Mice again

[BennieAnTheJets]

So the site came up with 4 good links to other threads when I typed in mice - I will take a look but still post this.

I am so frustrated because I tried to get rid of the snakes (and mice to some degree) by putting down hardwire cloth and cement on the floor of the run - so now I have it enclosed on all six sides. Still - baby mice get through and some of the adults get stuck in the wire and die there.

I got to cut out 3 or 4 tomorrow and cement in the hole. They dug a tunnel from underneath and ended up dying in the hardwirecloth half in, half out - I guess they are not smart enough to know that they cannot get through anymore when they grow to adult size. I caught several babies inside. Those seem to make it through the 1/4" wire opening just fine.

What's more, I think I got a copperhead snake ***in my house now***, Got scrat in the basement and now on the living room floor on the carpet. Ugh! Gotta find that snake - not safe in my house anymore. We have a cat, but I did take two mice from him last week and I wonder if he is not able to keep up since we have a lot of clutter indoors since my husband was so sick for so long and I had to take care of him and work.

Anyway - i am back to the original problem: can I eliminate feed spillage in the coop and run??? That has been a resounding No so far, and is even worse now, since I kept extra birds that I was not planning on last year and have had no time to update my enclosures and need to give all birds a chance to eat, not just the strongest ones who fight for it first, so I have plenty of food around all the time, with the accompanying spillage everywhere and mice coming from far and wide and having extended families and drawing venomous snakes to our cluttered house and yard - arrrghhhh! Not a problem I needed right now.

Is there a solution?

Thanks for letting me share this and any tips, or any replies for that matter, much appreciated.

I think it is becoming clearer to me already what I have to do - keep the food from falling through the hardwire floor for starters since the little beasts (mice) have learned to dig under and come from underneath - so the food just falls into their mouths, even if they don't make it through the wire. I think it will take a lot of effort and time and iterations again to get rid of (at least part of) the mouse surge.

And I am not sure what to do with the - hopefully not, but probably so - established copperhead nest that came as a result - I hate to kill innocent wildlife and feel responsible for causing this. Certainly did not let it happen on purpose. I don't see good solutions to so many things in life these days.

 

[MrsTush]

We just went through this! The mice were getting bad. I don't let the guineas eat in the coop anymore. I feed them in their yard in the morning and in the afternoon. Then I pick up anything that's left and it goes in a metal pail with a lid.
I also got these livestock pellets at home depot. They deter mice but won't hurt animals. They are pretty big pellets. I put them down along the walls of the coop. The guineas looked at them and walked away. That was over a week ago and I haven't seen even one mouse out there. I was seeing at least one or two every time I went out to the coop.

 

[MrsTush]

Also...I use tack strips along any entrance for snake deterrent. I lost a guinea last year to a black snake so I went crazy with keeping them away.

 

[KingD]

So the site came up with 4 good links to other threads when I typed in mice - I will take a look but still post this.

I am so frustrated because I tried to get rid of the snakes (and mice to some degree) by putting down hardwire cloth and cement on the floor of the run - so now I have it enclosed on all six sides. Still - baby mice get through and some of the adults get stuck in the wire and die there.

I got to cut out 3 or 4 tomorrow and cement in the hole. They dug a tunnel from underneath and ended up dying in the hardwirecloth half in, half out - I guess they are not smart enough to know that they cannot get through anymore when they grow to adult size. I caught several babies inside. Those seem to make it through the 1/4" wire opening just fine.

What's more, I think I got a copperhead snake ***in my house now***, Got scrat in the basement and now on the living room floor on the carpet. Ugh! Gotta find that snake - not safe in my house anymore. We have a cat, but I did take two mice from him last week and I wonder if he is not able to keep up since we have a lot of clutter indoors since my husband was so sick for so long and I had to take care of him and work.

