But Bubbie, I bet you don't have in mice now do You? Therefore the Irish Spring must work.
The mouse must die
- Thread starter mattmuir
- Start date
deucedog
Active Member
Some suggestions:
This tip was passed along to us by a woman who lived in a Catskill Farmhouse for years, and even though we were suburb dwellers, it turned out to be the only thing that helped get rid of our mice. Take plaster of Paris (dry) and mix it with chocolate milk powder and set it so the mice can eat it. It will be a dry powder. The good idea about this mixture is that the mice will leave the house to find water after they eat it so they will not die in the house. It is also basically non-toxic, having no poison in it. It worked for us, and we had quite a few mice that we could not get rid of other ways. I guess mice love chocolate too.
Instant Potatoes
I have a rather frugal option for getting rid of field mice that an old farmer told me about and it really does work: Use instant mashed potatoes; they are much cheaper and alot safer than rat posions. Place a few tablespoons where the mice are seen most often; try to keep them out of reach of the dog, just to be safe. The mice will eat the instant potatoes and die because the potatoes will expand in their stomachs before they can fully digest them. Most likely, the mice will die in the house if that is where they are living, but it's better to have dead mice than live ones! As for the dog and his/her intolerance of a cat: you may be very surprised! We now have 5 cats (1 indoor, 4 barn cats) and I would have never thought my dog would tolerate cats. She actually enjoys them and plays with them for hours. Since getting the cats, my mouse problem is over!
Bacon Fat High Wire Act
Years ago, our weekend cabin in the woods was overrun by field mice. My father used an old galvanized water tub (2 to 3 feet across, depth doesn't realy matter), and stretched a wire across it, securing the wire to the handles of the tub. Strung on this wire was a tin can with a hole punched in each end so that it would spin on the wire. Coat the can with bacon fat and fill the tub with water.
The mice would go crazy trying to get the bacon fat - of course if they made it across the wire to the can, the can would spin them into the water and they would drown. After a week away from the cabin, we would often find dozens of mice in the tub.
Try peppermint oil. Peppermint oil is a natural deterrent. The smell is simply too intense for rodents and they will not try to go near it. It also helps to mask the scent of any tasty morsels that have been missed when cleaning. You can get peppermint oil in most health food stores and even some major grocery stores. Place a drop or two on a cotton ball. Place the cotton balls in areas where mice are likely to enter your house, by doorways or heat vents, etc. Another helpful deterrent is to grow peppermint plants near the entryways. You can use the mint in cooking as well as it serving a deterrent purpose.
This tip was passed along to us by a woman who lived in a Catskill Farmhouse for years, and even though we were suburb dwellers, it turned out to be the only thing that helped get rid of our mice. Take plaster of Paris (dry) and mix it with chocolate milk powder and set it so the mice can eat it. It will be a dry powder. The good idea about this mixture is that the mice will leave the house to find water after they eat it so they will not die in the house. It is also basically non-toxic, having no poison in it. It worked for us, and we had quite a few mice that we could not get rid of other ways. I guess mice love chocolate too.
Instant Potatoes
I have a rather frugal option for getting rid of field mice that an old farmer told me about and it really does work: Use instant mashed potatoes; they are much cheaper and alot safer than rat posions. Place a few tablespoons where the mice are seen most often; try to keep them out of reach of the dog, just to be safe. The mice will eat the instant potatoes and die because the potatoes will expand in their stomachs before they can fully digest them. Most likely, the mice will die in the house if that is where they are living, but it's better to have dead mice than live ones! As for the dog and his/her intolerance of a cat: you may be very surprised! We now have 5 cats (1 indoor, 4 barn cats) and I would have never thought my dog would tolerate cats. She actually enjoys them and plays with them for hours. Since getting the cats, my mouse problem is over!
