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  1. #11
    Real Retriever KenZ71's Avatar
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    I would place a few boxes of dried mashed potatoes as i hear mice love them but it absorbs moisture from their body causing death.

    Also, immediately seal it off with wire fencing that is mouse proof. Maybe use cinder blocks along the bottom to anchor.

    If the area is sealed off no more critters will get in. Those that are there will have a nice final meal.
    -- Ken, owned by:

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    Avatar: Ziggy, my kitty who crossed the bridge a few years ago.
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  3. #12
    Senior Dog sparky's Avatar
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    I asked my Grandpa how to get rid of mice.
    He told me "well son, it's real easy, just stuff paper in their little holes. The tuff part is how to hold their little feet". And he dissolved into a fit of laughter.
    Removing the source of food is a good idea too.
    My dad has great success with have a heart traps for raccoon's and possums that want to share in the bounty of his garden. Of course the have a heart part is he dispatches the raccoon's swiftly with a .22. I know they make these traps for ground squirrels. You might have some luck with those.
    Good Luck.

  4. #13
    Senior Dog katALlabs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by POPTOP View Post
    I've been using Shake Away granulated fox urine to repel skunks. Just read some more on it and one site says it repels mice. Hey, it even repels cats. It's all natural, won't hurt the dogs or any of your plantings. Been using it for several years now and no skunks in the yard. Come to think of it, we didn't have mice in the garden shed this winter. In past years bought it of Amazon but happened to find it at our local feed store this spring.
    Interesting Poptop I just may have to try this, thanks
    At the Bridge
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  5. #14
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I had a rat and I freaked out. I scoured the internet and even called the city's vector control and demanded a visit. I am not a fan of large diseased rodents and when it jumped from my shed, scaring the crud out of me, and started screeching at me, it was either I move or kill it. I'm not ready to pack up and leave my own home.

    First, you need to ensure the rats have no access to food. They eat flower bulbs, seed (no more feeding the birds), compost (food compost, not weeds or grass or sticks), pet food (any -- dog, cat, fowl, rabbit, etc.), and really anything that an animal or bird or rodent or human will eat. If you must feed something/one outside, put the food down for 20 minutes and then pick it up. Do this as often as necessary for the animal(s). They will quickly figure it out. Any animal food should be stored in a metal bin with a well-fitting or secured lid (bugee cord or large rock). Also, pick up any drinking water at night. Also, clean up dog poo as soon as it hits the ground -- the rats will eat anything in it that is not well-digested (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit).

    Second, make sure your yard is cleaned up of debris, overgrowth, and wood piles. You must stack wood on racks at least 18 inches from the ground. If there is debris, weeds, etc. under the deck, clean that up as best as you can. You can also lay 1/2" hardware cloth over the grund under your deck which they cannot squeeze through or chew. Apron the bottom out so they cannot dig in or out.

    Now that you have addressed the food and harborage situation, it's time to dispatch the vermin. The vector guy told me they do not recommend poison because the new poison is more toxic since it cannot be reversed with a shot of vitamin K. However, a lab sized dog eating a dead poisoned rat *should* be OK. It *should* take quite a few for it to affect the dog. Cats and small dogs may not be so lucky. Also, the rats are building an immunity to the poison so if you can get by without it, do.

    He gave me some snap traps that are housed in a case that is kid and pet safe. I can look up the brand if you like -- I've never seen them in stores but they are available online. You have to open it with a key. The holes are large and I do think a baby could get their arms in there, but they would have to try. A lab could not get their snout in there though a Shelte might be able to. It would take work, in other words. The cases are large with a flat top so you can put a rock or brick on top of it. I put the traps along the fenceline with the holes closest to the fence as rats run along walls. The traps are behind a shed that rats enjoy so I secured large-holed wire from the shed to the fence (temporarily with stables) to ensure the dogs don't bother the traps. The traps are baited with peanut butter, though he recommended peanut butter/oatmeal balls as it's drier and easier to clean out of the divits.

    I have read online that you should bait the traps for a week but don't set them. The rats will eventually learn to trust the traps (they don't trust anything new and it takes a week for them to be ok with it so don't get discouraged if it takes awhile). I just put the traps out and set them as my problem is very minor compared to yours. Since you have many rats, they could learn from the others not to go near the traps. They are very smart, unfortunately.

    Right before he came, I put out a home made trap. It was a five-gallon bucket about half-full of water. I sprinkled black oil sunflower seeds inside until they were all floating and you could not tell there was water in the bucket. I put a 2x4 ramp going to the lip. They run up the ramp and jump into the bucket and drown. Some people don't put water in and then have to dispatch the live rats. This works better in a larger garbage can, but again, you'll have to dispatch them on your own. After three days that rat fell for it and I found it floating in the water. I could not believe it worked, actually. Since then, my dad made me a similar trip with a dowel and a can. Google it.

    I thought my rat problem was finished until I saw a mouse trap in the shed that was broken in about six pieces, I kid you not. So, I recently (a week ago) set three of those traps from vector control that I wrote about above. I have yet to get anything with them, but I know my problem is not as bad as yours, so it may take longer. A neighbor used a glue trap and when they caught it, put it in a bucket of water and drowned it. I am not a fan of the glue trap, especially outside where birds can get to it and in your case, snakes. I wouild consider using them inside if I absolutely had to, but until then, not my cup of tea.

