Mouse Infestation

(Bob M) #21

That might be our next upgrade. But we have 2 doors, 10 windows, a roof to work on first. This house was not well built and did not use quality materials.

If I can remember, I’ll take some pictures of what mice do to plastic trim. And we had the trim replaced, only to realize the mice do this and it’s not possible to stop them.

I’ve heard some types of metal wire mesh will prevent them from coming in, but that would be inside the trim. Might prevent them from coming in, but not damaging the trim.

#22

I don’t have any cats, but I do have a particularly fast Doberdor, half Labrador hald Doberman (and with almost radar senses that detect rodents in the dark), that can shoot past me in practical darkness at rodents. I have fields and a culvert just outside my back yard, which appears where the rodents were coming from- to eat Carly’s food that I left with her all day/night whilst I was working. However, with Covid restrictions and I’m now working from home I don’t leave food out anymore, and Carly has no wee rodent friends to chase anymore. Instead she’s enjoying all the fatty protein I’m pursuing these days. Carly:

Carly%20Grin
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(Marianne) #23

Wow, what varied backgrounds and places we all come from!!! :hugs:

(Marianne) #24

What a beauty! Both of these are fabulous breeds! We had a dobie mix (Ginger). Nothing more beautiful than a Doberman (to me).

#25

So, so beautiful! :smiley: Sooo majestic. My normal tabbies never can be like this but they are super soft with unique characters and some other good points and that’s enough for me :smiley:

“WOW! What a wild beast!” - said my SO (another cat lover) appreciatively.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #26

Controling access to food is the key to preventing rodent problems. Everything has to be either tightly sealed or out of reach, or both.

(Robin) #27

That’s a happy face!

#28

She’s the most happiest and friendly pup!

(Marianne) #29

Finally had a chance to put the mouse traps out for when I was available the next day to drive them away to release. Within a four-hour period, we caught six! The traps came as a set of two and when we would catch them, my husband and I would put them in an old hamster cage that we still have. Gave them food and water, and two of them would be on the exercise wheel at a time. So cute - but I am relieve that they are out of the house. Will see what tonight brings. I’m just going to keep baiting until we don’t get any more.

(Robin) #30

Kinda like the game Whack-a-Mole!

#31

We had a recent visitor ourselves, after a few of our neighbors had someone out to do pest prevention. It wasn’t but a few days later when our visitor arrived. Just one that we know of, and came in when it was still sorta tiny. So I put traps out, and it wasn’t until a few weeks later, he was caught on the side of the stove, looking for scraps. Quite grown. … We had some come in the second or third year we moved in here, but hadn’t seen or heard any since, for the past 12 years or more. Surprised we don’t see more actually being we live in the country, but I also keep the snakes around the house too, which helps. See them quite often while mowing and doing the garden, and just move them to the shed or out of the way to do my work, but they seem to do well in keeping the little critters in check for us.

(Marianne) #32

THat’s great! Either your house is sealed up tight, or it’s the snakes. If nature takes them, so be it - everything’s got to eat - I just don’t want to be responsible for contributing to their demise prematurely. They were so cute when I let them out. My husband, on the other hand, is a different story. He saves everything, including bugs, which I’m okay with for the most part, as long as I don’t have to deal with it. I insisted on letting him sleep in this morning so I could release the mice myself. If one had perished over the night, as I guess they sometimes do because of stress, that would have been the end of trapping them - or getting them out of the house! :pleading_face:

(Robin) #33

Jeff is the same. he rescues every insect, etc. A good heart.

(Marianne) #34

Got two more mice last night.

#35

It’s a very normal thing to save insects if you ask me :slight_smile: I am a bit too empathetic or soft, even weeding feels a bit wrong to me, poor plants… But I am a life hardened one.
But cleaning less or more carefully to avoid accidentally killing a spider (I surely do that anyway, I just don’t notice), I can do that. It’s not easy when you live with a thousand of spider (just a guess. I thought the number being smaller but once I found, like, 20 in the underside of a chair. most of them are tiny. and not real spiders but I don’t bother with details. they are spiders to me).

And it doesn’t takes an optimist to think a fly is searching for the exit. They often really do. The bigger, the smarter, it seems, I open the window, encourage them and they go out just fine. I kill flies sometimes, I am not a saint but my default method is letting them out. I only hate parasites and the like. Flies are neutral to me.

Sorry, I can’t talk about mice as I didn’t even see any lately. I can talk about cats for hours though :smiley: Ours seemingly have the time of their life (as usual), Tofu is even NICE today (mostly. she is a tsundere but today less so).

Well, I can talk about mice… We (me, my SO and our best friend) plan to make books and videos for mostly little kids and the little tree mouse is the silly protagonist. It started when we walked a lot and I demanded tales and my SO provided. Sometimes one needs something super simple and silly and cute, without any particular stress or deep meaning. I am the illustrator (we are doomed).
So I study mices, I always loved their adorableness anyway. Those tiny paws! And the ears and lil black pearl eyes!
For some reason, I found the best, most adorable, cutie-pie mouse photos made with great skill… On a web site of a pest control company (or whatever they are called, you understand, that’s the main thing. my English never will be good enough). I saved many of them.
I want to make a mouse painted rock too. Interestingly, cute animal rocks aren’t so hard. I am totally a beginner and I can do that. Well I have some tiny drawing skills at least and real brushes help a lot with fur. Making a gradient is loads harder :smiley:

(Robin) #36

What a fabulous idea, that book by friends! I also love mice. All rodents, really. We were both cat people for years. Now we have a dog (Paul) who is quite literally an equal part of our marriage. Me, Jeff, Paul. Thus, we can never divorce.

(Marianne) #37

Two more last night. That makes ten. (I guess we had a problem.) Will keep baiting until we can go several days without getting any. They come out at night. I put the traps next to the woodpile this morning to see if I can get any during the day. If they’re outside, they’re going to come inside.

I bated with a new jar of expired peanut butter we had. That used to be a binge food for me - I just loved it. Just the smell of it was intoxicating. A little voice inside me said, “you can have just a spoonful.” Very tempting. No way; I know where that goes.

(Robin) #38

@gingersmommy I can’t believe this thread is still going! Every time I see the topic pop up as NEW, I have a good chuckle.
This thread is exactly like mice! It just keeps coming back. Lololol

(Laurie) #39

@gingersmommy Yes, keep at them, until they are too few and far between to start new families.

Congrats on eschewing the stale peanut butter. :nauseated_face:

(Marianne) #40

I guess I’ll stop blowing up the forum with my mousecapades - after all, it is a keto forum. :sob::grin: The original point was they never ate the prepackaged diet food, which is very expensive.

As a last hurrah, we got one (or two) last night. Haven’t checked with my husband but I can hear it/them in the cage on the wheel. That’s 11 or 12, and I know there are still more. I heard them in the wall again this morning. :flushed: