# Got a Rat/Mice Problem...



## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

I started collecting wood in November and this is the first sign of mice. I found him in front of my garage. The Fiancee freaked and said that the first sign of them in the house (i.e. the indoor cat goes nuts at night), the wood is gone...and thus the possibility of a stove.

Here is my woodpile near the house (is it too close?):





I guess on the positive side of things, the rat poison granules I put down underneath my wood racks is doing it's job....but I'm worried as I plan to collect twice this amount of wood and put one more row of wood closer to to the house before stacking it in the backyard.  Is the answer just to keep the woodpiles populated with granules?

Thoughts?


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## blades (Jan 14, 2013)

Get a couple weasels or a Ferret


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Just to add some context. I'm in suburbs. I won't be getting any out animals for pest control.


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## KaptJaq (Jan 14, 2013)

I have two cats that patrol my woodpile. Just the scent of them seems to keep the critters at bay.

KaptJaq


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## tbuff (Jan 14, 2013)

I am actually moving my entire stack right now to prevent this. The stack slowly encroached towards the house and I did see a few mice, so now it'll be about 50' away at least. One interesting thing I found while moving old underwood is there must have been a bunch of snakes living under there in the summer time because I found all kinds of small animal bones near what appear to be snake holes.


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## brian89gp (Jan 14, 2013)

A healthy feral cat population keeps my mouse population at bay.  I know its them because I see the cats sitting by my woodpile every evening waiting.

Perhaps its time to accidently release some cats...  If you have a mouse problem they are bound to stick around.


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## Woody Stover (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> The Fiancee freaked and said that the first sign of them in the house (i.e. the indoor cat goes nuts at night), the wood is gone...and thus the possibility of a stove.


Tell her "Hey, a mouse never killed anybody." Hopefully, she's never heard of Hantavirus...


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## Danno77 (Jan 14, 2013)

lol. 1st world problems. it's tough man, so tough.

I'd rather have a mouse or two in my house than a cat.


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## mecreature (Jan 14, 2013)

I had a cat adopt us earlier this year. He was on his last leg when he strolled up the drive way.
He sleeps on an outside porch when he wants to. He might be gone all day and come home for dinner and a fresh drink.He loves to patrol the stacks.
I have seen far less mice this year then any year before.


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## Woody Stover (Jan 14, 2013)

Danno77 said:


> lol. 1st world problems. it's tough man, so tough.
> 
> I'd rather have a mouse or two in my house than a cat.


Cats can raise a little hell in the house at times. Cats are muy cool, though...much cooler than mice. 
Right now I have two outside forming a perimeter defense against the despicable rodent.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Well with the amount of rat poison I put out I am hoping there isn't much left to eat for wild animals.  I guess I'll monitor the green granules and replenish when need be.

Kicker is, the dog runs around in the fenced off back yard.... can't have him downing any of the poison so I'll have to be careful where I put the stuff.


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## Danno77 (Jan 14, 2013)

Woody Stover said:


> Cats can raise a little hell in the house at times. Cats are muy cool, though...much cooler than mice.
> Right now I have two outside forming a perimeter defense against the despicable rodent.


oh, don't get me wrong, I don't mind cats all that much. it's their hair on everything. same goes for dogs. almost as bad as danged wemmenfolk.


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## Jags (Jan 14, 2013)

Danno77 said:


> oh, don't get me wrong, I don't mind cats all that much. it's their hair on everything. same goes for dogs. almost as bad as danged wemmenfolk.


 
Slow down a little.  I gotta go get my popcorn.


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## ScotO (Jan 14, 2013)

Yer gonna have mice with almost ANY woodstack, that's for sure.  And for me, the feral cats seem to do a pretty good job of patrolling the pile.  I'm not a big fan of those feral cats,  mainly because of a tom that keeps.spraying the one end of my stack.  But you gotta consider the good (mouse control), so I guess I'll have to deal with him for now.....


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Does anyone else use chemical rat suppression techniques with success?  Or is everyone fostering feral cats in the neighborhood?


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## Applesister (Jan 14, 2013)

Im sorry Bster13 but I truly believe your woodplies and the appearance of a mouse is pure coincidence. Mice dont eat wood. They are attracted to food sources and heat. I live on a farm. There is No association between woodpiles and mice. More likely they are attracted to bird seed or bags of cat food stored in your garage.
Its probably folklore that mice try to make their way inside of your home to survive an anticipated cold winter. Like the amount of fuzz on wooly bear catipillars.
Check to see if you have food stuff they are going after. Really, the stacked wood provides safe shelter from cats but woodpiles dont equal mice infestations.
Of course, snakes and squirrels are a different story. ;-)


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Unless they are chewing on used motor oil, i don't have any food sources in my garage at this time.

Perhaps there was a mouse or two around the house prior to stashing the wood, and it found the rat poison in the wood piles?

Like, maybe I'd of never known there were mice around if I hadn't put out the poison?


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## Jags (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> Like, maybe I'd of never known there were mice around if I hadn't put out the poison?


 
Ding, ding, ding....we have a winner.
Dude - mice are everywhere, but are pretty good at hiding.  If that little dude wasn't dead, you would have never seen it (most likely).


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## MasterMech (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> Does anyone else use chemical rat suppression techniques with success? Or is everyone fostering feral cats in the neighborhood?


 
Bster, if by chance you were worried about wild/not-so-wild animals accidentally getting into the poison, they make bait stations that a cat or dog shouldn't be able to get into.


