Ah, Mice!

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem - (Don't laugh)--I need some way to allow the little guys to get out of the garage if they get in, but which will be a one-way traffic route. We open the door and they dash in, and things will get stinky if they can't get out. They already chewed a hole through one side of the weatherstripping, I'm thinking of putting something there. Options include a few pieces of springy piano wire that they can push up for egress but can't be lifted from the other side, or maybe a similar setup inside a piece of 2" PVC pipe. Or, maybe I'll just build a little turnstyle and hope they'll not jump it. "What do ya do all day" indeed.

Here was our one way door solution for squirrels:

One-way door

Block any or all holes except for one, preferably the main one, if you can tell which one that is.
Attach a piece of hardware cloth over this last hole but leave a 2 inch gap at the bottom of the hole, at its widest point.
Be sure to use the factory edge of the hardware cloth, where the gap is, to avoid any sharp points that may cause injury to the squirrel.
With your fingers, form a lip with the hardware cloth by bending it towards the outside.
The squirrel will be able to squeeze out of the hole, but with the hardware cloth bent to the outside, he will not be able to re-enter.
Spray all patched areas with a repellant such as Ropel®. Be sure to spray around the one-way door so that the squirrel will not be able to enlarge the hole and get back in.


Maybe do the same for the chipmunks, but make the escape hole a bit smaller.

[Free To Canoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem "What do ya do all day" indeed.

I can see that one way pvc "dog door" now. Sounds like you need an owl in there.

Free to canoe

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha Here was our one way door solution for squirrels: . . . Maybe do the same for the chipmunks, but make the escape hole a bit smaller.

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I'll look for Ropell at HD, Lowes and Menards.

The little guys are not much of a problem now, but two will become 16 in no time.

[Nords]

What about the little flapper valves over the dryer exhaust vent? Maybe that's too easy to chew through for re-entry.

Here's a thought-- could you make the garage a chipmunk-neutral zone? Give them an entry/egress hole or two so they can come & go, but have no reason to stay there? Locking up the food might remove the attractive nuisance, but I don't know if they'd just keep using it for shelter or a chipmunk toilet.

[packrat44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed_The_Gypsy The world's best mouse trap--no poisons, but lethal. * 5 gallon paint bucket. I used a plastic paint bucket. * Drill holes in the center of the lid and bottom of a small can. * Put a small but sturdy rod through the holes so the can spins on its axis. I had to make washers out of pennies fixed to the rod with tape to keep the can from sliding to one side or the other. * Mount the rod across the top of the bucket. I stuck it through the bail holes and taped it down so it couldn't move. * Put 6 inches of water in the bucket. * Smear peanut butter on the can. * Place bucket where mice will find it. * Lay a yardstick from the floor to the top edge of the bucket. Mice are crazy about peanut butter. They smell it, run up to the rim of the bucket, walk out on the rod to the can, jump on the can, which rolls over, dumping them in the water where they eventually drown. It doesn't matter how many mice are floating in the water, they just keep coming. WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE ALL DEAD, then throw them out. (I pitched them into the woods before they stopped moving and my farm girl wife laughed at me, said they will come right back. They did. Had to do it all over again, this time with no mercy.) A colleague of mine got this design from an old farmer. My friend had mice in a shed and had tried many other things first without much success. This worked 100% for him, and for me. (This was the most useful thing I learned at that company, where I worked for over ten years. ) It does not work on rats (I tried it). Ed

I use a variation of this system.

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with about 4-5 inches of water with a little detergent to make it slippery inside.
Place a narrow board on top of bucket (without lid);
Take an old toilet paper tube and flatten tube slightly to make it into a "D" shape.
Place some peanut butter at one end of tube and place on board with bait end extending off the board in such a manner that it will readily fall into the water when a mouse crawls through the tube heading for the bait.
Place another narrow board as a runway up to the board on the bucket as a runway. Smear very small amount of peanut butter at several location to help lead the way without giving it the finally treat.

