# Save way to get rid of mice??!!!



## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

The mice are taking over both of my barns!! I see them during the day and especially at night. For the past week I've been spending a lot of time out there waiting and checking for one of my goats to kid. And they just crawl around and look at me. I have traps but im scared to use them in places my little dogs and chickens can get to. And I'm scared to use poison for the same reasons. I locked the chickens up and kept the dogs in and just put out traps for a couple days. But was soon exhausted from constantly removing dead mice and resetting. I ended up killing about 30 in 2 days and didn't even put a dent in the little suckers. There's got to be a better way!! ????


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Barn cats


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

Unfortunately I have not been able to talk hubby into a cat or even a barn cat. Been trying for 4 yrs with no success or even a budge.Not sure why but he hates cats so that's out of the question.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I told my DH that either he gets rid of the mice or I get barn cats. He didn't like dealing with dead mice and I got barn cats.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Yep, barn cats.
We had rats. All feed is contained but over the years the kitties have pretty much eradicated them.
If you have chickens they will take care of mice.
Hubby & I have had many a disagreement over the years but now we have too many working kitties.:grin:


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

While I agree with Karen, not all cats are born mousers. I would consider lending you my cat, Sassy the Psycho, except I have serious doubts that you would ever be able to catch her (the only thing she is afraid of is people) to return her to me and I'm not in the position of being able to make a trip to Georgia to retrieve her. Do your barns have wooden floors with a little space under them? If so, I would drill a small hole next to a wall and pour some gopher bait down it. I would also be dropping ramik bait between walls where possible, and under stuff(shelving, etc.) where the dogs and chickens couldn't get to it. Get a couple of buckets, fill them half full of water and leave them in the barns. I've caught quite a few mice in water buckets in the winter time totally by accident. See if your husband can help you devise a bridge system over the buckets so when the mice walk over it to try to get to the water, it turns and throws them into the buckets. I know it's been posted on here, but not sure what forum.

In the meantime, keep all grain in mouse proof containers so you don't attract any more.


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

I'm afraid that if I ever did talk hubby into a cat that it wouldn't last long unless it NEVER left the barn. I also have 2 big dogs that absolutely hate cats. The neighbors cat use to sit on and walk up and down the dividing 6 ft chainlink fence teasing them until they moved. It drove them crazy and they wanted nothing more than rip I it to shreds .


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

We have a bunch of mice in the garage since that's where I store the food. It's closed up, but sometimes a bit spills. I don't like killing them because I'm a softy, so we used live traps and let them out in the woods. We didn't have enough and the mice have exploded recently, so my husband put out the regular traps. That helped a lot. We also have snakes, I've noticed. I figure that gets some mice, though I worry about them around the chickens. Maybe you can lure a stray cat over, then it's not really yours. Lol. Our indoor cat is a great mouser and I thought about putting him out there for a day and seeing what happens.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

Sorry, I was posting at the same time as you. Cats definitely sound out. Goatcrazy had some great ideas!


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

I could put poison where the dogs and chickens can't get to, but then what if the mouse dies and then the dogs and chickens get them. My mini dachshunds are terrible for finding frogs or anything dead and chewing on it. Can they be poisoned by eating the dead mice killed with poison??


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

In learning about Ess oils, I read this: put 15 drops of peppermint ess. oil in one gallon of water and wash down stalls , walls ect...Mice hate peppermint oil..


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

^oh good to know! I'm gonna try that! 

We always have a few scampering around in the winter and babies in the spring and fall... (That I see anyway lol) but they mostly stay in the rafters.. So I'll have to think something up.. :chin:


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

At this point I'm willing to try anything. They have hundreds of tunnels/holes all around the outside of the barns. We recently put wood floors in both barns due to all the rain. And I'm sure they are under it also.it drives me crazy to know that they are crawling all around or maybe even on my goats when they are sleeping.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

erica4481 said:


> Not sure why but he hates cats so that's out of the question.