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## JustWood (Jan 14, 2013)

Feral cats don't do as much as most would think for rodent control. About 3 years ago in the mornings when I wood tie my work boots on the front steps, as I bent over I started getting a whiff of cat urine quite frequently. I set up some specialized traps and to date have caught 87.  I never wood have guessed I had that many local ferals. 
I've had little success with the pellet type poison. The mice tend to drag these pellets off and store them in a cache where they may get wet and dissintegrate or worm,grubs or other animals may eat it .
The Tomcat blocks I've found to work the best. You can nail/wire  them down forcing the mice to chew off small bite and injest. I usually put a few at the bottom of the stack in the wood shed when i refill it in the spring.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...s=tomcat+poison&sprefix=tomcat+poison,aps,339
A well fed pet cat/dog won't injest a poisoned mouse unless it's a flat out glutton.


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## JustWood (Jan 14, 2013)

Applesister said:


> Im sorry Bster13 but I truly believe your woodplies and the appearance of a mouse is pure coincidence. Mice dont eat wood. They are attracted to food sources and heat. I live on a farm. There is No association between woodpiles and mice. More likely they are attracted to bird seed or bags of cat food stored in your garage.
> Its probably folklore that mice try to make their way inside of your home to survive an anticipated cold winter. Like the amount of fuzz on wooly bear catipillars.
> Check to see if you have food stuff they are going after. Really, the stacked wood provides safe shelter from cats but woodpiles dont equal mice infestations.
> Of course, snakes and squirrels are a different story. ;-)


+1
Mice will enter houses/wood piles to escape ground den flooding from fall rains.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Thanks MasterMech... the Fiancee is yelling at me for not going for those in the first place, but they were more expensive and the granules got good reviews (which my dead mouse confirmed)



MasterMech said:


> Bster, if by chance you were worried about wild/not-so-wild animals accidentally getting into the poison, they make bait stations that a cat or dog shouldn't be able to get into.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

I guess I am going w/ this at this time:

- The wood piles may give a home to the mice, but I don't think they are increasing the population.
- The poison did it's job this time around, and if I never put out the poison I would of never see the mouse in the first place.

I guess we'll see what happens over time as I double my wood pile (want to get two years ahead).  The wood pile I'm going to put in the fenced back yard will have no poison (dog goes in the backyard) so perhaps it will be a good test to see if the mice start a knocking then.


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## Lumber-Jack (Jan 14, 2013)

mecreature said:


> I had a cat adopt us earlier this year. He was on his last leg when he strolled up the drive way.


I've seen 3 legged cats hopping around, but never a one legged cat. Must be quite a sight! 

I'd rather have mice running around outside than feral cats. Wouldn't want either in the house, but just because the mice are outside doesn't mean they will end up in the house. Just make sure your house is sealed up tight and don't leave the door open. Even if you get rid of your wood stacks that won't eliminate all the mice in the neighborhood or the possibility that they can get in the house.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Maybe I'll put some Rat poison in the basement for good measure... if the Fiancee notices any signs of mice in the house, this wood burning thing is a goner!  Haha.


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## MasterMech (Jan 14, 2013)

Usually all objections cease after the first fire/heating bill happen.  The really stubborn ones take two or three cycles/bills to cave, just to make sure it isn't a fluke.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

She's a tough one to crack, but this is what I am hoping for.

We keep the house at 63 at night and the one zone where the living room is, we keep at 68 when we are home.  I am hoping mid-70s is to her liking.

Oh... plus she's getting the dining room she wants. 



MasterMech said:


> Usually all objections cease after the first fire/heating bill happen. The really stubborn ones take two or three cycles/bills to cave, just to make sure it isn't a fluke.


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## Applesister (Jan 14, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> Bster, if by chance you were worried about wild/not-so-wild animals accidentally getting into the poison, they make bait stations that a cat or dog shouldn't be able to get into.


Yes or a 30" piece of PVC pipe with the rodent bait pushed down to the middle. If you just want to target mice get a smaller diameter pipe. I use this around the chicken coups.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

The PVC trick may be a good idea, as I have 4 lbs of the granules to use up.  Haha.


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## tbuff (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> Maybe I'll put some Rat poison in the basement for good measure... if the Fiancee notices any signs of mice in the house, this wood burning thing is a goner! Haha.


 
I'd one up her on the ultimatum... If the wood burning thing is a goner, well honey... SO ARE YOU!


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## MasterMech (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> She's a tough one to crack, but this is what I am hoping for.
> 
> We keep the house at 63 at night and the one zone where the living room is, we keep at 68 when we are home. I am hoping mid-70s is to her liking.
> 
> Oh... plus she's getting the dining room she wants.


 
Tons of fun seeing how many splits it takes to get each article of clothing to come off.  4 and the sweatshirt goes..... 5 and...


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

LOL.  Good point.


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## Lumber-Jack (Jan 14, 2013)

tbuff said:


> I'd one up her on the ultimatum... If the wood burning thing is a goner, well honey... SO ARE YOU!


That might work, unless it's her house.  Then some other things besides the wood piles may have to go.


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## Waulie (Jan 14, 2013)

I don't know.  I think the mice like my stacks so much it actually keeps them out of my house.  Why settle for a dark corner of the basement when you could have the penthouse suite at the hippest rodent condo in town?

For real though, they do love my stacks but it really doesn't bother me.


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## Jags (Jan 14, 2013)

I think I would simply point out that the wood pile is probably NOT the reason for the mice.  The mice were already there.  Yes, I get a couple of mouse nests in my outside piles, but the mice would just find another home if the wood wasn't there.


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## Applesister (Jan 14, 2013)

A bottle of wine and a bearskin rug doesnt hurt.


