Mice Problem

[doveman]

Anyone out there have mice problems heavier than normal during the cold months? Give me some ideas to rid them darn critters. I use traps, poisons and other inhumane methods. But them darn boogers keep coming back. Help me out with some tips! PLEASE!...Thanks. ~ Don A.

[TheSnipes]

Hi Don.

have you tried those bait traps?

I am of the opinion that nothing can completely deter or get rid of mice. Probably the best thing to do is not keep food in the loft. I feed twice a day but never leave food out there over night.

I haven't ever seen mice in the loft but I just assume they can and do get in there if they want to. If I ever did see them, I would have to resort to the same kinds of inhumane methods you use (barring the poison) to try and keep them away from my birds but I fear it would be a losing battle

I am faced with the same situation in the house, because they show up in here too. I admit that I've used traps in here, it's intolerable and dangerous to have them around due to the health risks and damage they can cause. It's a shame they are so undesirable that way because the little buggers sure are cute. I spied a couple young wee ones sharing the end of a dog biscuit under the fridge once and it was the cutest darn thing I ever saw.

[KIPPY]

We had a mouse problem awhile back when they were building condos. They must have dug something up, people were running them over in their driveways.

I got the no kill traps, I can't remember what the were called but they had the shape of a house and they were see trough green. They worked great, then I would take them to the park and let them go. The park was over by Cindy and Shi.

There was one running around a couple of years but I think a cat got him, because I found a dead mouse in the ferals water dish. So the cat either got him and dropped him in the dish, or he jumped in and couldn't get out and drowned or maybe the pijes ganged up on him. He was dead that's all I know.

Sorry for the rambling but the green things do work good. I perfer the no kill stuff.

[MaryOfExeter]

We had some problems a few weeks ago, except they weren't mice. We had rats instead, which is worse. Not only do they eat the feed that is left out and spread any diseases to the feed that they may be carrying, but they also killed all the babies in the nests.

We put this mouse cage trap looking thing in the loft with some peanut butter inside. We also plugged up any holes near the floor of the loft or anywhere else they may have been getting in from. Something else you need to do is make sure you don't leave any food out for them to get attracted to.
We built some of our nest boxes outside the loft like a book case almost, and moved them inside. Because of the way they were built, it left a small space between the bottom of the last row of nest boxes and the floor of the loft. We figured it could be a good place for the rats, mice, and whatever else to hide under, so we slid some of those yellow super sticky boards under there. I don't think the mice would be very happy if they got stuck to one of those!
Sounds mean but...we had to do what we had to do to protect my little pigeon family

Most would say just get a cat....but I know from personal experience that cats are not the best thing when you have pigeons, no matter how good of a little kitty you think you have. Even little angels get playful sometimes and could accidentally hurt one of your pigeons. I found my cat in my roller cage once eating one of my birds and had killed another. It must have been desperate (even though I had already fed him) because the only way to get in there was by climbing up the tree, jumping on top of the 'flight cage', and going through the trap door! Needless to say, I found that cat another home the next day.

Good luck with your little pest problem though. They're always a pain.

[doveman]

Yes, all mentioned sounds very familiar. Except! ..Thank goodness I never seen a rat. That will be a different story. I was told to use those sticky traps as they are very reasonable. I think a dollar something. Anyway's I shall try that. I also heard of radiator fluid in a bowl? I heard it's sweet and them critters like that. I dunno!....That's what I hear. Thanks everyone for you post.

[pdpbison]

Hi Doveman,


Ideally, one has to eliminate the availability of the foods the Mice eat, then, the Mice will tend to leave...and of course, if one has Birds, this is hard to do.


Next best thing, so long as the Birds can be safe, is to have a able or ex-feral Cat, female is best as for being friendly once grown...and, that will work very well...


I see virtally no Mice anymore in my Workshop, since some Cats had elected to claim it astheir hunting territory...


The high-roosting Pigeons in there know very well that 'Land Sharks'are below...but I have to be very careful to mae sure the Cat(s) do not get into my Living quarters where the Birds would be vulnerable.


Good luck..!


Phil
l v

[Feefo]

I believe that if we don't use humane methods ourselves when controlling "vermin" then we can't expect to convince others to act humanely towards pigeons.

I endeavour to trap the mice (and the rats) and take them to the woods with some sort of cover and a supply of food.

Recently Karen suggested using an empty tall kitchen bin that they could get into but would not be able to get out of. The mice could be transferred from the bin into a small animal holder or can be transported to the wood in the bin.

I put food and water in an empty bin. It worked wonderfully and I caught 4 mice in my attic immediately, but unfortunately only one was active, the other three looked dead. I found out that one large one was definitely dead but the two little ones were alive, if only barely. I had to warm them up and give them a drop of critical care formula and then put them in a holding box ready for transport to the woods.

I have had other disasters with mice trapped in humane traps, they go into shock very quickly when trapped. I realised that it is exposure that causes them stress and that putting straw or torn up kichen towels in whatever is used as a trap, as well as food and water, gives them somewhere to shelter and shields them from stress and the resultant death from shock.

Rats are slightly more difficult, although I have used the bin method successfully to trap youngsters. I used a sharps bin to remeve them from the tall bin and also used that to transport them to the wood, but I would be scared of doing the same ting with an adult, so I have to settle for humane traps.

