Mice this year & what do you use?

Orion · 03-30-2007, 09:34 PM

If the holes around the pipes and other gaps are not too big (normal, not like codeman's), use steel wool (stainless steel preferably). The rodents won't touch it and it's easy to stuff in the gaps with a screwdriver and make the house impervious. (Knock on wood), but we've been there since 2001 and did it when we first moved in and have never seen any signs of intrusion when opening. I hate the smell of mothballs so we only rely on this with great success.

CanisLupusArctos · 04-25-2007, 10:18 AM

Until our cat died last year, we never realized how many mice he'd been keeping away. We never had a problem with them, as long as he was around. When he smelled mice in the basement he'd sleep down there. He was a big male cat who was gentle around people but he loved to hunt. Whenever we turned on the Discovery Channel to a program about lions he'd be fixated on it for several minutes, and then he'd want to go outside.

To ensure that a kitten becomes a good mouser I think you have to play with it regularly.

When I was in the UNH Outing Club, the cabins managers used the "bucket o' death". It's a trash barrel, with a ramp leading up to the top. There's food inside. The mice crawl up, jump in, and can't get back out.

If you feel like letting them live you can put enough food for them to survive until you have a chance to check the bucket, and then transport the mice to another location for release.

If you want them to die quickly, use only enough food to attract them, and keep the bucket in a chilly (or cold) location. Mice lose heat quickly because they're very small. Hypothermia is usually a humane death because once the brain starts to cool, it's like being drunk (for people as well as mice.) In Wilderness EMT class they taught us to expect hypothermia victims to be dilusional, often to the point of thinking they're not in trouble at all.

offmycloud · 04-25-2007, 01:06 PM

I use the poison cubes and glue trays with peanut butter. I place a bunch of both on the floor along the walls of my basement and I am mouse-free in no time. I put some in the attic as well. Mice are easy to get rid of - don't hire an exterminator. Dogs will eat those cubes so keep them away.

03-30-2007, 09:34 PM	#1
Orion Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: MA Posts: 914 Thanks: 602 Thanked 193 Times in 91 Posts	steel wool If the holes around the pipes and other gaps are not too big (normal, not like codeman's), use steel wool (stainless steel preferably). The rodents won't touch it and it's easy to stuff in the gaps with a screwdriver and make the house impervious. (Knock on wood), but we've been there since 2001 and did it when we first moved in and have never seen any signs of intrusion when opening. I hate the smell of mothballs so we only rely on this with great success.

04-25-2007, 10:18 AM	#2
CanisLupusArctos Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,049 Thanks: 15 Thanked 472 Times in 107 Posts	Cats and buckets Until our cat died last year, we never realized how many mice he'd been keeping away. We never had a problem with them, as long as he was around. When he smelled mice in the basement he'd sleep down there. He was a big male cat who was gentle around people but he loved to hunt. Whenever we turned on the Discovery Channel to a program about lions he'd be fixated on it for several minutes, and then he'd want to go outside. To ensure that a kitten becomes a good mouser I think you have to play with it regularly. When I was in the UNH Outing Club, the cabins managers used the "bucket o' death". It's a trash barrel, with a ramp leading up to the top. There's food inside. The mice crawl up, jump in, and can't get back out. If you feel like letting them live you can put enough food for them to survive until you have a chance to check the bucket, and then transport the mice to another location for release. If you want them to die quickly, use only enough food to attract them, and keep the bucket in a chilly (or cold) location. Mice lose heat quickly because they're very small. Hypothermia is usually a humane death because once the brain starts to cool, it's like being drunk (for people as well as mice.) In Wilderness EMT class they taught us to expect hypothermia victims to be dilusional, often to the point of thinking they're not in trouble at all.

04-25-2007, 01:06 PM	#3
offmycloud Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chicago IL and Moultonborough Posts: 165 Thanks: 3 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	I use the poison cubes and glue trays with peanut butter. I place a bunch of both on the floor along the walls of my basement and I am mouse-free in no time. I put some in the attic as well. Mice are easy to get rid of - don't hire an exterminator. Dogs will eat those cubes so keep them away.