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## BobUrban (Jan 14, 2013)

Use traps inside the house NOT POISON.  Mice are stupid and very easy to trap out(Unlike rats) With poison what happens is you have dead mice crawling into places you cannot find to die but they still stink.  I would imagine the smell would be a bigger wife deterant than the nearly invisible mice.  Get yourself a 1/2 dozen Victors and set some along the wall inside the garage door baited with peanut butter.  In a night or two you will know if there are mice in the garage.  Mice will stick to edges and tight spots.  Use strategy with the traps and you will be mouseless in no time - if there are any inside the garage at all.


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## Bster13 (Jan 14, 2013)

Ok.  No signs of mice in the house or garage at this time.  But good idea on traps inside.


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## Applesister (Jan 14, 2013)

Jags said:


> I think I would simply point out that the wood pile is probably NOT the reason for the mice.  The mice were already there.  Yes, I get a couple of mouse nests in my outside piles, but the mice would just find another home if the wood wasn't there.


Dont worry about the piles...just keep doing what you are doing. Besides a few mouse dudes on the kitchen countertops help strengthen the immune system.


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## Butcher (Jan 14, 2013)

Your gonna have mice no matter what you do with your woodpiles. It always kills me when I hear someone say they have (A) mouse in thier house. For every 1 mouse you actually see you probably got 50 more of it's kin lurkin around somewhere. Tomcat bait chunks work well as a poison but need to be used with care around children and pets. If you want a repellant to place inside the house this is a good product as I have used it in certain situations.
http://www.bonide.com/lbonide/SalesFlyers/Mouse_Magic.pdf
Just remember, a mouse can get thru a hole the size of a dime iffn it wants to.


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## Lumber-Jack (Jan 14, 2013)

Wait till you start bringing the wood in and she finds a bug in the house, then she'll forget all about the mice.


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## billb3 (Jan 14, 2013)

The mice didn't smell the stacks of wood from miles around and come running.
You find mice because you have mice.
The wood stacks just provide you with an easy means to document their existence.


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## maple1 (Jan 14, 2013)

Butcher said:


> Your gonna have mice no matter what you do with your woodpiles. It always kills me when I hear someone say they have (A) mouse in thier house. For every 1 mouse you actually see you probably got 50 more of it's kin lurkin around somewhere. Tomcat bait chunks work well as a poison but need to be used with care around children and pets. If you want a repellant to place inside the house this is a good product as I have used it in certain situations.
> http://www.bonide.com/lbonide/SalesFlyers/Mouse_Magic.pdf
> Just remember, a mouse can get thru a hole the size of a dime iffn it wants to.


 
+1.

You'd better start preparing her (and you) now for the day a mouse is seen in the house. It is only a matter of time - and it has nothing to do with your woodpile.


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## oldogy (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> Does anyone else use chemical rat suppression techniques with success? Or is everyone fostering feral cats in the neighborhood?


No cats but I do see a few snakes around the wood pile. . JK on the


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## loadstarken (Jan 14, 2013)

I keep a small wisk brush on the wood pile to brush off the little turds and random insects.

I tried poison years ago and they took it from the wood pile to the engine compartment of my parts car.  So I switched to snap traps that I screw to a split with a drywall screw and they have worked pretty well.


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## Paulywalnut (Jan 14, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> Maybe I'll put some Rat poison in the basement for good measure... if the Fiancee notices any signs of mice in the house, this wood burning thing is a goner! Haha.


She might find dead rats/mice in the house though.


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## HDRock (Jan 14, 2013)

Mice are every where, _*they just are*_,   just like rabbits, coons ,moles,squirrels,skunks, etc
If they take up residence in my new wood piles, that's better than them building their nests in my lawn mower and tractor engine.
I would rather have them chewing on the wood than my wires  which they have done.
Moth balls will keep them, and other critters away .


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## PapaDave (Jan 14, 2013)

Jags said:


> Slow down a little. I gotta go get my popcorn.






	

		
			
		

		
	
 Got mine. Let the games begin.


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## PapaDave (Jan 14, 2013)

HDRock said:


> I would rather have them chewing on the *wood* firewood than my wires  which they have done.


Sorry, but that needed clarification....


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## tickbitty (Jan 14, 2013)

Hmm.  Not fond of the poisons, esp outside, where whatever other wildlife that eats mice can end up poisoned too?  I don't really know how that works but I would think maybe poison in the basement might not be as bad as outside.  In any case, I had mouse problems just in particular houses I lived in, but not in the one I live in now with wood heat.  Still have a mouse problem where I work. The only thing that I found that works are these awesome traps "better mousetrap" - grey plastic ones from Target.  They kill the mouse everytime (that I have ever seen) and you don't even have to touch the mouse to unload it because it works like a big chip clip.  Get a few of these and keep them in the house wherever you think the mousies are.  I had a prob in my last house and I set three traps and caught 5 mice in one night and didn't have another for months.
http://mousetrapsthatwork.com/the-better-mousetrap/


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## jdp1152 (Jan 14, 2013)

Bottom line from someone who had a major mouse problem in the house I bought a year ago. We have 1.5 acre wooded lot that borders on a big field. The house was neglected for years and empty for a year. I have taken a systematic approach to remedying the situation. First, stop poisoning outside. That's not good for the Eco system regardless of what anyone claims. Mice are fine if they're outdoors. Second, put bait stations throughout your house to get rid of the Immediate problem.  Basement, garage, house sill, attic, knee walls, under your stove, behind fridge.....Every 10-20 feet in non living spaces.  Usual mouse jaunts in living space..There are many more in there if you see one. They only forage thirty or so feet from their nest. Third, remove any ground cover from around your foundation. No vines, no juniper, no anything you can't prune off the ground. Give their predators a chance to do the job for you. Last, google exclusion methods.  I went around my sill with hardwire mesh. Seal the inside of your sill at the basement or crawlspace with mesh with a caulk that dries hard.  Make sure your garage doors and all other doors form a tight seal. Bastards are contortion artists and will exploit any opening they can. Seal  around wire and pipe entry points. Make sure your sealant isn't easily removed.  

