I have mice under my coop !!!!!!!!

[ClovisMan]

Mice carry Hanta virus and Bubonic plague. Atleast they do here in the US. I'm not sure about Ireland. You need a rat snake!

 

[cchic]

I have mice under my coop too. They have now started chewing the chickens feathers at night. some one said that you can kill most of them but they will just keep breeding fast! Is there any thing that really deters them. I've started planting mint every where around the coop.

 

[Blooie]

Mice carry Hanta virus and Bubonic plague. Atleast they do here in the US. I'm not sure about Ireland. You need a rat snake!

They carried it there too....remember the Black Plague? That was the result of the fleas mice carry.

 

[6of6chicks]

Oh, I'm with the other folks who kind of took the 'live and let live' approach to seeing a mouse...and then regretted it later.

The one small rat I saw in the barn turned into a jaw-dropping infestation practically overnight. I don't go in there very often, and I knew there were rats but didn't want to deal with it. It And so... the rats too over. Full blown Secret of Nimh. I opened the barn one day and a large rat stood up and brazenly stared at me. There was so much rat poo on the floor that it CRUNCHED when you walked. I ended up putting out the cake poison in the barn, which worked, and then spent weeks terrified one of the dogs would end up poisoning themselves if they ate a dead rat in the yard. I won't even go in to how long (and disgusting) the barn clean-up was.

And...I ignored the cute little field mouse I saw in the garden. Ignored a couple of them, actually, because they were freaking adorable and they weren't doing any visible harm to the garden. The copperhead snake that showed up to eat the mice was not so adorable. Neither was the next snake, or the next...

I'm all for shooing things away rather than shooting them. Most of the time I take that approach. But the rats and mice? No. Not anymore. Sorry cute little mice, but you're no longer welcome!

 

[HollysFlock]

Oh, I'm with the other folks who kind of took the 'live and let live' approach to seeing a mouse...and then regretted it later.

The one small rat I saw in the barn turned into a jaw-dropping infestation practically overnight. I don't go in there very often, and I knew there were rats but didn't want to deal with it. It And so... the rats too over. Full blown Secret of Nimh. I opened the barn one day and a large rat stood up and brazenly stared at me. There was so much rat poo on the floor that it CRUNCHED when you walked. I ended up putting out the cake poison in the barn, which worked, and then spent weeks terrified one of the dogs would end up poisoning themselves if they ate a dead rat in the yard. I won't even go in to how long (and disgusting) the barn clean-up was.

And...I ignored the cute little field mouse I saw in the garden. Ignored a couple of them, actually, because they were freaking adorable and they weren't doing any visible harm to the garden. The copperhead snake that showed up to eat the mice was not so adorable. Neither was the next snake, or the next...

I'm all for shooing things away rather than shooting them. Most of the time I take that approach. But the rats and mice? No. Not anymore. Sorry cute little mice, but you're no longer welcome!

We use Agrid3 Bait Chunx in a tamper-resistant Rodent Cafe box. The Agrid3 is essentially a huge dose of vitamin D - it kills the mouse or rat, but should not harm whatever eats the mouse or rat. The bait chunx allows you to put the bait on a stick inside the tamper-resistant Rodent Cafe, so theoretically they only thing that can eat the bait is something able to fit inside the box. Agrid3 is even labeled for use in organic production, oddly.

I don't think it's a pleasant death when compared to other rodent poisons, but it's better than a glue trap and shouldn't kill whatever scavenger happens upon the dead rodent.

 

[6of6chicks]

We use Agrid3 Bait Chunx in a tamper-resistant Rodent Cafe box. The Agrid3 is essentially a huge dose of vitamin D - it kills the mouse or rat, but should not harm whatever eats the mouse or rat. The bait chunx allows you to put the bait on a stick inside the tamper-resistant Rodent Cafe, so theoretically they only thing that can eat the bait is something able to fit inside the box. Agrid3 is even labeled for use in organic production, oddly.

I don't think it's a pleasant death when compared to other rodent poisons, but it's better than a glue trap and shouldn't kill whatever scavenger happens upon the dead rodent.

Thanks! They haven't come back yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. I'll definitely look into what you used. I put down poison without thinking it through (I was grossed out and panicking), and I have one dog that thinks dead, half-decomposed rodent is the best treat ever. I was scared silly she'd find one I missed. Your way sounds much, much better!