Cynthia

[TheSnipes]

I just wanted to reiterate my anti-poison stance. It is just too easy for other wildlife, birds, dogs, cats, YOUR OWN PIGEONS to eat or drink poison that you put out intending to get the rodents. Radiator fluid is poisonous and ingestion can be fatal. You can't control who ingests it so I would advise you strongly against use of any poison to dispose of pests. I don't like the glue traps either because it's a slow death and unnecessarily cruel. If you have to kill 'em, at least make it quick.

I have never had any luck with the humane traps. The stories on here of people's success with them are the first I've ever heard. I might go ahead and try them again, I guess, since it's that time of year...

I especially like the DIY container trap and might try that in my attic. How did you rig it so the mice could get into it in the first place? I can't see them climbing up the outside either...

[Charis]

I use the live trap that holds up to 20 mice at a time ...of course I don't leave 20 at a time in there. I bait the trap with peanut butter and bit of jam.

Sping,summer and into the fall months I take the mice to a nature area and release them. I never release 1 at a time and sometime need to wait for several days so I can release with a buddy. Obviously peanut butter and jam won't do for more than several hours so I am careful to put other food inside the trap. Getting it in there can be tricky with out letting the mouse or mice escape. In addition, I put a piece of towel in the trap. The trap is metal and can become very cold and the trapped mice will die from the cold.
During the winter when it's very cold, i will hold them over. I have a 10 gal aquarium that is set up just for that purpose. I'm always happy when spring arrives.
Some people will say they're just mice... some people say they're just starlings ... some people say they're just pigeons...and so it goes on and awful things are done to creatures that value their own life but have collided with ours and we want a quick fix.
I have some great mouse stories.

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by Charis

I have some great mouse stories.

We're ALL EARS!!!............

[Charis]

Originally Posted by Lovebirds

We're ALL EARS!!!............

Where to start?!
Ok...there was the time I let a bunch of mice go in the spring and got back to my car only to realize I had a mouse riding on my shoulder....and then there was the time Matilda the chicken, a very heavy bird, smashed a moma mouse that happened to be underneath her basket. I heard whimpering, found the nest and for the next week had to hand feed 8 baby mice about every 2 hours. Do you have any idea how small those little mouths are? Talk about being sleep deprived... and then there was the pinky I found stone cold on the garage floor, warmed her up and hand raise her. She had a perfect white star on her forehead. Can you guess her name? One day she got away from me and ran down the kitchen sink drain. There were some tense moments before my husband managed to retrieve her. He had to take the pipes apart. We had that mouse a long time.
Truely, the stories go on and on...

[doveman]

Hi Everyone!.I appreciate the advice on them little critters. I really hate to eliminate any live creature as well if I can. I believe the large bin method sounds like a winner. This way I can take them to the woods and let the loose. I have over 300+ birds and really do not think I could ever rid them from my barn.. Unless I get rid of all my birds. But that will never happen in my lifetime. Anyway's I will try and find a bin and get back with some results. Thanks everyone!

[maryjane]

That's a shame that the mice are being bothersome. I have always had success with live traps and recommend them over any poisons, etc. (that was several years ago in my dad's pantry, and I haven't had any mouse problems yet since). Please do not put out any radiator fluid or coolant, as many animals are attracted to the sweet smell and you could end up with dead cats and such as well.

Charis, you have a heart of gold. I, too, have raised two litters of baby mice from pinkies. They were pet mice (one of my rats got into their tank years and years ago and killed the mom, first and last time that happened!). The other litter was from a pet store I did rescue with and their mom died, too. It is VERY HARD to hand raise baby mice, they're sooooo tiny!! And have to eat a lot! I have always loved having a tank of pet mice, kind of like goldfish, they are fun and relaxing to watch.

Wild mice are cute too, but understandably dangerous to have around your pigeons especially. I hope you are able to trap and remove them easily.

[Margarret]

This is hearsay, but will post it as the person who told me is a long time bird person. He said that he got a bunch of chickens who were allowed to roam and forage around the outside of the lofts. After a while he noticed that the mouse problem he had previously was no more. I don't know if the chickens chased the mice off, ate them or what. The chickens were not acquired for mouse control, it was just a side effect, but apparently the mice no longer got into the lofts and aviaries with them around. He was quite happy about this unexpected benefit.

Margaret.

[flitsnowzoom]

Love the mousie stories Charis with a mouse on the shoulder -- what a great image!!

I remember on a paleo dig we had a momma mouse hatch her babies in one of our bags of dirt we were screening. Unfortunately we couldn't save the little newborns as the temps were over 100 degrees F in the shade and no one had any way to get food or water into the babies. We put that tow sack to the side as we found it, shielded the babies as best we could from the sun, and hoped mom would return. We worked as far away from the area as possible but mom never returned. Within just a couple of hours, all the little babies perished.



Please don't use the sticky trap stuff. I can't imagine a worse fate than being trapped in that sort of a situation. A quick death is better by far. THose sticky traps are like leg-hold traps that are used to trap larger animals. They are panicked beyond belief, scared, and hurt. Totally exposed to all the natural elements. If left alone, they will die of thirst or exposure. They attempt to get free whether they break their legs, chew it off -- whatever. Plus an animal so trapped is vunerable to predators. If you choose a lethal method, make sure it's legal, fast, and as environmentally sound as possible.