I disagree that your wood pile isn't an attractant for mice.  Insects are only part of the reason it's recommended to stack wood  more than twenty feet away from your structure. Mice don't have huge foraging ranges and giving them cover close to your house allows them safer passage while foraging. I haven't seen a sign of live mouse since taking these measures.  I could go on and on, but the only thing you can do is work on exclusion to win this battle.


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## jdp1152 (Jan 14, 2013)

Also, renting a thermal camera and scanning your external wall will show you where they are getting in at. We had a free energy assessment so I didn't have to rent it, but it showed me what I needed to know. Gutting my basement and seeing the nests they make and damage they do with batt insulation was absolutely appalling.


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## HDRock (Jan 14, 2013)

I agree you should keep the wood away from house if U can , mine is about 65ft away, cuz termites are a possibly also


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## StihlHead (Jan 15, 2013)

I moved here over 2 years ago and this place was overrun by mice, voles, and moles. At dusk I would see things darting around all over, and there were many mice in the house. After 3 months my ex brought my 20 pound tom cat up from her farm. He is 1/4 Siamese, but otherwise looks and behaves like an American Shorthair red tabby. The first day outside he bagged 2 western red back voles, his favorite food. He caught at least 3 mice in the master bedroom that week. I had a running tally of his hunting but stopped after a few months, as he bagged so many rodents I could not keep track. He has wiped out all the surface red back voles and all the house mice. They are gone. The moles and deeper running grey Oregon voles keep moving onto the property and starting condo developments, and he hunts them out. I used to run over 50 mole hills mowing the lawns here, now it is one or two. He does a great job exterminating rodents. Cats can be effective if they are the right breed. This one hunts big game as well, catching small rabbits. I let them go though. He eats 90% of what he kills. Mice he leaves the haunches for some reason. He eats voles entirely, tail and all, usually starting with the head. I had a giant Himalayan Blue in California and that cat took on giant gophers, rabbits, and squirrels. They and Siamese are the best hunters I have had.


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## rideau (Jan 15, 2013)

Mice will nest in a covered woodpile if you live on a woodlot, for sure. They make nice nests with leaves and pine needles. But you really never see the mice...just their nests and some poop.which is easy to flick off when you pick up a split. Snakes for sure like woodpiles. See garters all the time. They'll take care of a lot of mice.

Skip the poison. Outdoors, you'll just attract mice...and possibly rats. You can't possibly kill all of them, or even make a dent in their population. My aunt traps about a dozen every day in her crawl space. Has all kinds of ingenious traps. If you put poison out, you not only attract rodents, you'll kill birds of prey such as owls and hawks, snakes, and anything else that eats rodents, or eats the things that eat the rodents. Self defeating in the long run. Carry the firewood in yourself and your fiancee will never see a mouse. For the house, get one of the traps on line that is battery operated, zaps the mouse, you just dump the mouse in the trash and put the trap back. They are great.


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## Tuneighty (Jan 15, 2013)

StihlHead said:


> I moved here over 2 years ago and this place was overrun by mice, voles, and moles. At dusk I would see things darting around all over, and there were many mice in the house. After 3 months my ex brought my 20 pound tom cat up from her farm. He is 1/4 Siamese, but otherwise looks and behaves like an American Shorthair red tabby. The first day outside he bagged 2 western red back voles, his favorite food. He caught at least 3 mice in the master bedroom that week. I had a running tally of his hunting but stopped after a few months, as he bagged so many rodents I could not keep track. He has wiped out all the surface red back voles and all the house mice. They are gone. The moles and deeper running grey Oregon voles keep moving onto the property and starting condo developments, and he hunts them out. I used to run over 50 mole hills mowing the lawns here, now it is one or two. He does a great job exterminating rodents. Cats can be effective if they are the right breed. This one hunts big game as well, catching small rabbits. I let them go though. He eats 90% of what he kills. Mice he leaves the haunches for some reason. He eats voles entirely, tail and all, usually starting with the head. I had a giant Himalayan Blue in California and that cat took on giant gophers, rabbits, and squirrels. They and Siamese are the best hunters I have had.


 

I have often wondered if cats could be "bred" specific for mousing?  They can do it with dogs?  Our part siamese is a great mouser as well!


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## Standingdead (Jan 15, 2013)

Living on a farm with grain bins, I am familiar with rats. Big nasty rats. Over the years the only thing that seems to keep them at bay is a good sized cat population. We usually look for Maine coon mixed cats with a large frame. Last year in one barn we lost 3 of the 5 cats that lived there including our best hunter. When I began to prep this barn this past fall I noticed a lot of rat holes, digging, etc. In November the rats chewed through a wooden grain door and spilled a ton or more pellets on the barn floor! 

Fortunately the barn is divided into three sections. Pissed and desperate I moved my 2 hunting dogs (short haired pointers) into the section housing the bin. Within a month they caught and killed 70-75 full sized rats. They are having a blast this winter and kill the rats with brutal effeicency. In the meantime my wife went to the pound and adopted 5 Maine/mixed kittens. By this summer they can take over and the dogs return to their pens. I should add we keep three cats in the house/garage. My wife lives in fear that someday a rat might try to get into the house....so far.....just little bitty feild mice . Being a dog guy I don't like cats much at all, but I will admit I like having a bunch of them around to keep the vermin pop down.


