Deter rodents humanely

[Al Gerhart]

From the article:

I know! Hilarious but is it really different than the "advice" that gets posted here? I read that article and had to imagine the educators, professionals, and scientists rolling in the floor at the humor in the ignorant methods of rodent control from the past.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I know! Hilarious but is it really different than the "advice" that gets posted here? I read that article and had to imagine the educators, professionals, and scientists rolling in the floor at the humor in the ignorant methods of rodent control from the past.

I just thought it was the most Irish thing I've read in a while (I'm Irish). I suspect more than one of my ancestors probably got drunk and rhymed at some rats.

 

[McChooky]

So, this is ur recommendation for a humane trap/solution? U're missing my whole point.

Its illegal to release rats or mice where people congregate ,work or live and they can't survive without humans if relocated so there is no humane trap

 

[Seaslug]

Its illegal to release rats or mice where people congregate ,work or live and they can't survive without humans if relocated so there is no humane trap

The white-footed mice that live out in the woods by us and are a keystone food-web species to any number of wild mid-Atlantic animals would be surprised to learn that they can not survive without humans. On occasion one will get into the house in winter. And one was just in my car the other week. I set out a humane trap and release them back out into the yard. They are a native species and are naturally found in my area.

 

[McChooky]

The white-footed mice that live out in the woods by us and are a keystone food-web species to any number of wild mid-Atlantic animals would be surprised to learn that they can not survive without humans. On occasion one will get into the house in winter. And one was just in my car the other week. I set out a humane trap and release them back out into the yard. They are a native species and are naturally found in my area.

You'd be surprised how many don't survive without food or shelter.Releasing them in your yard isn't recommended either.
They can find their way home if not released a couple miles away

 

[Seaslug]

"White-footed mice are omnivorous, and eat seeds and insects. They are particularly voracious predators of the pupal stage of the invasive spongy moth (formerly termed the gypsy moth). They are timid and generally avoid humans, but they occasionally take up residence in ground-floor walls of homes and apartments, where they build nests and store food. White-footed mice spend substantial time in trees and bushes, sometimes taking unoccupied old bird nests and building roofs on them."
These mice aren't really targeting my home when it is not winter, so I am not worried about them coming "back" in. Plus, loving that they eat spongy moth pupa.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Get a cat. Even if it doesn’t catch mice, the smell of the cat being around will make them think twice about moving in.

Cats do nothing for rats and very little for mice. However cats are really great at decimating songbird populations. I got an "experienced barn cat" from someone years ago and after a year of watching it do nothing but torture songbirds to death I re-homed the cat

Since then I've learned that there are studies out there showing that cats do not effect rat populations at all

 

[McChooky]

Cats do nothing for rats and very little for mice. However cats are really great at decimating songbird populations. I got an "experienced barn cat" from someone years ago and after a year of watching it do nothing but torture songbirds to death I re-homed the cat

Since then I've learned that there are studies out there showing that cats do not effect rat populations at all

I never realized until I was older that snakes and birds eat other birds yet all I ever read about how many cats eat birds.A cat stands a better chance of catching a bird on the ground than a bush or tree.Its also not advisable to put out bird feeders if you have outside cats

 

[Debbie292d]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQ89XXC8?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

I recently bought this product. All-natural, made from a combination of essential oils like peppermint & lemongrass, relatively inexpensive, humane. Clean & hygienic in little self-contained pouches (although you don't want to ingest any of this stuff!) I've used it for only a week in our attic, where rats pop up every few weeks. So far, no rats whatsoever, although it's definitely too soon to make any conclusions about whether this product is effective. But IMHO it's definitely worth a try before resorting to more extreme methods.

Re: the wide range of opinions here about peppermint oil deterring rodents, well, it appears that sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it takes a while to start or stop working. Details matter.

Here's what Microsoft's Windows AI has to say on the topic (including links):

"Yes, peppermint oil can help repel rodents due to its strong scent, which irritates their sensitive olfactory systems2. However, it is not a foolproof solution and works best as part of a broader pest control strategy"

https://www.thespruce.com/peppermint-oil-for-mice-7373740

https://pestpointers.com/how-to-make-an-easy-mice-repellent-using-peppermint-oil/?form=MG0AV3

Hope this helps. I share your worldview about killing pests only as a last resort. However, I also want to stress that chickens do need to get outside once in a while, maybe at least once a day. They're not designed for life indoors. One of our birds was a rescue chick, almost killed by two protective hens. We raised her indoors and even though she's now adult, she still will only go outside when we're with her. But we still take her out for at least an hour a day, while we're outside, and have been slowly, slowly convincing her not to be afraid of the other birds. She was so badly traumatized as a week-old baby that she may never fully acclimate to "normal" chicken society, but we're hopeful that someday she'll be ready to do so.


Sorry to digress. I still recommend at least trying the pouches at the Amazon link, as a convenient, clean, and potentially effective way to solve your problem. You might also want to invest in an automatic chicken feeder that keeps food locked up until opened by an adult bird. I think that might help A LOT.

You can make those yourself. They work well here!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/diy-mice-deterrent-pouches.79542/

 

[Al Gerhart]

I never realized until I was older that snakes and birds eat other birds yet all I ever read about how many cats eat birds.A cat stands a better chance of catching a bird on the ground than a bush or tree.Its also not advisable to put out bird feeders if you have outside cats

There was a discussion the other day about snakes controlling rodents and I gently.... thin skins around here at times.... questioned how many rodents a big snake would eat each week. Knowing the answer of course, they eat once every two to three weeks or longer depending on the weather. The idea that a snake could control a population, that doubles their population if the food is there, in a few months is silly. Cats, I could see them getting one a day, still that might not dent the numbers if the rodents were feeding off chicken feed.