agreed on the "Resident Rodent Control Engineer" approach, with the note that they must have been properly trained by mom when young, or they will be unclear on the concept and job description / duties...  

I have also had decent luck w/ the electronic "rodent repelling" units - we used to get flying squirrels in the attic, and haven't since I put one up there.

One problem w/ snap-traps is that they only fire once, and then have to be reset.  I have a "multi-mouse" trap that I got from HF, but have seen the same idea elsewhere - it is a metal box with a spring loaded clockwork paddle wheel separating the sections - mouse enters the trap area and trips it, and the paddle pushes it into the second "holding" area, and automatically is set for the next "customer"  The mechanism (and optionally the bait) is in a third chamber that the mice can't get at...  I've found it works pretty good, unless it gets a mouse half-way in, which gets the mouse, but jams the paddle...  The top slides open to allow the removal of the captives (I give them swimming lessons in the toilet...)  The ads claim it will get up to 20-25 mice per windup...  I've only gotten one at a time, but wasn't using it in a "target-rich" environment.

If you are using snap traps, or other traps w/ accessible bait, I find it helps to thread a small strip of cloth through the pedal, and work the bait into the fabric - it causes the mouse to chew and tug on it, which makes it almost certain that the trap will trip and get him where it counts...

Gooserider


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## raiderfan (Jan 17, 2010)

I had an electronic one from Victor, at one time.  The you would bait the far end of the trap where a metal pad was.  The mouse would walk into the far end through a maze type section (so they cant just back out) and go for the bait.  When they sat on the metal pad they were zapped.  If the trap was blinking red, it meant you had a confirmed kill, and with a push of a button, you could release the dead mouse w/out having to touch anything.  Re-bait and set again.  It was like $25.  Can't find it now, so just sticking to the snappers for now.  

BTW:  No mouse evidence in the chip cabinet as of 6:51am this morning!!


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## laynes69 (Jan 17, 2010)

You need to watch the mice, for they will live in a stove. We were out of this house for a year and we almost had to throw away a new stove. I had it apart 3 times and had to reinsulate and scrub the stove to be able to use it. They get in the insulation, and they like to live under the burners on the top where there is food.


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## par0thead151 (Jan 18, 2010)

where can i get the electronic noise emitting anti mouse device?
i snapped 1 more last night and would prefer to not have them in my garage at all, the electronic device thingy might be mu ticket to keeping my traps empty for the most part.
thanks


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## Gooserider (Jan 18, 2010)

par0thead151 said:
			
		

> where can i get the electronic noise emitting anti mouse device?
> i snapped 1 more last night and would prefer to not have them in my garage at all, the electronic device thingy might be mu ticket to keeping my traps empty for the most part.
> thanks



Should be available in lots of places - I'd try EBay and WallyWorld to start, possibly Home Despot and Slowes as well...  Should be in the same general area as the traps and baits... 

Ebay - search on "rodent" - I found HUNDREDS of listings - typical - http://cgi.ebay.com/Riddex-Plus-Electronic-Pest-Rodent-Control-Repeller_W0QQitemZ260496967623QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca6d447c7

This seemed to be the most popular listed model, with different numbers of units in a listing...

Gooserider


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## par0thead151 (Jan 18, 2010)

Gooserider said:
			
		

> par0thead151 said:
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will this affect my dog(great dane)?
i assume this uses a frequency of noise humans cant hear?


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## Gooserider (Jan 18, 2010)

Supposedly its a frequency people can't hear, but I can hear a faint whine from each of the two units we have in our house when I'm right next to them.  I know that they warn in the instructions against using it in areas where you have pet rodents like hamsters and gerbils, not sure about what it does to dogs - if anything.  Might be worth doing a Google on the topic, see what comes up...

Gooserider


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## billb3 (Jan 18, 2010)

I have better luck putting out poison in September. Seems like more of them die outside .

I found at least 10 living in the bottom of my saw cut-offs  garbage barrel in the wood shop.
Nice little house of wood scraps and pink insulation.
Put out poison (shop is 100 feet from the house) and dead mice are showing up in my cellar.


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## Oldmainer (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi Guys...interesting talk about mice and the different ways of gettin' rid of um...  I think the electronic rodent repellers are a scam....save yer money.  Just cos someone says they ran off thirty five mice with them don't make it so...  Franklin


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## MNBobcat (Jan 19, 2010)

Ha, I read your post:



			
				calieigh said:
			
		

> I got some good ideas to deal with mice.  Waiting for valentines day



Your sig was just under your message.  LOL!  I thought, "what in the world do you have planned for that special someone that involves mice?"


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## firefighterjake (Jan 19, 2010)

Well I've got four cats, but unfortunately the one cat who really liked hunting mice is getting fat and old (much like me) and so he isn't pulling his weight as much as he used to . . . instead he now prefers to spend most of his time lounging on the chair in front of the woodstove (again, much like me.)

I did have a problem with mice getting at my birdseed (which was in a room in the garage closed off to the cats) . . . I fixed that problem with a re-usable snap trap loaded with peanut butter . . . bought it at the local True Value . . . never have to touch the mouse if you're not into touching mice.


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## basswidow (Jan 19, 2010)

The mice are so bad - they've actually gotten into 2 of my work cars.

I was driving to work and saw one dart from the under the passenger seat and into the dash.  I set a trap and got that one.  There was no food in the car.  They nested in the spare tire area and chewed up upholstry to make the nest.  This happened in the winter.

My next work car  was at the shop and the mechanic told me I had something living in the engine compartment.  It built a nest between the alternator and transmissioni out of some white fully stuff (possibly car insulation).  Again,  no food to attract it there, just a warm place during the winter.

They got up into my boat too.  Chewed up all my PFD's and nested in the compartments.  Burned me up.  I hate them.  

I've done the poison - but I don't want my dog to get it.


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## Highbeam (Jan 20, 2010)

Well then put the poison in a place where the dog can't go or fit. I have chickens that would also love to eat rat poison so I carefully place the bait station. You don't need to worry about the dog eating dead mice and being poisoned.


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