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## Wood Duck (Jan 15, 2013)

There are wild mice like Deer Mice, White Footed Mice, and voles of many kinds, and then there are House Mice. The wild, native mice have hairy tails, while the House Mouse has little or no hair on the tail. i think the one in your picture has hair on the tail (note the hairy tip of the tail) and so it is a wild mouse. The wild mice don't generally get into homes or stay there when they do get in. Sometimes they will live under a cabin or shed, but they usually stay outdoors. I think wild mice are the mice that sometimes nest in my wood stacks. The House Mouse is the pest that lives full time indoors and also in barns, basements, etc. They usually don't live outdoors in the US (they do live outdoors in their native Europe). Point is that you don't have to worry about wild mice - that is unless you are the kind of person who worries about chipmunks and rabbits in the yard.

I live on a couple of acres of fields and woods, lots of chicken feed and birdseed around, and in general a perfect place for mice. We do get a few mouse nests in the woodpile, but these are wild mice (I can't tell Deer Mouse from White footed Mouse so I don't know which species we have, or maybe both) However, I don't think the wood piles attract mice or increase the muber of mice, just provide a place to nest for the mice that are here anyway.

I use standard mouse traps to control House Mice. Every week or two a set some traps in the usual places and sometimes catch a couple of mice. This is all done without my wife knowing too much about it and it keeps the house mice under control. I don't worry about the wild mice.

So, my advice is not to let your fiance control what you do. That will not improve after you get married. If she wants to marry a wood burning type of guy she should start embracing chainsaws, dirty boots, and mice or she should be shown the door.


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## clemsonfor (Jan 15, 2013)

i have mice in my pile but its say 50 yds from house. Be carful with poisen dogs/cats can eat it and or the infected animals and have effects themselves


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## osagebow (Jan 15, 2013)

We don't have a MOUSE problem....and i'm 30-1 with these guys. Hand pic taken after 3 days of swelling went down. Yard was landscaped with railroad ties in 1970.as they rotted, it turned into a den site!


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## Jags (Jan 15, 2013)

I can point to one thing that would be dead within seconds.  I'll let you guess what that is.


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## BrotherBart (Jan 15, 2013)

Haven't had a mouse problem since the Woodpile Panther showed up five years ago.


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## rideau (Jan 15, 2013)

osagebow said:


> We don't have a MOUSE problem....and i'm 30-1 with these guys. Hand pic taken after 3 days of swelling went down. Yard was landscaped with railroad ties in 1970.as they rotted, it turned into a den site!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 OMG!  I know what that felt like.  I'll pass on the nasty snakes....garter, ribbon, milk, a few others are OK with me. They eat bugs and vermin. 

Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wheaten and other terriers, Whippet...great ratters.


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## jdp1152 (Jan 15, 2013)

osagebow said:


> Yard was landscaped with railroad ties in 1970.as they rotted, it turned into a den site!


 
Same here, though not with snakes.  Mice and mosquitoes.  When I dug them up I was like a steady stream of both pouring out of them.  Probably a mouse next every 8 ft or so.


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## Standingdead (Jan 15, 2013)

rideau said:


> OMG!  I know what that felt like.  I'll pass on the nasty snakes....garter, ribbon, milk, a few others are OK with me. They eat bugs and vermin.
> 
> Rhodesian Ridgeback, Wheaten and other terriers, Whippet...great ratters.



Any idea how these breeds are with free range chickens? What about with barn cats? I always liked those little whippets. Real athletic looking.


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## weatherguy (Jan 15, 2013)

I had much more of a mouse problem before I ever burned wood, sure I find tons of nests in the wood stacks. If I hear one scurrying around I set traps like the ones showed earlier in the thread, I used to catch one or two a night for a few days and then that seems to be it.
Now we have 3 tabbys that parole the wood piles, its funny I see them laying on top of the stacks just waiting, and my little terrier/ridgeback contributes also, havent seen a mouse for a long time. My stacks are 100 feet from the house, I did that because thats where I have some level space and its a good drying spot and I didnt want insects anywhere near the house.


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## Applesister (Jan 15, 2013)

Standingdead said:


> Any idea how these breeds are with free range chickens? What about with barn cats? I always liked those little whippets. Real athletic looking.


You guys are gonna scare the poor guy who started this thread!!

Those snake photos were horrid!


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## rideau (Jan 15, 2013)

