Mice RATS and other VERMIN
While gardening this spring I noticed a larger than usual number of mice frolicking about the foundation and in the flower beds. I was not happy but, what can you do.........I live in the country. A couple weeks ago someone bought land across the road from us. It is my understanding that they are not going to build for a couple years but they have started cutting trees and excavating. That has driven a BOATLOAD of RATS across the street. Last week I saw a RAT running along the side of my foundation  On Sat there was some sort of critter, some sort of BIG CRITTER scratching and GNAWING under the shower in my Master bath, loud enough to KEEP ME AWAKE
I've been using sticky traps, box traps and have a heart traps for months now with no luck (smart critters). Today I called the exterminator who told me the only real way to get them gone is with poison 
My foundation is a crawl space with no inside access and there should be no way that the dogs could get under the house to get at the poison. But, twice in the last 10 years Tasker has gotten into rat poison and it's been scarey and expensive. The exterminator thinks the only solution is to bait the crawl space but I am TERRIFIED that the dogs will somehow get into it. I also know that you have to be careful of the dead mice and rats as they are loaded with poison. Tasker and Ty don't run free but it still worries me. I got a new batch of traps this weekend and placed them under the house, but the exterminator says that the poison is the only way to go. I don't know what to do  |
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Maybe you could get a cat.  When I grew up in the country we always had indoor/outdoor cats that would hunt and keep the mice, rat, vole population down. |
Quote: Maybe you could get a cat.
That's exactly what I was going to say - or maybe a couple of cats. My mom was having a mouse problem, so she got an outdoor cat. It has really helped her situation. I'm not sure about rats, but I would guess that cats would catch those too... |
this isnt going to help, but my suggestion is to move to the city....  |
Darcy wrote: this isnt going to help, but my suggestion is to move to the city....
Haha! But then she just trades one problem for another. Like COCKROACHES!  |
crustybirds wrote: Darcy wrote: this isnt going to help, but my suggestion is to move to the city.... Haha! But then she just trades one problem for another. Like COCKROACHES! with cockroaches, you only need a large shoe and a high pitched scream   |
| Well, I already thought of the cat idea, but I gotta tell you.................................. I'm really NOT a cat person. I know there are lots of cat lovers on this board but I just never "clicked" with cats.
I'm really not sure what is worse, mice or cockroaches |
| I too live in the country and HATE mice, rats, voles, possum....you name it we got it.....
in the 'city' there were large mice population and everyone's garage but ours had mice. My solution? One of those sonic mouse deterrents. When we moved here last year, there were mice already in the house...YUCK! and I have NO idea where they are getting in, but they ended up in the cabinet where the garbage was kept....so we put one of those sonic things in the cabinet(I had an electrical outlet installed just for that purpose...I DO NOT LIKE MICE) Then we cought a LARGE thing in the septic trap.....I dont know what it was....it was big, we used a rat trap,then I started searching for more solutions to the vermin problem....I got another sonic type thingy.... I got from ebay one super duper one, it was a bit pricey but I just can't see a mouse...I get totally freaked. It plugs in and supposedly sends a vibration thru the electrical system to keep the vermin away. So far it has worked. There hasnt been any inside the house since I got this thing. However a week ago we found mouse droppings on the back deck where we use the door to let the dogs out....so I got an outdoor one...yes I am obsessive....really I CANNOT find a mouse here...that would just DO ME IN! I actually get happy when the farmer comes to cut the hay here because he kills a whole bunch of the vermin at one time.....(yes its mean, I know, but I can't help myself) 
As much as I hate the vermin, I would never use the poison. If my dogs found a dead mouse/rat whatever, I just know one of them would eat it and....I don't want that. 
If I got a cat.....how would I ensure it stayed here? And how could I make sure it stayed near the house and killed the vermin instead of wandering somewhere else? And isnt it mean to keep a cat outside, all the time? |
| First, ick. I had lots of mice problems after a tralier park was removed from the area. It was a dumpyone. I finally used the sonic things, and they have worked. You might want to think about a dog that specialises in rats, like a Jack Russel or a Rat Terrier. They realy like to hunt vermin. Maybe just make friends with someone with one,
Good Luck |
| I always thought the :sonic" things were a scam...... You mean they REALLY work?????????????????????????????????????? |
| I remember living out in the country. You're right, all kinds of vermin. I do like cats and we once had a chipmunk problem. I know chipmunks are cute but they tend to get loud with the chipping. Well my cat took care of that. And the mice too. Do you know anyone with a cat that you could "borrow" for awhile?? |
| We have one cat, and he has done wonders. The day Todd brought him home, he caught a mouse in 5 minutes. Todd, who doesn't really like cats, LOVES this one!
He goes in and out and is a hunting machine. My BIL saw a mouse in their house, and their solution was a Jack Russell Terrier. (a couple of their daughters are allergic to cats) Sadie is just a pup, but growing! |
| I actually have a cat you can have for FREE! And he's a
great mouser. We suddenly had a couple mice when there was new construction in our block. He made real quick work of it too, and was terribly proud of himself. If you want him, he needs a new home. Trust me, you will not have any trouble keeping a cat around. This one showed up on my doorstep about 10 years ago as a tiny kitten and I have not been able to get rid of him since. (He is a house cat, and we don't let him outside, but I'm sure he would adjust.  )
My mother 'borrowed' a cat from our neighbors to take care of a science experiment gone wrong. We let the cat in the house over the weekend and when we returned, there he was all fat and sassy and satisfied looking. We never had a mouse after that. Shellie |
| Hmmmmmmmm, maybe someone should start a "rent a cat" business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| not being a cat person you could always get a rat terrier or a bobtail fiest to do the ratting. I used to take my grandfathers fiests ratting couple times a week at his ole place when i was little (ok weird i know but i was a kid.. it was my job). He had old barns and chicken coops and me and the fiests would go and clear them out. He lived way up in the hollow of a mountain so he had the vermin prob pretty bad.
just a suggestion instead of a cat get another dog .. |
| So WHAT is a bobtail fiest |
| A feist is like a big rat terrier. Our Riley is more like the old feist size than the tiny rat terriers bred today.