Bacon Fat High Wire Act
Years ago, our weekend cabin in the woods was overrun by field mice. My father used an old galvanized water tub (2 to 3 feet across, depth doesn't realy matter), and stretched a wire across it, securing the wire to the handles of the tub. Strung on this wire was a tin can with a hole punched in each end so that it would spin on the wire. Coat the can with bacon fat and fill the tub with water.
The mice would go crazy trying to get the bacon fat - of course if they made it across the wire to the can, the can would spin them into the water and they would drown. After a week away from the cabin, we would often find dozens of mice in the tub.
Try peppermint oil. Peppermint oil is a natural deterrent. The smell is simply too intense for rodents and they will not try to go near it. It also helps to mask the scent of any tasty morsels that have been missed when cleaning. You can get peppermint oil in most health food stores and even some major grocery stores. Place a drop or two on a cotton ball. Place the cotton balls in areas where mice are likely to enter your house, by doorways or heat vents, etc. Another helpful deterrent is to grow peppermint plants near the entryways. You can use the mint in cooking as well as it serving a deterrent purpose.
TripleJ
Senior Member
Basically poisons are too quick, or work just long enough to have them die in the house. Using expanding indigestable fillers are how to kill mice effectively, so I would imagine the chocolate / plaster of paris concoction probably would work. Basically eating until they "starve" (hopefully not in your house) or simple trapping are the most effective ways to get rid of rodents. Though I like the jumping cat catching winged mice LOL!
FerrousBueller
Junior Member
Just a brief word of caution: Be careful of traps!
I have a device called "Rat Zapper". It's a small tunnel with conductive plates on it's floor. Toss in some bait, set it down, turn it on. When a rodent tries to get to the bait it is electrocuted. It also works with skunks! Trapped and killed a skunk a few months back and the bike shelter still has a "scent" that reminds me of it.
Part of the solution was to put the trap higher, on the work bench, where skunks won't climb.
Just lettin' you know...
I have a device called "Rat Zapper". It's a small tunnel with conductive plates on it's floor. Toss in some bait, set it down, turn it on. When a rodent tries to get to the bait it is electrocuted. It also works with skunks! Trapped and killed a skunk a few months back and the bike shelter still has a "scent" that reminds me of it.
Part of the solution was to put the trap higher, on the work bench, where skunks won't climb.
Just lettin' you know...
Great tips Deucedog. I'll have to try some of them. Loved the high wire act with the rotating, bacon fat coated spinning can. Very diabolical!
Where i live there are 4 houses surrounded by fields one of the closest fields is left un cultivated as an area for ground nesting birds etc so we have a fairly good population of field mice the first couple of years we did get infested with mice during the colder months and on the odd occasion a rat or two
i was successful with mouse traps as long as i use chocolate as the bait i put 2 traps in the loft at 8pm at 10pm 2 dead mice reset traps had another 2 in the morning problem solved but got a farm kitten for future problems
i do not need to set traps anymore as my cat is fairly good at killing mice and there are now 6 cats between the 4 houses 5 of the cats are good killers but the old fluffy cat can not be bothered anymore
although i am on my third cat at the moment dog seems to have got on reasonably well so far but will not tolerate any other cat
Brian
i was successful with mouse traps as long as i use chocolate as the bait i put 2 traps in the loft at 8pm at 10pm 2 dead mice reset traps had another 2 in the morning problem solved but got a farm kitten for future problems
i do not need to set traps anymore as my cat is fairly good at killing mice and there are now 6 cats between the 4 houses 5 of the cats are good killers but the old fluffy cat can not be bothered anymore
although i am on my third cat at the moment dog seems to have got on reasonably well so far but will not tolerate any other cat
Brian
maine-e-axe
Junior Member
A bucket with 4 or 5 inchs of water in it, put some sunflower seeds in the water and a ramp for the critter to get to the top of the bucket, they'll dive right in, wet feet they can't get back out. Mice, Chipmunks what have you love sunflower seeds and don't swim very well