My sister has a Whippet and a cat..Nipo is fine with the cat, and the Ridegeback (Laka) leaves the cat alone, but makes short work of any feral cats. Most dogs seem fine with cats they are brought up with. My Wheaten ignores song birds, and they ignore him...walk on the ground next to him. Ravens drive him crazy...he trees them! Ha! And he tried to herd the damn wild turkeys. He herds deer. He was interested in porcupines...tentative and sniffed, so only got 5 quills from a tail, thank god. He chases wandering cats. Probably wants to play. Ignores pileated woodpeckers and owls and hawks. Barks at the loons...I push him off the dock when he does, and that shuts him up re them for about a year. Seems to be a needed once a year lesson, though. I suspect he'd leave chickens alone if brought up with them. Actually, I'm sure Wheatens would. They are the poor man's farm dog in Ireland...the best ratters in the world. would probably keep the chickens safe from Fox, if they are an issue.  Makes short order of mink and weasels too. The Ridgeback kills mongoose so fast it isn't funny. They are all smart dogs. Did you know Ridgebacks can and do talk? So I suspect they'd all make great farm dogs with some training. But all three relly like to be around people, so I'd hope they'd have a place in the house.  Probably would lean toward a Wheaten or Ridgeback. Ridgeback is a bigger dog, short hair, easier re grooming, doesn't really enjoy cold weather. Wheaten loves the cold, but I wouldn't recommend one for a really hot zone...like deep South, SW except higher elevations, or HI. Wheatens are fast and love to run. Ridgebacks take down deer. The Whippet runs for hours, and slithers under the fences, will wander if she can. Isolates the mongoose for the Ridgeback, barks, and the Ridgeback runs in like lightning right down on his belly, grabs the thing, shakes it once and its toast. Never knows what hits it. The Whippet has only killed one herself...one that was in the garage. It was hard work for her. I think her neck isn't powerful like the Wheaten and Ridgeback neck. My sister's female Wheaten you couldn't keep home...she went in the lake to evade fences, and felt at home at any household in the neighborhood. Everyone welcomed her, so it was a big problem. Ridgebacks are very protective, and while gentle and wonderful pets, but I am sure would make just about the best dog you could have for a combination of pet, working dog and protector. I am sure they would quickly take care of anyone who truely went after their owners. Wheaten a marvelous pet and working dog, not so much protector re people. Loves all people. My male Wheaten flies through the woods, but is never gone more than ten minutes. From my experience I would expect a mistreated Wheaten or Ridgeback to be potentially a dangerous dog, not so a Whippet. Dangerous in that it would defend itself, would bite in self defense. Both the Wheaten and Ridgebacks we have instinctively react aggressively to threats, while the Whippet is more submissive. They all make wonderful pets. All three dogs are really good about barking to alert you about any wild animals or strange presences. Stop when the bark is acknowledged. And: the only thing I've seen my Wheaten run AWAY from as fast as he could was a Black Bear. He also saved my woods from burning by spotting a fire from in the house and barking incessantly until I saw the fire and reacted. There alone he paid for himself many times over. Sorry..long response.


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## Danno77 (Jan 15, 2013)

You just said a lot. You lost me at Whippets. I don't know what drugs have to do with this.


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## Mitch Newton (Jan 15, 2013)

Here's my mouse killer and other things.


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## clemsonfor (Jan 15, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> She's a tough one to crack, but this is what I am hoping for.
> 
> We keep the house at 63 at night and the one zone where the living room is, we keep at 68 when we are home. I am hoping mid-70s is to her liking.
> 
> Oh... plus she's getting the dining room she wants.


 Yea 70 is easy even with a window open in a stove room!

You really do good when they start taking their shirts off!


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## Thistle (Jan 15, 2013)

Wood Duck said:


> There are wild mice like Deer Mice, White Footed Mice, and voles of many kinds, and then there are House Mice. The wild, native mice have hairy tails, while the House Mouse has little or no hair on the tail. i think the one in your picture has hair on the tail (note the hairy tip of the tail) and so it is a wild mouse. The wild mice don't generally get into homes or stay there when they do get in. Sometimes they will live under a cabin or shed, but they usually stay outdoors. I think wild mice are the mice that sometimes nest in my wood stacks. The House Mouse is the pest that lives full time indoors and also in barns, basements, etc. They usually don't live outdoors in the US (they do live outdoors in their native Europe). Point is that you don't have to worry about wild mice - that is unless you are the kind of person who worries about chipmunks and rabbits in the yard.
> 
> I live on a couple of acres of fields and woods, lots of chicken feed and birdseed around, and in general a perfect place for mice. We do get a few mouse nests in the woodpile, but these are wild mice (I can't tell Deer Mouse from White footed Mouse so I don't know which species we have, or maybe both) However, I don't think the wood piles attract mice or increase the muber of mice, just provide a place to nest for the mice that are here anyway.
> 
> ...


 

Great points all around.I see either White Footed Mice  and/or Deer Mice outside occasionally here & at parents property in the woods & around the stacks.I let them be,the outside is their home same for chipmunks,squirrels,raccoons,deer,opossums & everything else.

But when they come in the house or garage,like the gray House Mouse,my opinion changes.I keep 3-4 traps in the garage/shop most of the year,especially starting in the Fall.


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## StihlHead (Jan 15, 2013)

Tuneighty said:


> I have often wondered if cats could be "bred" specific for mousing? They can do it with dogs? Our part siamese is a great mouser as well!


 
Breeding cats to hunt has already been done. Some say they need to be trained, but this cat did not. I trained him young not to hunt birds (I let them go and did not reward him). I do not reward him hunting bats, bunnies or birds. He figured out how to hunt voles himself. He bags voles, moles, shrews, and mice and tortures them by batting them around before he eats them. He brings some of them to me and I praise him and throw them out on the patio and play with them and him for a while, and he usually will eat them after that. Voles are a real problem here, as are moles. I keep him well fed, it is a myth to starve a cat to get them to hunt more.


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## jdp1152 (Jan 15, 2013)

You folks with mole problems should look into grub control products.  Not a huge fan of poisons, so I use milkyspore.  Takes a few years to effectively control your grub population, but it certainly works wonders and you won't have to reapply.  Get rid of grubs, you're looking at a healthier lawn and a lot fewer beetles eating your plants/trees as well.


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## Elle (Jan 15, 2013)

I would welcome mice if they eat the bugs!


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## jeffesonm (Jan 15, 2013)

My cat does a pretty good job of slaughtering all mice within close proximity of the house/wood pile.


