Thursday, July 2, 2009

Don't Mace The Mice

Let me say that mice are not cute little critters, they are dirty destructive rodents that should be eliminated. At first I thought of them as furry little jokers and would simply remove them outside with a shovel but not kill them. Now I smack them with that same shovel and fling their dirty little bodies out on the road for the coyotes to eat.

What changed my perception? Well they eat everything and crap everywhere. The boys food bowl is about 3 inches deep by 8 inches round. I would fill it full and they eat what they want but the bowl started being empty every morning. Those awful mice where carrying off the entire bowl worth of food every night storing it under the cabinets. The dogs chew bones and several stuffed animals that frankly were way to big to get under the cabinets where also stored away. Magic mice perhaps.

The dogs like chasing them and Conway patrols every night starting around sundown. He darts from spot to spot cornering them when he finds them. A quick bark alerts Axel who jumps in to help, Axel is more of a supervisor leaving the hard work to Conway. I grab the shovel and pull the dogs back. The mouse is usually cowering under the sofa or behind the trashcan. A quick smack dispatches them. We are slowly reducing their numbers to a more manageable amount.

Traps didn't work they just took the food leaving the trap unsprung. Those little tent sticky traps were apparently a challenge...they chewed a hole through the side and removed the food. Can't use poisons with the dogs but did try a unique approach one evening.

I was getting tired of hearing them scurrying about so arrogantly. I thought that if I could get them out of their little nest I could smack them with the shovel killing off several at once. So I took my bear mace and planned to spray just a tiny squirt under the cabinets making the evil rodents run out where I could quickly dispatch them.

THIS WAS A VERY BAD PLAN

Needless to say the mice didn't scurry but I filled the house with bear mace causing the dogs and I to scurry. Bear mace works by the way and doesn't come off. I was dipping myself and the dogs in the tub out back which only makes it worse. Apparently you have to use milk to neutralize the oil based spray...ironically it was the mice eating into my only box of powered milk the night before that started me on this very bad path. I took the brunt of the spray the dogs only picking up a small amount...the dipping in the tub pissed them off much more than the spray.

So I have decided that as long as the mice keep their numbers in check through common sense family planning and as long as the boys enjoy chasing them I will live with the mice. Oh they also have to stay out of the bed...that's a deal breaker.

15 comments:

HermitJim said...

Hey, maybe the boys will get enough exercise to make it worthwhile...

Might want to get a cat one of these days, though! That is, if the boys allow it!

Mayberry said...

Well, mice are better than rats anyways. I'll take the mice over cockroaches though. Disgusting critters....

Anonymous said...

get a cat and get rid of the mice. there shit carries hantavirus, if you clean it up or vacuum it it becomes airborne and you will breath it in and become infected.

its BAD...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hantavirus

Michael said...

I'm thinking a couple cats might not be such a bad thing... unless your dogs like to eat cats of course. Then you would be living in bedlam... until the cats were eaten :-)

Ho Hum... good luck!

Stephanie in AR said...

One large family also had a mouse problem so called the exterminator. He put out some powdered stuff & she asked about it because of all the kids. Turns out is is a mix of ground oatmeal and plaster of paris. The mice eat the 'oatmeal' and go looking for water due to the plaster of paris. Usually they die outside. Seems to me that a box of cheap baby cereal would provide the finely ground oatmeal. Maybe it would work for you?

Anonymous said...

One word:

CAT

admin said...

I had a mouse problem at one time, and that was with two cats about. When there is food lying around, and gaps where the mice can get in, you will always have mice. What cured my problem, and allowed the mice to live in peace, was to keep all the food in mouse proof containers if it had to be stored in the shed (like metal bins or wooden cupboards), and made sure the house had no gaps for them to get in. The only time I ever have mice inside now is when my cat actually brings them in, presenting me with a present.

From my experience, mice don't usually chew their way into things, at least not boxes which don't contain food, or into buildings. But you have to close every crack they could squeeze through.

nathan said...

Bear,
Mouse traps, and find where the mice are coming in, and seal it up. Judy's suggestions are good. Also the oatmeal and plaster idea sounds great.
Nathan

Anonymous said...

haha, wait till you find your sofa STUFFED with dog food. its hilarious - the mice will store food everywhere

Destinylee said...

Take a 5 gallon pail, rub peanut butter just above the half way point of pail. Put it thick and about 4" wide, then fill bottom of pail with water. The peanut butter should just be far enough down the pail, that if a mouse was hanging by his back feet and stretched down the pail, he would not quite be able to reach it.At night, place the pail near a couch or something that the mice can use to get to the top of the pail. You can even place a board going up the pail. The mice will be attracted to the peanut butter and will hang down from the top and try and manoever to get the peanut butter and fall into the water. You will hear them splashing around unable to escape. You can dispose of them in the outdoors or let the drown and dispose of them later. I can assure you this method does work as I have tried it in the past and was rid of all mice in a few days. Best Regards, Destinlee

Anonymous said...

Mice are pretty good little survivalists, they sure like to store food for harder times to come! The water and pail method works well, or variations of the same involving a roller at the top with the peanut butter on it (which promptly dumps the mouse into the drink). +1 for cat suggestion, great pets and they pretty much take care of themselves.

Oddly enough, it has been my observation over roughly 40 years that if you have mice, you will not have roaches, and vice versa. They seem to not get along with one another.

Unknown said...

Simple mousetrap Take an empty 5 gal bucket. Put some sticky bait in the bottom (peanut butter works good. Rig a ramp so the little buggers can get to the rim. They will fall in and be trapped. If you don't check it often, you will find one fat one and alot of tails and feet.

Anonymous said...

Bear,
laughing my butt off about finding the one fat mouse and tails/feet. Grossed my daughters out, too. Gonna set up the 5 gallon pail first thing in the AM! I agree, the traps don't work after awhile.

Ben Bujahjah said...

I'm interested in the Oatmeal/Plaster bit. I had a rodent specialist come into a building I had been working at and he placed a bunch of traps around with PB and some white powder. Told me it was some special chemical which causes internal bleeding in the rodents, and since rodents were hemophiliacs by nature that they brought the powder back to the nest. As they all mingle and groom, everyone gets the powder and dies. At first I was like "no way!" Sure enough about a week later, no more rats or mice. I'm wondering if this "magic powder" was more common than some obscure hard to find chemical. Anyone who can comment with more info on the plaster thing and weather or not rodents are in fact hemophiliacs or not would be great.

Anonymous said...

OMG, is the funniest recounting of a pest problem Ive ever heard, I was laughing throughout. "At first I thought of them as furry little jokers and would simply remove them outside with a shovel but not kill them. Now I smack them with that same shovel and fling their dirty little bodies out on the road for the coyotes to eat." lol!