Anyway - i am back to the original problem: can I eliminate feed spillage in the coop and run??? That has been a resounding No so far, and is even worse now, since I kept extra birds that I was not planning on last year and have had no time to update my enclosures and need to give all birds a chance to eat, not just the strongest ones who fight for it first, so I have plenty of food around all the time, with the accompanying spillage everywhere and mice coming from far and wide and having extended families and drawing venomous snakes to our cluttered house and yard - arrrghhhh! Not a problem I needed right now.

Is there a solution?

Thanks for letting me share this and any tips, or any replies for that matter, much appreciated.

I think it is becoming clearer to me already what I have to do - keep the food from falling through the hardwire floor for starters since the little beasts (mice) have learned to dig under and come from underneath - so the food just falls into their mouths, even if they don't make it through the wire. I think it will take a lot of effort and time and iterations again to get rid of (at least part of) the mouse surge.

And I am not sure what to do with the - hopefully not, but probably so - established copperhead nest that came as a result - I hate to kill innocent wildlife and feel responsible for causing this. Certainly did not let it happen on purpose. I don't see good solutions to so many things in life these days.

Put poison down then block the sides of the cage so no poisoned mice can fit through.
Gotta do what u gotta do.
I think killing a load of mice is better than a snake killing a child.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

So the site came up with 4 good links to other threads when I typed in mice - I will take a look but still post this.

I am so frustrated because I tried to get rid of the snakes (and mice to some degree) by putting down hardwire cloth and cement on the floor of the run - so now I have it enclosed on all six sides. Still - baby mice get through and some of the adults get stuck in the wire and die there.

I got to cut out 3 or 4 tomorrow and cement in the hole. They dug a tunnel from underneath and ended up dying in the hardwirecloth half in, half out - I guess they are not smart enough to know that they cannot get through anymore when they grow to adult size. I caught several babies inside. Those seem to make it through the 1/4" wire opening just fine.

What's more, I think I got a copperhead snake ***in my house now***, Got scrat in the basement and now on the living room floor on the carpet. Ugh! Gotta find that snake - not safe in my house anymore. We have a cat, but I did take two mice from him last week and I wonder if he is not able to keep up since we have a lot of clutter indoors since my husband was so sick for so long and I had to take care of him and work.

Anyway - i am back to the original problem: can I eliminate feed spillage in the coop and run??? That has been a resounding No so far, and is even worse now, since I kept extra birds that I was not planning on last year and have had no time to update my enclosures and need to give all birds a chance to eat, not just the strongest ones who fight for it first, so I have plenty of food around all the time, with the accompanying spillage everywhere and mice coming from far and wide and having extended families and drawing venomous snakes to our cluttered house and yard - arrrghhhh! Not a problem I needed right now.

Is there a solution?

Thanks for letting me share this and any tips, or any replies for that matter, much appreciated.

I think it is becoming clearer to me already what I have to do - keep the food from falling through the hardwire floor for starters since the little beasts (mice) have learned to dig under and come from underneath - so the food just falls into their mouths, even if they don't make it through the wire. I think it will take a lot of effort and time and iterations again to get rid of (at least part of) the mouse surge.

And I am not sure what to do with the - hopefully not, but probably so - established copperhead nest that came as a result - I hate to kill innocent wildlife and feel responsible for causing this. Certainly did not let it happen on purpose. I don't see good solutions to so many things in life these days.

Wow, a copperhead in your house? Bleh. My family has the copperhead “kill or not” discussion every year, but those are outdoor snakes. Obviously an indoor venous snake is a major safety issue. You already have so much to deal with - maybe an exterminator is in order for your house to deal with any nice infestation.

As for feed, can you describe the current feeding setup? What kind of feeders, how many, how are they set up? I like MrsTush’s statement about keeping feed out of the coop, but I also need a feeder in the guinea coop right now.

 

[Sydney65]

So the site came up with 4 good links to other threads when I typed in mice - I will take a look but still post this.

I am so frustrated because I tried to get rid of the snakes (and mice to some degree) by putting down hardwire cloth and cement on the floor of the run - so now I have it enclosed on all six sides. Still - baby mice get through and some of the adults get stuck in the wire and die there.

