Mint mouse spray in the chicken coop? Anyone tried this before? There are several different ones out there? Any luck using them?

[Al Gerhart]

Hanging feeders are useless at stopping rats or even mice. I would open the coop door to find my hanging feeder swinging around after the rats had fled.

Poison just kills off the natural predators of the rodents and even if successful a new batch of rodents will just move right into the newly open territory.

 

[Nutterbutterdiablo]

Doesn't matter that your hanging feeder is reduced every night, the rats will eat during the day. You need a proper treadle feeder. Notice that the reply with the grandpa feeder still has the occasional rat to deal with, grandpa feeders are not rat proof, the treadle is too wide, the door isn't spring loaded or counter weighted.'

You will not be able to fence out a rat unless you spend a ton of money. You can keep the feed away from the rodents and they will leave quickly after that.

 

[Nutterbutterdiablo]

Thank you for the info. We don't have to ever deal with rats here, only mice and shrews. We don't have rats up here (Alaska), only on Kodiak Island. I have been looking at treadle feeders. Expensive, but worth it for mice? And are you saying the "Grandpa" one is the best one out there? If not, which one do you recommend? Would it be good for 15 hens? And are they good for pellets and/or crumbles? Sorry for all the questions! I know that as it grows colder (and believe me, it is) the more mice will be looking to move in! Thank you so much for helping me with all this!

 

[Al Gerhart]

Grandpa is one of the worst feeders out there. They pioneered commercial feeders and never changed once better designs came about and for years they were selling $250.00 feeders, robbing people. Now they are selling them for half that cost due to competition and they are still over priced by around 60% for what they are.

Do your research. Search around for recomendations and reviews online for treadle feeders. Watch out for the bloggers that post links to Amazon, they are profiting from recommending what they write about. Once you get on Amazon pay closer attention to the negative reviews than to the positive reviews as there is so much review fraud out there. The negative reviews are the folks that actually did have a rodent problem they were looking to solve, the positive reviews are cluttered with folks that just bought a chicken feeder and never had a problem. Look for the independent sites or individuals talking about their experience with their treadle feeder.

Good luck!

 

[Nutterbutterdiablo]

Thank you! Excellent help and info!!

 

[mscallisto]

I haven't used mint sprays, but I have planted mint beside the coop. It seemed to help a little, but I wouldn't call it a cure for mice. My girls didn't touch it though. Guess they prefer having bird breath.