The mice have arrived

I hate poison but that's the only way I can get rid of them. I have them in record numbers even though I just did a two week poisoning program in my garage.

I'm gonna hang up the chicken feeder from the ceiling in addition to adding poison into a pvc pipe. I was worried about the chickens eating the dead mouse but I read that you get very little poison that way.

I don't want to kill an innocent chipmunk or squirrel...they are rare where I live and I think they are cute.

hayley3 said:

I hate poison but that's the only way I can get rid of them. I have them in record numbers even though I just did a two week poisoning program in my garage.

I'm gonna hang up the chicken feeder from the ceiling in addition to adding poison into a pvc pipe. I was worried about the chickens eating the dead mouse but I read that you get very little poison that way.

I don't want to kill an innocent chipmunk or squirrel...they are rare where I live and I think they are cute.

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This made me lol...mice are cute too, until they start tearing and stinking up your stuff.
Squirrels and chipmunks can wreak larger havoc.

It'll probably take several rounds of 'treatments' before the mouse population dwindles.

I think it's going to be a cold winter--we've never had mice in the house like we do this year and it's just now Dec and not even cold yet. We do the traps and then just toss trap and all onto the burn pile. We have birds get into the garage, so I wouldn't want to put poison but I would if it gets to that point. Also, the squirrels are awful at our place--they gnaw everything, holes into sheds, etc, so we get out the air rifle and have target practice. We haven't had peaches or pecans for years because of them, so they need to go. Not easy when you have neighbors who toss out biscuits and other scraps to feed them

We have too many red shouldered hawks I guess. Seeing a squirrel or chipmunk is a rare sight because of them..even snakes are rare despite living in the Hoosier National Forest. I never knew squirrels would cause damage, but mice, now mice even get into my engine compartment of my car and do damage. I would think the hawks would get the mice too but evidently the mice stay in my barn and hide.
Mice = Poop everywhere so I really hate them.

(And so now I wonder why those hawks have never bothered my chickens in 10 years...hmmmm)

hayley3 said:

We have too many red shouldered hawks I guess. Seeing a squirrel or chipmunk is a rare sight because of them..even snakes are rare despite living in the Hoosier National Forest. I never knew squirrels would cause damage, but mice, now mice even get into my engine compartment of my car and do damage. I would think the hawks would get the mice too but evidently the mice stay in my barn and hide.

Mice = Poop everywhere so I really hate them.

(And so now I wonder why those hawks have never bothered my chickens in 10 years...hmmmm)

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One of the best things when I moved from the city to a rural area was the lack of squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons and possums.
Enough predators to keep them in check....the mice are a nuisance tho, I just keep traps set all the time in key places.

For some reason we have a LOT of possums and they have never ever bothered my chickens but will get into my garbage. But the hawks must eat the snakes which allows my mice population to increase.

So what I'm gonna do is get some pvc and put the pvc inside a cage inside the chicken coop so the chickens can't get to it. And then put a solid poison bait in there so they don't drag that stuff out into the chicken coop. I have my chickens locked up because I'm still working on their day area. Does anyone see any problems with that?

hayley3 said:

For some reason we have a LOT of possums and they have never ever bothered my chickens but will get into my garbage. But the hawks must eat the snakes which allows my mice population to increase.

So what I'm gonna do is get some pvc and put the pvc inside a cage inside the chicken coop so the chickens can't get to it. And then put a solid poison bait in there so they don't drag that stuff out into the chicken coop. I have my chickens locked up because I'm still working on their day area. Does anyone see any problems with that?

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Take a paper clip, straighten it out to insert into the hole of the solid bait, then bend so the bait will not slip off.

Attach one end of a wire to the paper clip, the other to the PVC.

I attach the other to the top of the check tube PVC cap.

I just open the cap, pull out the bait to check it.

I hung my long feeder from 2 chains to lift it up off the floor to see if that would stop the mice from getting in it.
I also put some mouse poison out because I am overrun despite my last month elimination.
Anyway, the chickens like the hanging feeder because I took off the handle that sat crosswise above the feed...that could be a problem in itself, if they start slinging it out on the floor.

Update: I was able to put the handle back on..they slung half of the feed onto the ground.