I got to cut out 3 or 4 tomorrow and cement in the hole. They dug a tunnel from underneath and ended up dying in the hardwirecloth half in, half out - I guess they are not smart enough to know that they cannot get through anymore when they grow to adult size. I caught several babies inside. Those seem to make it through the 1/4" wire opening just fine.

What's more, I think I got a copperhead snake ***in my house now***, Got scrat in the basement and now on the living room floor on the carpet. Ugh! Gotta find that snake - not safe in my house anymore. We have a cat, but I did take two mice from him last week and I wonder if he is not able to keep up since we have a lot of clutter indoors since my husband was so sick for so long and I had to take care of him and work.

Anyway - i am back to the original problem: can I eliminate feed spillage in the coop and run??? That has been a resounding No so far, and is even worse now, since I kept extra birds that I was not planning on last year and have had no time to update my enclosures and need to give all birds a chance to eat, not just the strongest ones who fight for it first, so I have plenty of food around all the time, with the accompanying spillage everywhere and mice coming from far and wide and having extended families and drawing venomous snakes to our cluttered house and yard - arrrghhhh! Not a problem I needed right now.

Is there a solution?

Thanks for letting me share this and any tips, or any replies for that matter, much appreciated.

I think it is becoming clearer to me already what I have to do - keep the food from falling through the hardwire floor for starters since the little beasts (mice) have learned to dig under and come from underneath - so the food just falls into their mouths, even if they don't make it through the wire. I think it will take a lot of effort and time and iterations again to get rid of (at least part of) the mouse surge.

And I am not sure what to do with the - hopefully not, but probably so - established copperhead nest that came as a result - I hate to kill innocent wildlife and feel responsible for causing this. Certainly did not let it happen on purpose. I don't see good solutions to so many things in life these days.

We've missed you!
Sounds like you need to have a chat w/the birds; don't they know they're suppose to eat mice?
Surrounded by fields,when we moved here decades ago, this gal became quite unwillingly familiar w/beady eyes looking back at her when opening the linen closet, scratching in the walls, and pathetic squealing when I put down those sticky traps. Oh, and the industrious ones who would get partially caught in a trap and chew off their own foot.
I wasn't impressed.
Thankfully we've remodeled since those days & closed off entries. But Himself also bought several Tomcat rat bait boxes- yeah, he's kind of like Tim the Toolman, bigger is better. But in this case I think he was right.
He put one at each corner of the house, in the barn, under my shed, and did the same next door. Knock on wood, we haven't seen mice in years.
The good thing about it is that nothing else can get into them so we don't have to worry about other animals.- Once the buffet is gone, there's not much reason for snakes to move in. But I'd be calling an exterminator for that if it's in your house! I vaguely remember my mom telling me of my great grandmother dealing w/that, but not how she got rid of it.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Thank you all soooo much!!!
Yes, I have called an exterminator and he has been here twice and said the snake would be no problem to catch but the mice is a different story since I do not want to use poison: I think my kitty died eating a poisoned mouse of two. We had an exterminator before we got the cats and he threw those green blocks absolutely everywhere (behind the fridge, into the insulation, etc.). When I got pets I stopped using them but have seen green mouse droppings before Apex died... The mice must have found an old block. And he must have snacked on one or more of the poisoned mice.
Exterminator thought with poison 6 months, with snap traps longer, and with live traps you are fighting a losing battle since they reproduce faster than they go into the live traps.
I don't like killing them, but recently heard this God-aweful squeeling the in the wall and later found snake droppings outside that wall - aha! mus have been that the snake went into a nest and got one. Nature is sooo cruel, too. Makes me feel a tiny bit better about the snap traps - better a quick death than being eaten alive by a snake. Sigh.
I am sleeping in a SansBug tent that we luckily had for sleeping on the deck some day.
https://www.amazon.com/SansBug-1-Pe...hild=1&keywords=sansbug&qid=1616383839&sr=8-1
I sleep sooo much better in there now - did not realize how nervous the snake did make me at night - during the day I can watch where I step, but when you sleep... Tried to tell myself a snake avoids people but just to make sure, I serached the internet for copperhead in bed - and - wouldn't you know it! https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...23b7b6-5102-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
Out came the tent that night!!!! I am not leaving my house - I need to feed the animals every day and I have to work - but I will sleep in the tent for now.
Anyway - back to the issue at hand: any favorite spill-free feeders that work for you'all? Any effective mouse control in the coop and run that works for you?
What pellets are those @MrsTush ?
What about Mouse X?
Peppermint?
The exterminator is coming back tomorrow to seal "all" entry points into the house - well, most of them at least. It should help a ton. He seems very good.
Any input for you still very much wanted and appreciated!!!