    The cat idea is something I tossed around, but the neighborhood doesn't need more cats (lots of outdoor cats, feral cats, etc. that obviously are not catching rats!). I also don't need more mouths to feed. I asked around and there are cats that catch mice and not rats because they are big and mean and I did not want a cat that would catch the hummingbirds that I have around. Unless you borrow a cat that is known to hunt and kill rats, I would not count on that working. It could, but it's a toss-up. Rat terriers, on the other hand, would go under your deck and not come out until they were all dead. You tube it (rat terriers killing rats) and you will be both amazed and horrified at what you witness! So, you might want to add a canine to your pack or see if you can borrow one with a handler.

    Sorry this is such a novel but it has been a big focus (actually, an obsession) in my life for about a month now, unfortunately. I even tried to stab it with a pitchfork when I saw it, which is just not like me. Something about a nasty rat that makes a person snap, or at least stay up all night googling it and obsessively checking traps.

    Oh, and if it is mice, they are not so smart. Snap traps work and the bucket trick will get many at a time. The food and harborage advice still applies to mice.

    Good luck and keep us updated!
    Last edited by Labradorks; 06-08-2014 at 06:57 PM.

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  7. #15
    Senior Dog katALlabs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by janedoe View Post
    How do you feel about snakes?
    Thanks Jane, no one here is afraid of snakes and we welcome them, as a matter of fact we do have a couple of good snakes around. We’ve seen a fat Eastern King snake so we think he’s eating well and a large Grey Ratsnake that was found in the middle of the yard heading away from the deck with bite marks in his tail that were bleeding and look fresh. Think the mice/rats got the better of him… lol. Sadly the neighbor is the type that will kill anysnake he sees. I tried to explain the benefits of these snakes but his reply was “the only good snake is a dead snake”.

    As far as cats goes, we have two who are inside cats and neither has a clue as to what a mouse is unless it has catnip in it. They never want to go outside either. The neighbors have a cat but the dogs don’t like other cats in our yard and chase it away.

    Thanks for all the suggestions, I’ll let y’all know whatworks or doesn’t work.
    At the Bridge
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  8. #16
    Real Retriever Kain's Mommy's Avatar
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    I know you were looking for natural alternatives but in the Fall when we had a big mice problem (live across the street from a huge orchard) I put out those sticky traps with a piece of fruit; I caught 6 within 2 days. The disposal is the gross part (my brothers took care of that) but after a week or so of sticky traps we haven't seen any.

    Right now I'm working on gophers and those pesky things don't go away, again probably because of the orchards and all of our fruit trees.

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  10. #17
    Senior Dog Bamps's Avatar
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    All of the poison remedies I do not recommend at all, unless you hire a professional exterminator. The rats/mice eat the poison and retreat to a hidden cubby hole and die, meantime you will be searching DESPERATELY for the source of the STINK.

    I say get some good ol fashioned TRAPS, and peanut butter bait. Check the traps daily and no smell, just dead rodents.

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  12. #18
    Senior Dog katALlabs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bamps View Post
    All of the poison remedies I do not recommend at all, unless you hire a professional exterminator. The rats/mice eat the poison and retreat to a hidden cubby hole and die, meantime you will be searching DESPERATELY for the source of the STINK.

    I say get some good ol fashioned TRAPS, and peanut butter bait. Check the traps daily and no smell, just dead rodents.
    That's what happened in the last place I worked, the exterminator used poison and the rats died in the walls. Oh man what a stink it was for about a week, then the flies came (from the dead rats) never again.
    Plus I will not risk having one of the dogs eating a poisoned rat like Random's Mugen did.

    We have several different sizes and types of traps laid out under the deck and they have not touched the ones with peanut butter... go figure
    At the Bridge
    Pinks - Black Lab/Mix - Got ya 12/30/10 - 5/12/23
    Maddie - Chessie - 3/6/10 - 6/25/22
    Purps (Pinks sister) - Black Lab/mix -(Back with us 1/1/18) 12/30/10 - 4/7/21
    Gracie - Yellow Lab - 10/23/05 - 9/6/18
    Nozomi (Zoe) - BC/Lab - Got ya 9/5/09 - 3/19/15
    Abbey - Yellow Lab - Got ya - 5/8/09 - 4/22/11
    Cheanna - Black Lab/Mix - Got ya 5/99 - 9/21/10
    Buddy (Bubba) - Black Lab/Mix - Got ya 11/2/02 - 3/28/10
    Amber - Yellow Lab/Dobi - Got ya 8/1989 - 5/15/01

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  14. #19
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by katALlabs View Post
    Thanks Jane, no one here is afraid of snakes and we welcome them, as a matter of fact we do have a couple of good snakes around. We’ve seen a fat Eastern King snake so we think he’s eating well and a large Grey Ratsnake that was found in the middle of the yard heading away from the deck with bite marks in his tail that were bleeding and look fresh. Think the mice/rats got the better of him… lol. Sadly the neighbor is the type that will kill anysnake he sees. I tried to explain the benefits of these snakes but his reply was “the only good snake is a dead snake”.

    As far as cats goes, we have two who are inside cats and neither has a clue as to what a mouse is unless it has catnip in it. They never want to go outside either. The neighbors have a cat but the dogs don’t like other cats in our yard and chase it away.

    Thanks for all the suggestions, I’ll let y’all know whatworks or doesn’t work.
    Nice! My mother in law hated snakes as well, killed all of the garters and we wound up with a mouse population.

    They have Havahart traps in the smaller sizes. If you can get the adults, the snakes should take care of the younger ones. These guys sound tough!

 



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