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## northwinds (Jan 15, 2013)

jeffesonm said:


> My cat does a pretty good job of slaughtering all mice within close proximity of the house/wood pile.


 
My woodpiles are 40 yards from the house, but my house is on the edge of about 100 acres of managed forest (not mine).  There are many mice living around us.
I second the advice not to use poison in the house.  We learned the hard way about a week after moving in.  A mouse died  behind the wall of my wife's walk-in
closet, and it stunk to high heaven, as they say.  I wanted to rip a hole in the wall to remove it, but my farmer friends advised against it, and the smell eventually
did go away when the dead mouse dried up. 

I highly recommend these traps.

http://www.intruderinc.com/products.asp?TopCat=Rodent&CategoryName=The Better Mousetrap

I use a little peanut butter as bait.  When the weather turns cold, I catch a mouse every day or so, and then sporadically after that.  They seem to limit themselves to the unfinished part of the basement (where the terrier and retriever aren't roaming).  The nice thing about these traps is that even my wife can empty them out without
touching the dead mouse.  And they're simple to reset and put back in place.  I don't even re-bait.  Just the smell of a little bit of peanut butter seems to be enough.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 16, 2013)

Mitch Newton said:


> Here's my mouse killer and other things.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Well no doubt . . . do lasers shoot out of his eyes?


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## BEConklin (Jan 16, 2013)

Rather than poison - make a bucket mouse trap...they're easy, cheap, very effective and they just keep killing them without any need to reset the trap. If the trap is located in an unheated space, put windshield antifreeze in it instead of water.
The can is mounted on an armature of some sort,,,I use a piece of wire coat hanger...whatever - but it must spin easily on the armature which is fitted in two holes drilled at the same height at 6 and 12 o'clock on the bucket. The mice walk up the board which is smeared with a thin streak of peanut butter, they then reach or climb over to can with the peanut butter globbed on it. The can spins and the mouse is dumped into the water. They can't climb out so they drown. This is not my picture - but you can see it's killed quite a few mice without any need to do anything. Just dump the mice out or dip them out with an aquarium net.


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## weatherguy (Jan 16, 2013)

> Did you know Ridgebacks can and do talk?


What do you mean by this, mine never shuts up but she barks, I guess its a dogs way of talking, never had a dog bark so much for every little thing.
My sisters Wheaten catches mice and chipmunks and eats them. Loves playing around her wood pile.


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## rideau (Jan 16, 2013)

weatherguy said:


> What do you mean by this, mine never shuts up but she barks, I guess its a dogs way of talking, never had a dog bark so much for every little thing.
> My sisters Wheaten catches mice and chipmunks and eats them. Loves playing around her wood pile.


 
Ridgebacks really and truely can talk.  My Mother's calls her "MA", says "No" clearly.  There is a owner I saw on Ellen DeGeneris (the one day I say the show), who was apparently there for a repeat visit, and goes when she teaches her dog a new phrase.  The day's phrase was "I don't want to do it" and it was clear as a bell....

Try teaching your dog a fw simply, appropriate words.  You may be surprised.

My Wheaten talks with his eyes and a good stare, also his paw.  And he licks his nose while staring when he wants a treat or some of what I am eating.  He really gets everyone laughing.  He gets more and more anxious...as the food he has his eye on dwindles...


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## jdp1152 (Jan 17, 2013)

BEConklin said:


> Rather than poison - make a bucket mouse trap...they're easy, cheap, very effective and they just keep killing them without any need to reset the trap. If the trap is located in an unheated space, put windshield antifreeze in it instead of water.
> The can is mounted on an armature of some sort,,,I use a piece of wire coat hanger...whatever - but it must spin easily on the armature which is fitted in two holes drilled at the same height at 6 and 12 o'clock on the bucket. The mice walk up the board which is smeared with a thin streak of peanut butter, they then reach or climb over to can with the peanut butter globbed on it. The can spins and the mouse is dumped into the water. They can't climb out so they drown. This is not my picture - but you can see it's killed quite a few mice without any need to do anything. Just dump the mice out or dip them out with an aquarium net.


 
I've done a simplified version of this for chipmunks.  Instead of the rotating coke can, you just layer sunflower seeds on top of the water so it looks solid.   This was for a basement infestation.  Only takes killing one munk to alert the others to the danger.  Mice...well they're pretty much blind and dumb.


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## jackatc1 (Jan 17, 2013)

I use two small cans taped together on a coat hanger,
with the bucket and wood ramps.


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## weatherguy (Jan 17, 2013)

jdp1152 said:


> I've done a simplified version of this for chipmunks. Instead of the rotating coke can, you just layer sunflower seeds on top of the water so it looks solid. This was for a basement infestation. Only takes killing one munk to alert the others to the danger. Mice...well they're pretty much blind and dumb.


 
And they constantly dribble pee as they run.


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## jdp1152 (Jan 17, 2013)

weatherguy said:


> And they constantly dribble pee as they run.


 
Well...yes.  Incontinence is actually how they mark/find their way around because they're pretty much blind.  I've stated the status of the home we bought pre move in.  Well, around all of the baseboards was moldy mouse piss.  I could literally see their movement patterns around the house.  I spent days in there disinfecting before I'd let my daughter and wife move in.  I'm quite thankful that the heavy bait stations in Dec of last year followed by exclusion methods outside has eliminated the problem thus far.  I'm alright with a live and let live approach until they show up uninvited in my house.  Best and worst thing I ever did was completely gut the basement.  The things I saw behind the wood paneling and in the insulation would make you want to rip your entire house apart and reinsulate with rodent proof cementous foam instead of these foams and fiberglass that makes such great nesting material.  I'd like to have those three weeks back and just pay someone to pull all that stuff out and get covered in 30 years of mouse crap.  I like doing home improvement myself, but that disgusting experience just pushed the envelope a bit too far.