 

[Sydney65]

Thank you all soooo much!!!
Yes, I have called an exterminator and he has been here twice and said the snake would be no problem to catch but the mice is a different story since I do not want to use poison: I think my kitty died eating a poisoned mouse of two. We had an exterminator before we got the cats and he threw those green blocks absolutely everywhere (behind the fridge, into the insulation, etc.). When I got pets I stopped using them but have seen green mouse droppings before Apex died... The mice must have found an old block. And he must have snacked on one or more of the poisoned mice.
Exterminator thought with poison 6 months, with snap traps longer, and with live traps you are fighting a losing battle since they reproduce faster than they go into the live traps.
I don't like killing them, but recently heard this God-aweful squeeling the in the wall and later found snake droppings outside that wall - aha! mus have been that the snake went into a nest and got one. Nature is sooo cruel, too. Makes me feel a tiny bit better about the snap traps - better a quick death than being eaten alive by a snake. Sigh.
I am sleeping in a SansBug tent that we luckily had for sleeping on the deck some day.
https://www.amazon.com/SansBug-1-Pe...hild=1&keywords=sansbug&qid=1616383839&sr=8-1
I sleep sooo much better in there now - did not realize how nervous the snake did make me at night - during the day I can watch where I step, but when you sleep... Tried to tell myself a snake avoids people but just to make sure, I serached the internet for copperhead in bed - and - wouldn't you know it! https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...23b7b6-5102-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
Out came the tent that night!!!! I am not leaving my house - I need to feed the animals every day and I have to work - but I will sleep in the tent for now.
Anyway - back to the issue at hand: any favorite spill-free feeders that work for you'all? Any effective mouse control in the coop and run that works for you?
What pellets are those @MrsTush ?
What about Mouse X?
Peppermint?
The exterminator is coming back tomorrow to seal "all" entry points into the house - well, most of them at least. It should help a ton. He seems very good.
Any input for you still very much wanted and appreciated!!!

I read threads on the feeders that they have to put their heads in pvc pipe elbows to eat and ppl rave about them for being spill proof, but they aren't rodent proof unless you schedule feeding times and cap them off the rest of the time bc rodents just climb in. The only thing I see that is likely to work is the steel automatic feeder they have to stand on to open, but then - how many can eat from it at the same time or how much are you willing to put out for multiple feeders and then- I have visions of someone being decapitated if they're eating from the side when the one standing on the trigger plate steps off.
Not much help, huh?!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thank you all soooo much!!!
Yes, I have called an exterminator and he has been here twice and said the snake would be no problem to catch but the mice is a different story since I do not want to use poison: I think my kitty died eating a poisoned mouse of two. We had an exterminator before we got the cats and he threw those green blocks absolutely everywhere (behind the fridge, into the insulation, etc.). When I got pets I stopped using them but have seen green mouse droppings before Apex died... The mice must have found an old block. And he must have snacked on one or more of the poisoned mice.
Exterminator thought with poison 6 months, with snap traps longer, and with live traps you are fighting a losing battle since they reproduce faster than they go into the live traps.
I don't like killing them, but recently heard this God-aweful squeeling the in the wall and later found snake droppings outside that wall - aha! mus have been that the snake went into a nest and got one. Nature is sooo cruel, too. Makes me feel a tiny bit better about the snap traps - better a quick death than being eaten alive by a snake. Sigh.
I am sleeping in a SansBug tent that we luckily had for sleeping on the deck some day.
https://www.amazon.com/SansBug-1-Pe...hild=1&keywords=sansbug&qid=1616383839&sr=8-1
I sleep sooo much better in there now - did not realize how nervous the snake did make me at night - during the day I can watch where I step, but when you sleep... Tried to tell myself a snake avoids people but just to make sure, I serached the internet for copperhead in bed - and - wouldn't you know it! https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...23b7b6-5102-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
Out came the tent that night!!!! I am not leaving my house - I need to feed the animals every day and I have to work - but I will sleep in the tent for now.
Anyway - back to the issue at hand: any favorite spill-free feeders that work for you'all? Any effective mouse control in the coop and run that works for you?
What pellets are those @MrsTush ?
What about Mouse X?
Peppermint?
The exterminator is coming back tomorrow to seal "all" entry points into the house - well, most of them at least. It should help a ton. He seems very good.
Any input for you still very much wanted and appreciated!!!