Riley is the one on the right - 
Riley is our 3rd rat terrier, and thanks to Tipup the cat, he doesn't have many mice to learn on. But with our last one - he was a great mouser and ratter (in the barn). It was a favorite sport for Travis and his boy cousins to go out with Kipp into the barn and go rodent hunting! |
| Maybe you could just send him to "visit" me for a bit...... |
| oo she beat me to it =P
heres an info link anyways.. http://images.google.com/images?q=mount ... s&ct=title for ones that go to ground or run in thick cover the prefered type is the bobtail kind.. there is a natural bobtail in the breed altho there is also long tail. For ratting purposes a bobtail is best imo.. but im biased =) |
| When I lived in the country we had rats and mice that wanted to live in our hay barn. The cats and two Jack Russells took care of that. |
| Isnt rat catching a sport? earthdog trials or something like that? |
Lil Walty wrote: Isnt rat catching a sport? earthdog trials or something like that?  |
| There are earthdog trials but I have never been to one. Depending on where it is held, I believe the animal being hunted is usually kept out of harms way. Don't quote me as I'm not sure to the specifics!! |
| OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've done the most AWFUL THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The guy at the hardware store talked me in to buying "stickey" traps. They looked inocent enough but I didn't "think it through"
I got three stickey traps (plastic trays filled with some super stickey stuff) and placed them outside along the edge of the foundation. According to the hardwarestoreguy mice cannot see and follow the edge of the foundation looking for a way in. Put them down last night and ALL THREE ARE LOAD WITH MICE/MOLES/and some other brown furrey creature as well as a few frogs. As many as three mice per tray
I can't believe I have singlehandedly MURDERED so many living creatures I feel JUST AWFUL.
Why couldn't they have just GONE AWAY and found another place to live???? |
| Are they dead? Or just stuck? Can you relocate them to the woods? |
| I've used sticky traps too. I still think it is better than poisoning them, and way less risky to the dogs, cats and other animals that may eat them.
It is gross though. I am grossed out by regular mouse traps even more though....... I too wish they would just live somewhere else! |
barney1 wrote: Are they dead? Or just stuck? Can you relocate them to the woods?
dead and dying . They are not relocatable I never "thought through" what happened AFTER they got stuck |
| The screaming from the glue traps lasts for a good day, unless they get stuck down at the mouth... |
Ron wrote: The screaming from the glue traps lasts for a good day, unless they get stuck down at the mouth...
I'm all too familiar with that sound. 
We had some mice come in last Spring. The only thing that worked was glue traps. We caught every single one and no problems since. 
Anything to get nasty, disease carrying, little creatures out of my house. Little dirty creatures made a hole next to the light fixture in the ceiling to get down into our Pantry. |
Ron wrote: The screaming from the glue traps lasts for a good day, unless they get stuck down at the mouth...
thank you ron |
| You definitely need a third dog. A terrier. A rat terrier. Much more effective than a cat or sticky boards or traps or poison. Just think, for every mouse or rate you see, there are hundreds you don't see. And those vermin can be really destructive, eating through walls and electrical wires and evertyhing else. Plus they are excellent at transmitting diseases. Think hantavirus.
Get a terrier. |
| No way would I use a glue trap ever again! We rented a house boat on Lake Powell and were told mice live on the boats, but glue boards were also aboard. One morning woke up to a glue board with skin, blood and hair....and a mouse. He chewed and pulled himself apart trying to get free.
Might I offer another idea.......fox or coyote urine. http://www.pestproducts.com/fox_urine.htm |
SheepieBoss wrote:
According to the web site they are unavailabe til further notice!! Maybe that means I shouldn't be in such a hurry to chase off theCoyotes!! |
| Oh dang, sorry about that! A friend is going to be very upset as her supply is getting low. She swears by it. I wouldn't even consider it. To each their own. |
| I don't like the idea of glue traps either...
I think the good old fashioned kill em fast traps are more humane. I still think a cat is the best way to go.... or a rat terrier, but I think a cat would be more efficient. |
| Mice aren't as bad as what we had. One morning I woke up to little red beady eyes looking at me. I screamed and a bat flew off of my husbands head. We called all kinds of animal control people and such. We got it trapped in the back bedroom and opened the window. We finally had to coax it to the window with the sweeping end of a broom. We have no idea how it got in but it was much worse than a mouse! |
| Sorry, I'll take BATS ANY DAY over mice!!!! I actually think bats are quite cute.......... |
Tasker's Mom wrote: Sorry, I'll take BATS ANY DAY over mice!!!! I actually think bats are quite cute..........
youre batty
sorry i couldnt resist! xo |
| Gross! I hate winged creatures too. |
| I can still see the housekeepers running up and down the staircases at the dormitory in Spain, swatting at a poor bat wanting out more than the ladies wanted it out. Murcilago or was it murcielago?? Since then I've had a soft spot for bats.......not that I want one in the house.....outside, GREAT! |
| Many years ago I went to Dollywood in Nashville, They had a glass sided bat house. You could get nose to nose with a bat. They have the cutest little faces. I lived in a house on the river when I was married, it had a slate roof, in the early evening you could sit on the back lawn and watch the bats pour out of the roof (they roosted under the slates). |
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