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## mywaynow (Jan 17, 2013)

Mice will always live in wood piles.  Just don't tell her that the snakes will soon follow to feed on the mice!


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## BEConklin (Jan 17, 2013)

jdp1152 said:


> .... The things I saw behind the wood paneling and in the insulation would make you want to rip your entire house apart and reinsulate with rodent proof cementous foam instead of these foams and fiberglass that makes such great nesting material. I'd like to have those three weeks back and just pay someone to pull all that stuff out and get covered in 30 years of mouse crap. I like doing home improvement myself, but that disgusting experience just pushed the envelope a bit too far.


 
I did some interior work in an upstairs room on a house back in the 90s. The ceiling was made from something like drop ceiling tiles - but which was installed in sheets. When I pulled it down to replace it with sheetrock, it was covered with mouse droppings and old nests - like to make me gag...good thing I was wearing a dust mask. The owner of the house told me they'd been living there going on 40 years and had never seen a mouse.


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## perry (Jan 17, 2013)

I have a jack russel and st.bernard that roam the yard hunting mice. my ST.bernard is very good at telling me where the mice are. the mice love getting into my old garden tractors. have to inspect all the time before starting them up


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## bag of hammers (Jan 17, 2013)

Bucket trap is a bush camp favorite with most of the folks I know.  

I recall pulling the air breather lid off my old GM one day (idling rough) to find a mouse nest backed over 3/4 of the way around the tray, outside the filter.  Just enough room left for them to come and go.  

Had to tear the ceiling apart once to get rid of them.  Coming in through the ridge vent.

Lots of nests in the wvood stacks, I don't freak out too much, but I got the traps in the house.  I seal up everything tight as I can, use h/w cloth, etc.  so far so good.


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## Hearth Mistress (Jan 17, 2013)

Bster13 said:


> Well with the amount of rat poison I put out I am hoping there isn't much left to eat for wild animals.  I guess I'll monitor the green granules and replenish when need be.
> 
> Kicker is, the dog runs around in the fenced off back yard.... can't have him downing any of the poison so I'll have to be careful where I put the stuff.



Or if he eats a dead mouse, that could be fatal too. If you have a dog in the same yard, I wouldn't be using poison, that is an accident waiting to happen.


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## Hearth Mistress (Jan 17, 2013)

osagebow said:


> We don't have a MOUSE problem....and i'm 30-1 with these guys. Hand pic taken after 3 days of swelling went down. Yard was landscaped with railroad ties in 1970.as they rotted, it turned into a den site!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 If I saw that, I'd be on the phone to get oil delivered! Holy Crap!


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## BEConklin (Jan 18, 2013)

bag of hammers said:


> I recall pulling the air breather lid off my old GM one day (idling rough) to find a mouse nest backed over 3/4 of the way around the tray, outside the filter. Just enough room left for them to come and go.
> 
> .


 
I worked in a Honda service dept for a few years. One winter day a lady came in saying she smelled something cooking when she drove her car - a 1985 Honda Accord. We brought it in and checked her air filter assembly - found it completely filled with Eukanuba dry dog food. I went back out to the waiting area and said, "let me guess, you feed your dog Eukanuba - right?" She said, "Yes - but what has that got to do with my car?" and I handed her a bag full of the dog kibble that was taken from her air filter assembly - probably upwards of 2 pounds of it. 

They are amazing little critters. I watched one once, in the dead of winter, climb right up the smooth painted arm of a backhoe, probably a 65° incline or steeper - yet he ran right up it.


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## bag of hammers (Jan 21, 2013)

BEConklin said:


> I worked in a Honda service dept for a few years. One winter day a lady came in saying she smelled something cooking when she drove her car - a 1985 Honda Accord. We brought it in and checked her air filter assembly - found it completely filled with Eukanuba dry dog food. I went back out to the waiting area and said, "let me guess, you feed your dog Eukanuba - right?" She said, "Yes - but what has that got to do with my car?" and I handed her a bag full of the dog kibble that was taken from her air filter assembly - probably upwards of 2 pounds of it.
> 
> They are amazing little critters. I watched one once, in the dead of winter, climb right up the smooth painted arm of a backhoe, probably a 65° incline or steeper - yet he ran right up it.


 
Great story.  When they got into the rafters in my ceiling, I found a pile of popcorn kernels in one rafter bay.  I wet nuts trying to figure out where this stuff came from  (no popcorn at my camp).  Turns out the neighbors were the source (I suspect they were feeding the squirrels, and ultimately the mice too).


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## BEConklin (Jan 21, 2013)

bag of hammers said:


> Great story. When they got into the rafters in my ceiling, I found a pile of popcorn kernels in one rafter bay. I wet nuts trying to figure out where this stuff came from (no popcorn at my camp). Turns out the neighbors were the source (I suspect they were feeding the squirrels, and ultimately the mice too).


 
For sure - we used to have lots of mice in our detached garage - until I stopped feeding the birds in winter. One thing we still have though is the freaking moths that hatched out of a bag of black oil sunflower seeds in our basement...
No more bird feeders for us!


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## rideau (Jan 21, 2013)

BEConklin said:


> For sure - we used to have lots of mice in our detached garage - until I stopped feeding the birds in winter. One thing we still have though is the freaking moths that hatched out of a bag of black oil sunflower seeds in our basement...
> No more bird feeders for us!


 Better to plant the appropriate food plants for the birds...


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