Men hate cats because men know cats are smarter than they are. Before you get your panties in a wad, I'm not man bashing - I'm simply stating facts.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

MylieD said:


> I don't like killing them because I'm a softy, so we used live traps and let them out in the woods.


I love it! :lol: I also made this mistake - once! The mice beat me back to the house, and I traded in the live trap for kill traps. Problem solved!


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## armortrails (Jan 8, 2014)

My husband felt the same way about me getting cats. I did give him a chance to get rid of our rat problem, but nothing worked for very long before they were back. 
There is nothing that grosses me out more than rats. I finally had enough. He came home from work one day to find 2 new barn cats.
It caused a major fight, but it was worth it. I haven't seen a rat in years. 

The funny thing is that my husband loves those cats more than any of our other animals. In fact, I have a problem keeping them in the barn now because my husband keeps letting them in the house. They now think they are house cats.


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## kccjer (Jan 27, 2012)

erica4481 said:


> I could put poison where the dogs and chickens can't get to, but then what if the mouse dies and then the dogs and chickens get them. My mini dachshunds are terrible for finding frogs or anything dead and chewing on it. Can they be poisoned by eating the dead mice killed with poison??


Yes. Any animals that eat the poisoned mice can get sick from it.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I agree with kccjer...poison is risky...


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

GoatCrazy said:


> Men hate cats because men know cats are smarter than they are. Before you get your panties in a wad, I'm not man bashing - I'm simply stating facts.


Lol....that makes sense


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

Last time I had 10 traps set out and was having to remove and reset so often. There were a few times that I reset and before I could turn around it was going off again. I guess maybe I could buy 100 and set them out....lol I know it probably sounds crazy but something's got to give. A mouse or two doesn't bother me but it's just gotten ridiculous.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

erica4481 said:


> I could put poison where the dogs and chickens can't get to, but then what if the mouse dies and then the dogs and chickens get them. My mini dachshunds are terrible for finding frogs or anything dead and chewing on it. Can they be poisoned by eating the dead mice killed with poison??


Are your dogs inside dogs or do they live outside? I do not have chickens, so I cannot speak for them. We have used Ramik and gopher bait to control mice for the past 11 years since I moved back. I have had dogs(inside dogs that went out with me when I feed, exercise, or just to run) and we have always had barn/stray cats during that time. My dogs never found a mouse that died from the Ramik or the gopher bait. I have never seen a dead or dying mouse outside the feed room of the shed or outside the shop. I'm not trying to talk you into or out of anything - just telling you my experience with using Ramik and gopher bait to get rid of mice. Whether you decide to use them or not is completely up to you.


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

My little dogs are inside dogs but also go out with me every time . They are little hunters with their little noses always to the ground and seem to find EVERYTHING I don't want them to. Yesterday my husband found a chewed up goat scur in his recliner that I had banded and recently fell off.....lol.With all the mice I'm sure they would find one .I just don't want to take that risk.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

I can understand that, and you need to do what you're comfortable doing.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Here is Texas when a coyote is killed we hang it on the fence to warn off other coyotes...You can try that with the mice ! heheehehe....

Ok I would try the peppermint first...less gross lol


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Bucket 1/2 full of water. String across the top with PB on it.


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## Everfree (Nov 15, 2013)

Try a repeating mousetrap:

www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/easterly110.html


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## Rasfamily (Jan 4, 2014)

happybleats said:


> Here is Texas when a coyote is killed we hang it on the fence to warn off other coyotes...You can try that with the mice ! heheehehe....
> 
> Ok I would try the peppermint first...less gross lol


LOL that don't work with rats I had a few I shot with the .22 during family whack a rat sessions that were up to high to get to and the others just chewed in them!
I am actually raising some native king snakes to release in an attempt to solve our rat problem. But until then about once a month we flood the holes at the chicken coop and the whole family hunts the ones we flush out with sticks and I get the ones that go up the tree with the .22!

Our cat dose help but they breed faster than he can get them so I believe the snakes will help a lot more getting down the holes to the nests!

