# Mice, Mice and more Mice.....



## AbbySmith (Nov 15, 2020)

Maybe try getting a barn cat or two. Mouse traps might also work better than the poison. We also these really neat things that are like a ramp that lead up to the top of a pail of water, then the mouse walks on to almost a diving board type thing, and it drops them into the water, mouse can't get out, and they drown. Those worked really well for us! Our cat has also been amazing! She catches nice nonstop, and has even caught two weasels!!


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## 289250 (Dec 11, 2020)

Your idea of the "diving board" into the bucket of water sounds interesting. Might give that a try.

As for barn cats, I won't get any barn cats for a couple of reasons. I live along a busy road and don't want to find them out on the road if they wander off the property. Second, it's not really set up for cats. I have indoor cats and they are not allowed to go out. If I had a nice heated tack room where they could take shelter during the cold days/ nights, i would do that.

I know some are against poison, so just trying to figure something out that will be more effective than the stuff I have been using without getting barn cats.


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## AbbySmith (Nov 15, 2020)

Hmm yeah we wanted to try poison, but we didn't want the birds to eat the poisoned mice. We have a lot of eagles/hawks here.
Also, I don't have much faith in the poison. We had a super super tiny dog eat a whole block one time, and he wasn't even sick. So maybe it works for mice, I dunno! 🤷
Actual traps might work better too. You could also try sticky pads.


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## 289250 (Dec 11, 2020)

After I posted this, I had something pop up in my recommended feed to read. I know it's an older thread, but still seems very relevant. I hope the moderators don't shut it down because there is good information there. This one lady said she found a solution that seems like its worth a try. Rodent problem

The recipe. 50% to 75% finely ground cornmeal and the rest quick set concrete.


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## Nubs (Jul 25, 2019)

Do you have electric in your barn? The lil cubes that plug into the wall and emit a terrible sound that only rodents can hear worked wonderfully for us.


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

You say you have lived there for 16 years, is this the first time you have had mouse problems? Have you began doing anything different than you did in years past? Has there been any new construction near you that would have moved the mice out of fields and into your barn? These are some things I would look at if there was a sudden surge in the mice. I live just south of K.C. and I haven't noticed any difference in the amount of rodents so the weather shouldn't have caused it. If anything I have less of a problem all though I have had some cats move into our barn. Poisons have always worked well for me to control and mice that I've had as well as a few black snakes. Of course the snakes are in hibernation now.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

you can get mouse x , it claims to be safe for pets.


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

What poison are you using. I’ve noticed some rats are immune to certain poisons and you see blue poops everywhere. Also if you are using block baits make sure to tie them down because the rats will carry them else where and your dog could eat it, I sadly lost one of my dogs to bait my shed has no door so I just have to make sure I keep everything clean and sweep away the dropped food every day. I also have rat traps with rollers over a bucket so the rat goes on the roller trying to get a treat and the roller makes it fall into a bucket if water. It might be worth hiring a hunter to have a look and maybe use mink or ferrets to hunt them. We had ferrets come and they did a great job. Good luck with your mice problem!


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## AJ Yammie (Dec 20, 2020)

stevenson said:


> you can get mouse x , it claims to be safe for pets.


I wouldn’t trust it. I use bromadiolone because for animals like dogs and horses it has to be consumed in large amounts. My horses ate a kilo of it and were fine but I still won’t leave it out. If it affects rodents why wouldn’t it affect other animals?


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Poison is the worst way to get rid of varmints, in terms of "unintended consequences". Besides killing predatory birds (the bird population in the US has plummeted in recent years due to human activity), it often kills pets. And I mean often enough that I know two people whose beloved dogs died in agony. 

Trapping is laborious, usually cruel and often ineffective as you only can catch a certain number, and mice reproduce incredibly rapidly. 

There is some reason this is happening if it has never happened before and you are not providing a food source. Possibilities include recent destruction of the normal predator population (snakes, hawks, coyotes, bobcats, etc.), a new food source somewhere nearby, disruption of their habitat (housing development, ploughing land). Sometimes the best thing to do is just wait and see whether equilibrium will be reached on its own.


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## MajorSealstheDeal (Jan 4, 2011)

I had a huge influx of mice in our barn this past spring. We tried to bring in barn cats but it didn't work out as we'd expected. Our neighbour suggested setting a "trap line" for mice. It's as simple as it sounds, we ran traps in a row behind the feed bins and along the walls of the barn. There was no way I could use poison because of our dogs. The downside to the trap line is checking it everyday and disposing of the bodies but it was the best solution to our problem. It worked all the time, whereas the cats did not, and we didn't have to worry about our dogs.


