Mice -- A Tutorial

[RickS]

Thanks Dave, I livein an older (1973) mobile home and I have seen mice a time or two. What do you think about those ultra-sonic transmitters that you plug into an putlet? By the way I have trapped the ones that I have seen by use of peanut butter, I enjoy the cheese to much.

[FedoraDave]

Thanks Dave, I livein an older (1973) mobile home and I have seen mice a time or two. What do you think about those ultra-sonic transmitters that you plug into an putlet? By the way I have trapped the ones that I have seen by use of peanut butter, I enjoy the cheese to much.

I think the jury's still out on the ultra-sonic things. I haven't really heard much one way or the other, besides anecdotal stories. Here's how I look at it, though:

Unless these devices actually cause physical pain, they're just producing what amounts to white noise. It may startle or annoy them initially, but eventually it will become background noise, and not be noticed. Think of it this way: Have you ever gone to someone's house who has multiple cats? And as soon as you walk in the door, you're assaulted by a strong odor of cat pee? And you wonder "How can they live with this smell?" But they live with it because they've become accustomed to it. They don't smell it. And if you're in their house for a while, you might stop noticing it so much, too.

[Gymrat]

Thankyou for the info Dave. I store all of my grain in 5 gallon buckets with lids pressed down good and tight on them. I don't think mice can get into those. At least I hope not. It hasn't been a problem yet in the 3 years I have been storing them this way.

[FedoraDave]

It shouldn't be a problem, Roger. I think your storage method is right on target.

Keep in mind that mice are opportunists. Like everything in nature, they take the path of least resistance. They're not going to try to get into your home, for instance; they just find a gap somewhere, investigate it, and find themselves in a place where there's food.

If you seal up your grains the way Roger has, they're not necessarily going to chew through the bucket, especially if they can't really smell the grains. (and doubly so if there's a lovely dab of peanut butter sitting right close by...SNAP!)

This also reminds me to recommend sealable containers for a lot of your food. Mice love dry dog/cat food, bread, chocolate, nuts, and breakfast cereal. So do insects that will invade your pantry, such as ants, roaches, meal moths, and more. Buying sealable plastic containers for all your food in which grain is an ingredient can go a long way toward keeping it fresher longer, and keeping unwanted pests out.

[zorak1066]

in Baltimore we had mice..stupid mice. they would wrestle in the living room until the tv was on, then appear transfixed albeit briefly by what was on. they like to climb under the gas stove top til stupid mouse 1 backed into the pilot light. we found they enjoyed traps baited with: bird seed, bacon, peanut butter... or any combo of these. one thing we noted in Baltimore, the street had rats the size of small cats.. but as long as we had mice we never had rats.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I have to agree on the perpendicular placement of the traps along the wall too, that's what worked for me. It didn't even matter to the mice that two feet away there was a dead cousin or relative of theirs in another trap. All in all it took me two weeks, and 13 mouse corpses later, to rid the basement of them for good.

On another note I once left a few ounces of used pellet hops in a not too tightly covered garbage bag, only to come down some days later to see at least a million fruit flies swarming inside. That's when I used Dave's balsamic vinegar in a saran wrapped bowl to get them under control too, although I initially I had to resort to chemical controls to kill the most of them first. Thanks Dave for that great tip!

[FedoraDave]

I got a million of 'em. Er, a million pest control tips, not a million fruit flies.