This trap has worked great for me and there is no mess (unless you leave the dead mouse for too long).

[easysurfer]

My own two cents...I wouldn't use poison and have a cat/dog at the same time. When I was a child, our family dog died by ingesting posion, very sad.

I'd say, let the cat earn his/her keep and have fun hunting. Don't know if it's true or just an old wives tale, but I've heard that once mice know there's a cat on the prowl...they tend to flee an go somewhere else.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 I use standard metal garbage cans with tight fitting lids to hold dog food and birdseed. I use these ONLY for this purposes. I do not want to meet the mouse, squirrel or chipmunk that can get that lid off.

Raccoons might be able to manage it.

By the way, in Alberta they have special outside garbage cans that are bear-proof. They are off-plumb, tall, square cross-section with a flush lid with a latch under a small hood and secured very well to a foundation. It took me years to figure out what they were. There are about ten black bear sightings in the city of Calgary every year. A woman jogger was killed a couple of years ago in a city park by one. The jogger was wearing an ipod.

Sorry. Got to thinking about big mice.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha For a second I thought Azanon was back. My absent cousin is effectively using Ed's Spinning Can in the Bucket method. He includes a little ramp to the top of the drywall bucket. I go to his house and bail out the dead mice. I prefer the snap trap, it is a faster death than death by drowning.

It is nice to know I have made one positive impact on the world. (This may be the only one I get.)

[Free To Canoe]

Set up Ed's Spinning Can trap today and put it in the garage.

Free to canoe

[Free To Canoe]

Mouse Update:

No dice so far with Eds Spinning Can Bucket in the garage. I was sure that there are mice out there. Maybe they all moved into the house where it is warmer.

4 killed in the house so far. Peanut butter is a big hit.

Free to canoe

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird5825 My field mouse corpse count is up to 6 as of this AM. I use spring traps only and PB. Little buggers are looking for their winter condo location. NOT!

Number 9...number 9...number 9...

Still ahead of the game.

[Nodak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin Is there any risk that the cats might eat a poisoned mouse, thereby ingesting poison contained within the mouse? I have fears of using pesticide to kills bugs around/in my house. What if my cats eat the poison-laden bugs?

Many years ago I lost a cat to a poisoned mouse. The poison had been put out by a neighbor

[Free To Canoe]

Mouse update:
No mice evidence in the house.
It is below freezing outside and soon it will be in the garage.
Since Ed's Spinning can trap will freeze up I had better take it down.

But wait...the Spinning can trap worked! Mice did not seem to fall for all of the other types of traps in there.

Free to canoe

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Free To Canoe It is below freezing outside and soon it will be in the garage. Since Ed's Spinning can trap will freeze up I had better take it down. But wait...the Spinning can trap worked! Mice did not seem to fall for all of the other types of traps in there.

I think it's reasonable to experiment with a cold-weather version of Ed's original design.

Add about 30% vodka to the water to lower its freezing point a little. (Better taste it first to make sure its alcohol content is close to the bottle's proof label.) Keep an eye on the situation and be ready to add more vodka as necessary, continuing to taste-test a sample in case it's gone bad...

[Free To Canoe]

And a very humane way for the mice to pass on, too.

FTC

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords I think it's reasonable to experiment with a cold-weather version of Ed's original design. Add about 30% vodka to the water to lower its freezing point a little. (Better taste it first to make sure its alcohol content is close to the bottle's proof label.) Keep an eye on the situation and be ready to add more vodka as necessary, continuing to taste-test a sample in case it's gone bad...

It's all well and good until the little pikers are found to be making a mouse chain down the side of the bucket so they and their buddies can have their little mouse parties. Next thing you know they'll be asking for olives and tiny onions . . .

[Free To Canoe]

They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaak!

This is the 4th one caught in my spring trap. Boy I wish I could find out how they are getting in.