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## Fuddyduddy1952 (Jun 26, 2019)

Good 'ol YouTube University!
Poison is bad, can kill other animals (cat eats a poisoned mouse, etc.).
Sticky traps are bad.
Snap traps are ok...but can harm other animals.
Most anything is cruel...but this works...






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## 289250 (Dec 11, 2020)

I like that idea @ Fuddyduddy, may give that a try.


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## 289250 (Dec 11, 2020)

ksbowman said:


> You say you have lived there for 16 years, is this the first time you have had mouse problems? Have you began doing anything different than you did in years past? Has there been any new construction near you that would have moved the mice out of fields and into your barn? These are some things I would look at if there was a sudden surge in the mice. I live just south of K.C. and I haven't noticed any difference in the amount of rodents so the weather shouldn't have caused it. If anything I have less of a problem all though I have had some cats move into our barn. Poisons have always worked well for me to control and mice that I've had as well as a few black snakes. Of course the snakes are in hibernation now.


I've had mice before, just not to this extent. Nothing has changed on my farm or anywhere around me. There is a crop field 40' on one side of my barn (harvested a couple months ago) has been a crop field as long as I have lived here. Then, pasture on 2 other sides and my arena on the 4th side of the barn. No new development anywhere around me. It's just weird. I think I might try that bucket contraption posted below, looks like a pretty easy to try anyways.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

Mice are attracted to hay, and dropped grain. All horses drop grain when they eat and it is enough to attract rodents. 

My farm has natural predators (hawks and owls). This is how I managed my mouse problem:

All grain meals are fed outside the barn in the paddocks. The hawks like to patrol this area and there's grass/no obstacles for the mice to hide under. 

Vacuum your feed room and try not to drop grain on the floor. 

Hose out your buckets away from the barn or house when you clean them. 

In the summer I empty my barn of all hay. It stays empty for months and during this time I buy rounds that stay outside.

*Remember mice have to have a food souce. You want to determine what they are eating - alfalfa is a good source of food for mice, grass hays are less likely to attract them. Eliminate the food source and you have fewer mice. *


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## 289250 (Dec 11, 2020)

@4horses, my tackroom is a dirt floor so there will be no vaccuming, but there is no grain in there they can get to anyways. My horses are stalled at night and they eat in their stalls. I feed square bales only and that is kept in the barn and that won't be able to change as it is the only place to keep it. Stalls are cleaned daily- twice if they are kept in due to weather.

I've also noticed on my Nextdoor community forum that others have been complaining about an increased rodent population, so I'm not the only one having the issues I guess.


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

It may be due to the harvested field on one side. Old or wore combines will leave a lot of grain in the field if they are not maintained. That will be a big food source for the rodents.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

That would be my next thought - the mice are eating in the fields but using your barn as a shelter.


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## Fuddyduddy1952 (Jun 26, 2019)

I'd make that bucket trap. There are other YouTube videos showing free things that work the same. Too many mice are a health problem like hantavirus. 

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## 289250 (Dec 11, 2020)

@Fuddyduddy195, this is definitely on my ToDo list! I need to figure out something that will reach across the bucket. Since I will be using a heated bucket with it being winter now, I'm not going to be punching any holes in it. I'll have to go back and watch some of the YT videos to get some inspiration.


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I don’t think anyone has mentioned pure peppermint oil but you might buy some at WalMart, CVS, or a health food store, soak several cotton balls, and place them around.

I am not sure that will work in a barn but:

When my vet/chiro was still in school and renting, she could not get rid of the mice in her apartment, until she soaked cotton balls in peppermint oil and placed them everywhere she thought they traveled In her apartment.

I laid my last house kitty to rest last year. She was 14 and no longer hunted but her presence was enough to keep the mice at bay, except for under the stove.

Fast forward, and DH had to literally tear the stove apart with instructions off the internet *That also included soaking cotton balls in peppermint oil.*

I am done with kitties in the house, mainly because of my current Rottweiler, so it seems my house will perpetually smell like peppermint oi, if it works as a mouse deterrent.

Far as the barn, I keep a couple bowls of cat food and water on different areas of the work counter for any stray or the neighbor’s cats. I have not seen signs of mice in there all winter and I surmise that is because the odor of the cats is in there —— they all came to the house

I set the game cam up and discovered, one neighbor cat, three ferals, and one wild rabbit eating the cat food. I also keep an intercom on, to the barn, and there hasn’t been any fights yet. They evidently have figured out their own time schedules. I never let the food bowls stay empty, so they must feel secure in knowing food is always there.


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