Damn rodents!

[Alphacowboy]

Ok, so I own an older house (built in 73/74) and I am having an issue with rodents. I know the basement had issues with mice before I remodeled it, so when I did, i filled every crack and hole I cold find with foam. For the most part, it has been WAY less of a problem, but once and a while I hear a mouse running though the basement ceiling. of course its right above my head while I am trying to sleep. (i live in the basement as I havent remodeled the upstairs yet) Well about 2 years ago, I found a baby shrew (sp?) running around. Obviously I killed it, but very much to my surprise this morning, i woke up to one in my hand!!! My guess is it crawled across my neck and I grabbed it, then woke up... scared the **** out of me! now, my house is kept clean (thanks to my beautiful wife ) so its not like my house it a mess. I just cant figure out where the hell these damn things are coming in. is there anyway to figure this out and close up these places? Its getting to the point I am ready to go crazy. I have thought about a cat, but I have problems with cats, burning eyes and runny nose. I refuse to take medication for this sorta crap too, so that is out. Plus, it doesnt solve the actuall problem, as they still ar getting int the house. I tried those rodent repeller things your plug in, WORTHLESS! Please help me out! i am just glad i found the damn thing this morning and not the wife! I can only imagine the shrill I would have heard at 4am, only to be followed by *SPLAT* and she threw it across the room against the wall. :-laf



thanks,



Matt

 

[SHobbs]

You need that cat with one eye, chunk missing out of one ear, bald spots from fighting and totally ticked off at the world. You know the cat from the movie Mouse Hunt, you need him, lol.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Unfortunately, you are barking up the wrong tree, so to speak. Family tree that is. Shrews are members of Insectovoria and not Rodentia.



So relay, put the MOUSE trap away, and enjoy having the little bug eaters around.



I'm sure the mrs. will be comforted knowing this factoid. :-laf

 

[ACoyle]

Ol' TrailDog Konws of what he speaks. Check it out!



http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu/handbook/handbook/allPDF/mam_d87.pdf

 

[RGardner]

Put out a jar lip full of antifreeze, the green stuff. It is sweet and the mice love it.

 

[Bill Lins]

If you can find the holes where they are making entry, plug them with steel wool.

 

[WDixon27]

target practice, couple years ago i killed a (small rat or huge mouse) in my bathroom with a blow gun, killing things in creative ways can be entertaining

 

[Alphacowboy]

If you can find the holes where they are making entry, plug them with steel wool.

thats the problem, I havent found any more holes. All the ones I did find are plugged up with a crap load of spray expanding foam. Is there a way to find holes? Ones that you may not see easily? I guess a heat sensing camera with it this cold outside would do the trick, but I dont have one. . lol

 

[rubberneck]

just shooting from the hip here, but what about a smoke machine? NO, NOT YOUR TRUCK, that would probably PO the wife too :-laf But what about those ones you see for rent at party stores. Pressurize the house with a large squirrel cage fan and watch for where the smoke comes out.

 

[FATCAT]

thats the problem, I havent found any more holes. All the ones I did find are plugged up with a crap load of spray expanding foam. Is there a way to find holes? Ones that you may not see easily? I guess a heat sensing camera with it this cold outside would do the trick, but I dont have one. . lol

Look around the vent pipes for your furness and drier ... all it takes is a dime size hole/crevasse.



Next get an outdoor only mean FATCAT ... mine is retired now so my neighbors' cats roam around the yard and wood piles ... there is always a treat to be had in the wood piles :-laf

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

That was a great post ACoyle. Tell your wife that they kill mice, and are cheaper, smarter, don't pi$$ on the furniture, and have more personality then a cat. Give it(them) names and you are set.





If this solution isn't appealing to the mrs. there is a simple live trap on the home page

wildlifedamage. unl. edu that you/she could use. Make your own and set the little buggers free. The a-freeze is a bad idea because unintended and non-target critters can also suffer a painful death too. "Fluffy, Fluffy, here kitty kitty kitty. " or "Have you seen my baby brother Maxwell?"

 

[RGardner]

I did not mean for you to put the antifreeze out where pets or children could get to it, I took it for granted that most members had common sense enough not to do that. Sticky traps are also a good choice. And as far as releasing rodents to the wild the only way I release them is DEAD! The way the buggers reproduce there will be no shortage of them.

 

[Alphacowboy]

yeah, I dont get the people that live trap them and then let them go out side... where the hell do they think they are going to return too? They think that now they are just going to live outside... lol, they come right back to where they caught them! Morons! a dead mouse is the only good mouse!

 

[sstefanini]

My wife and I rented a house in the country next to a hay barn a few years ago. When we moved in we lived for a month with an army of rats ( they would knaw on the rafters at night). 1 week of a young healthy cat cruising around did what a month of poison, traps and sticky pads couldn't. Also if you use poison you better hope they crawl outside to die, otherwise you will end up removing wallboard in August to retrieve rotting carcasses!

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

And as far as releasing rodents to the wild the only way I release them is DEAD

Pssssst..... read the earlier posts..... . Shrews aren't RODENTS and perform a great service by killing RODENTS and sundry BUGSOo.



Opps, sorry, didn't mean to yell. For a minute I thought I was being accused of being some sort of PETA person, or some unreasonable facsimilie there of. Stop by my house and I'll show you the crusty old blood spot underneath the kitchen cabinet where I kill, no excuse me, where THEY routinely commit suicide every fall.

 

[kowaliga]

There are glue pads for mice and there are glue pads for RATS. Deploy them inside the house, near the baseboards, through-out. When you catch them, and they will stick fast, replace the pad at the same location ( sans varmit ). You may deduce the varmit's entry point if you continue to trap them in the same area. When I espied squirrels cavorting around the eaves of my house. . the rat-sized pads caught them easily and repeatedly. About $4 for two at LOWE's, on the pesticide aisle. There is no opening too small... think like a rat.

 

[WDixon27]

i support peta, People Eating Tasty Animals

#ad

For a minute I thought I was being accused of being some sort of PETA person, or some unreasonable facsimilie there of.

 

[bighammer]

DANG! The rats get BIG in Louisiana

 

[DLausche]

How about the top of the block foundation? Are the blocks open on top? I had this issue in a college place I rented long ago in Mankato where rodents would crawl into the block and get in that way. Vinyl siding? I had mice getting into my attic by climbing up the hollow channel created behind the 90* outside corner vinyl edging. Also, don't rule out them getting in from the top side - roof, eves, chimneys, etc are potential entry points too.



-deon

 

[Alan Reagan]

Anti-freeze, as suggested above will work, but you may have an odor problem for a while. Products such as D-Con are injested but it doesn't kill them until they drink, which is usually outside. Even if they die inside, they dry up rather quickly and the smell is minimized.



There has to be a source of food and water. Look around and eliminate all sources of food and water possible. If you don't want to poison, set traps. And check them every day. We had an infestation in my barn and I just kept working at it until they were eliminated. The D-Con really worked. But the traps gave me a sense of... ... ... satisfaction.