neohic Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I'm finding that having a bigger garage opens the door for more spaces for mice to hide. Now, I say that I just barely live in a rural are... not to mention the open field right across the street. With my construction now coming to a close and I'm just about done moving boxes around, I'm finding evidence that it's not just the wife (and her cat) and I living here. Last winter I caught a couple of mice red handed in the basement but after putting some traps down there I also took care of two. With the siding done and everything sealed up very tight, I'm confident that shouldn't be a problem anymore. Then there's the garage. While cleaning the TPS on the ZJ this morning, I found a small clump of carpet insulation right next to the throttle body. I'd really rather not think about where the insulation came from, but I've got a pretty good idea of who put it there. Every winter, I always put plenty of smelly dryer sheets all over my vehicles and under the hoods. I try to start them from time to time also, but I've also made up steel wool plugs for the exhaust tips. So now I wouldn't think I'd have to do this on the daily driver but now I get insulted with this package of misplaced insulation like some kind of gang tag. Granted, it's better than the mice throwing a pair of shoes over some power lines or spray painting my walls, but now it's an invasion on my turf! After a quick search through the interweb picture machine, I found a simple mouse trap that I know I had stuff sitting around to throw together. Behold: Bucket, coolant, wire, a pill bottle, peanut butter, a piece of wood with a bolt through it to keep it upright. Done. The idea is that the board is a nice, inviting ramp for the victims to go up after smelling the sweet aroma of the peanut butter. They climb up, jump down to the pill bottle with the tasty treat on it, the bottle spins, and the little rodent falls to a green pool of death. Okay... your move. Anyone else have any tricks of their own for keeping mice at bay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butchershop Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Psycho Cat!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCARENA Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I built the bucket traps for some of my work sites and they work great. I use just water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I agree with Butchershop. Is your wife's cat not a mouser? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I used regular ol' mouse spring-traps with sunflower seeds glued to the trigger. the seeds last a lot longer than peanut butter and so they still remain a viable draw many months later. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Or how about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TylerJY Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I hope the cat doesn't get into the sweet smelling coolant/peanut butter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 The cat's name is Autumn... and she's no mouser. Spoiled would be the best way to describe her. Why, yes... that is a heating pad that she sits on! Not only that, but she has a bucket of toys. Seems as though she never plays with them, but if you stay up late enough you can hear her thumping around. It's actually the slowest game of fetch that we seem to play. Every morning I wake up and there's this plush squirrel waiting for me to step on. I toss it back in the bucket... wait until the next morning... step on it... rinse and repeat as necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 My mouser has done a great job since we moved out of town. Image Not Found He catches a mouse about once a month. Haven't had any indoor/garage rodent problems. Even my 86 that sits beside the garage has been all clear. As part of our home pest management, we have a few of those outdoor box traps. The problem I have is with squirrels. They are constantly running around and try to build nests under the hood of the 91's. The squirrels are just too fast for my dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee21490 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 My mouser has done a great job since we moved out of town. Image Not Found He catches a mouse about once a month. Haven't had any indoor/garage rodent problems. Even my 86 that sits beside the garage has been all clear. As part of our home pest management, we have a few of those outdoor box traps. The problem I have is with squirrels. They are constantly running around and try to build nests under the hood of the 91's. The squirrels are just too fast for my dog. .22 is faster than the squirrels though :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjrev10 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I built the bucket traps for some of my work sites and they work great. I use just water. Coolant is a little extreme! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 .22 is faster than the squirrels though :thumbsup: Just haven't had the time to sit on the deck and 'take care' of the problem ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 .22 is faster than the squirrels though :thumbsup: Poor Gus tries like hell to catch them, but usually ends up charging headfirst into a tree when they jump up at the last second. It drives him crazy. I end up plinking them out of the trees with a pellet gun. Silent, deadly, and no complaints from the neighbors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I got tired of seeing all those dead mice bodies going to waste so I started skinning and tanning the hides and selling them as patches for people with holes in their leather seat covers. :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I must be the odd man out here. I was always raised with all kinds of pets and animals around. My mom always raised and helped hurt wild animals, and the like. A few years ago, I had caught a bunch of baby mice in the garage falling out of my old squad car. The girlfriend and I ended up collecting them up, and feeding them a few times daily with kitten milk formula soaked into bread pieces. We had a few not make it, but the 3 that survived were fat, happy, and made great pets. The next year, the wild mice ended up getting into the house. After a month or so of live traps and carrying them out to the end of the subdivision, we couldn't contain them. I went the quick and instant route with the wire traps. I just couldn't do the bucket route. Sort of cruel and unusual drowning to death. The wire traps would be my go to. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boman40 Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I like the Victor mouse traps myself. Wooden base and wire spring, they have to be modified. First bend up the latch to a 90 degree angle. Use Tri Flow lubricant on all metal parts, springs, and wires. Note do not get it on where the bait goes. The bait, most important, use creamy peanut butter mixed with white flower. Mixture should be able to be compress, light brown in color, and a little powdery, then fill bait hole evenly, no more then that. You want them to work for the food. The Tri Flow will make the traps very fast, for the little ones, see against the wall before arming. Tweak the latch as needed, just so it if you bump it , it goes off. Depending on your mice problem is how often to check traps. One mouse, check in the morning, more than one check in an hour or if you hear it go off. Trapped 136 in three hours, had to quit so I could drink a beer. Large problem, have trash can close, and do not forget to empty trash can, bodies start stinking in about four hours. Note, you will have to rebait if you set it and it goes off before you place trap and watch the fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I find it hard to believe how people can be concerned how salmonella and E-coli ridden mice invaders die. They cause thousands of human and domestic animal deaths around the world annually by eating and/or contaminating food supplies and cause massive destruction to infrastructure. They are not cute freaking hummingbirds, they are useless destructive vermin. Their only beneficial function in life is to provide a reliable food supply to animals like hawks, owls, snakes, and other animals that reply on them for food. But now they often die because the mouse food supply is contaminated by vermin pesticides. I kill all the bastids I can and don't worry if it's merciful or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadinator Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I kill all the bastids I can and don't worry if it's merciful or not. Cracked me up. I hate the little varments as well because of the damage they do. But I do try to kill them mercifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I used to kill the little suckers by shooting them. Good target practice. Then my little bro convinced me that a Browning .50 caliber was over kill so now I use a Mossberg .22 Makes some of those shots at a 3.000-4.000 yards a little tricky. Especially when all you can see is their head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 Ha! The wife and I went away for the weekend... come back to look in the bucket. Already got two of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Kill them all. If I catch them, I feed them to my chickens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Coolant is a little extreme! one of the contractors that we used had a mouse problem, after the mouse fell into the empty bucket he poured about 4 inches of bleach, not water or coolant, to err...get rid of the mouse or rat.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 Coolant is a little extreme! I figured it's staying in a cold garage. At the very least, their last drink can be something sweet! See?... what a nice guy I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I figured it's staying in a cold garage. At the very least, their last drink can be something sweet! See?... what a nice guy I am. :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I grew up on a farm and varmint control is essential to keep the livestock food clean and electrical wires in the barn intact. We usually just had an abundance of cats that relied on the mice to stay alive, but then the cats started to become pests. Then we got a dog to control the cat population. Down from 30 or so cats to about 6. Survival of the fittest - those last six cats are damn good hunters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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