The tent is a great idea! I’m glad that you have that Bennie, and glad that you have an exterminator involved! The treadle feeders are supposed to be the best for rodent prevention, though they are expensive.

https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/feed-o-matic-poultry-chicken-feeder

I use another on demand feeder, the Peckomatic, which is also expensive. The Peckomatic also does not do a great job keeping the food away from rodents. The guineas love to swing the Peckomatic bucket around so they pile the food up instead of pecking and eating like they are supposed to...

 

[MrsTush]

Thank you all soooo much!!!
Yes, I have called an exterminator and he has been here twice and said the snake would be no problem to catch but the mice is a different story since I do not want to use poison: I think my kitty died eating a poisoned mouse of two. We had an exterminator before we got the cats and he threw those green blocks absolutely everywhere (behind the fridge, into the insulation, etc.). When I got pets I stopped using them but have seen green mouse droppings before Apex died... The mice must have found an old block. And he must have snacked on one or more of the poisoned mice.
Exterminator thought with poison 6 months, with snap traps longer, and with live traps you are fighting a losing battle since they reproduce faster than they go into the live traps.
I don't like killing them, but recently heard this God-aweful squeeling the in the wall and later found snake droppings outside that wall - aha! mus have been that the snake went into a nest and got one. Nature is sooo cruel, too. Makes me feel a tiny bit better about the snap traps - better a quick death than being eaten alive by a snake. Sigh.
I am sleeping in a SansBug tent that we luckily had for sleeping on the deck some day.
https://www.amazon.com/SansBug-1-Pe...hild=1&keywords=sansbug&qid=1616383839&sr=8-1
I sleep sooo much better in there now - did not realize how nervous the snake did make me at night - during the day I can watch where I step, but when you sleep... Tried to tell myself a snake avoids people but just to make sure, I serached the internet for copperhead in bed - and - wouldn't you know it! https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...23b7b6-5102-11e7-be25-3a519335381c_story.html
Out came the tent that night!!!! I am not leaving my house - I need to feed the animals every day and I have to work - but I will sleep in the tent for now.
Anyway - back to the issue at hand: any favorite spill-free feeders that work for you'all? Any effective mouse control in the coop and run that works for you?
What pellets are those @MrsTush ?
What about Mouse X?
Peppermint?
The exterminator is coming back tomorrow to seal "all" entry points into the house - well, most of them at least. It should help a ton. He seems very good.
Any input for you still very much wanted and appreciated!!!

Yes, it was Mouse X. It actually has horrible reviews with people saying it didn't work but I noticed it working immediately. I haven't seen a mouse in the coop since. We put mint sachets in a few places in the house, traps with peanut butter and the green blocks on our car port. So far so good.
I also have four cats. If someone is staring at a certain spot for too long I know it's either a mouse or a lizard.
We have nothing but woods on 2 sides of us so a mouse here or there isn't unheard of. Unfortunately, they got out of hand when my husband didn't want to hurt the little cuties. The day I saw one run across our bed the war was on. I used everything I could find except glue traps. I haven't seen one in the house or carport in st least two weeks except for a dead one.