My grand kids actually have a ball and always want to come over to go rat whacking LOL


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## greenfield (Apr 5, 2012)

I only put out bait that is in an enclosed container so pieces can't be distributed for the wrong critters to eat. In the flight pen for quail I put bait in the holes of cinder blocks where the quail couldn't reach. One half grown rat ate the bait and when I found it, it was ripped almost completely in half inside the cinder block and a piece of the bait was outside where the quail were. Did the rat explode?? Luckily my dogs don't like to eat the rats, only rabbits, birds, etc.


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## springkids (Sep 12, 2013)

erica4481 said:


> My little dogs are inside dogs but also go out with me every time . They are little hunters with their little noses always to the ground and seem to find EVERYTHING I don't want them to. Yesterday my husband found a chewed up goat scur in his recliner that I had banded and recently fell off.....lol.With all the mice I'm sure they would find one .I just don't want to take that risk.


It seems like you too many to kill with traps alone.

Could you put out the bait and keep the dogs on leashes for a bit untill you got control of the problem?? I know they won't like it but it would keep them safe while you take care of the mice in the barn. :shrug:

If it were me I would use a combination of traps, bait, and I love the bucket of water idea. Everyone you can kill or catch is one less to be reproducing.

By the way...I hate mice. They totally gross me out.


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

Everfree said:


> Try a repeating mousetrap:
> 
> www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/easterly110.html


Wow. I like the repeating mouse trap idea.....if it really works. And it looks easy enough to make. Have you tried it??


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## Everfree (Nov 15, 2013)

Yes, worked great when we moved into our mouse-infested farmhouse this summer. Another variation that works well is a bucket with peanut butter smeared around the inside lip a few inches down with a stick used as a ramp up to the bucket. We got ten or so the first night in the house. The cats got about eight the first night outside. Since then, no sign of them in the house.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I have 2 barn cats and use the bucket of water when they start to get out of hand. But...the biggest prevention is to keep feed in mouse proof containers...I also have all of my coops/animal housing built a foot off the ground so no rodents feel "safe" enough to move in.Keep feed and hay off the ground...and do weekly clean ups of flooring.
I have never seen a rat here, and the last mouse(or evidence of one) I saw was months ago.That was one the cat "regifted"  
This is what works for me....


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## Thanatos (Mar 16, 2009)

Use a poison station they look like a box and then use a non-secondary kill poison in it I go through http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/ and the poison I use is called Final. Took care of my burrowing rats in about a month. I used 3 stations and went through about 30 sticks of poison. Also the station did not seem to have killed the squirrels or chipmunks just the rats so bonus. Also I did find a chewed corpse with the dogs and no on died or even got sick.


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

I think I'm gonna build and try the repeating trap everfree suggested along with several little mouse traps and see how it goes before resorting to any kind of poison for now.


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## TOU (Aug 18, 2013)

May not be the answer to a massive mouse problem but thought I would share the hands down the best live mouse trap ever!!!! My kids have a riot with them.



















http://teeterpong.com/


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

Lol...that's very interesting. But I'd rather they already be dead when I find them because I'm a softie and won't be able to kill them.
I already feel terrible about it but it has to be done


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## PRgoat (Jan 19, 2014)

On baits - read the label and choose one that does not have a warning about "secondary poisoning" as Thanatos indicated. Otherwise you could be inadvertantly poisoning birds of prey and other scavengers besides your pets. I had mice so bad in my chicken coop I eventually went to bait. I had to put it out so that the chickens couldn't get to it and I had to make sure it wouldn't make the chickens sick when they ate a poisoned mouse. Even with the poisons it took a couple of months to knock them back. My chickens love to eat mice but they don't actively pursue them, especially when the mice are active after dark when the chickens are at roost.


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## DonnaBelle66 (Mar 4, 2013)

We had a stray cat come by the ranch & I fed her in the barn one a day for a few days and then every other day, soon she was catching mice and rats and bringing me the heads as a gift lol..


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