my feed room is infested with MICE!!!

[Howard E]

I think there are 3 concurrent threads going on rats and mice. All have a few things in common.....an abundance of vermin caused by rats and mice having access to food, water and shelter. In most cases, solutions offered to date go towards elimination of rats and mice by various means......traps and now snakes? They got that backwards.

Steps to eliminate rats and mice are:

Sanitation -
Exclusion -

Get those two right and 90% plus of all the problems with rats and mice go away. After that, if there are a few stragglers, you move to the final step, which is....

Elimination - traps or poison bait.

Having said that, if the situation allows for it, and you don't mind having them around, snakes, barn cats, skunks, weasels, etc are all good rat and mouse killers, as are fox and coyotes. But except for barn cats, most of those also carry the risk of collateral damage to the birds.

 

[chickens really]

Moth balls deter mice. Try those ..I'm not sure though if the smell will penetrate the feed?

 

[Mtnboomer]

I think there are 3 concurrent threads going on rats and mice. All have a few things in common.....an abundance of vermin caused by rats and mice having access to food, water and shelter. In most cases, solutions offered to date go towards elimination of rats and mice by various means......traps and now snakes? They got that backwards.

Steps to eliminate rats and mice are:

Sanitation -
Exclusion -

Get those two right and 90% plus of all the problems with rats and mice go away. After that, if there are a few stragglers, you move to the final step, which is....

Elimination - traps or poison bait.

Having said that, if the situation allows for it, and you don't mind having them around, snakes, barn cats, skunks, weasels, etc are all good rat and mouse killers, as are fox and coyotes. But except for barn cats, most of those also carry the risk of collateral damage to the birds.

Exclusion and sanitation go without mentioning. Do what you can to keep them out. Avoid spills and accessible feed .......of course.
But snap traps cost money and are unreliable. Sticky traps cost money and can only be used once or twice. Live traps...why bother. "Rolling log" or "bucket traps" work great!

Poison must be used cautiously as the wrong choice is risk to the chickens, cat, dog, and anything else that comes across a free meal. Not to mention the smell of a dead mouse that falls in an inaccessible area.
I suggested black snakes because they are common and cost nothing. Obviously, they are not a solution if you don't have them in your area. I capture at least a half dozen a year while mowing the yard. To avoid hurting them, i catch and relocate. Might as well offer them an easy meal and safe refuge while im at it.
Its not a last resort so much as it is a complimentary effort to work hand in hand with the barn cat and the feed security, etc.
Unless you raise very small birds or leave your chicks/eggs exposed, even a large black snake will not be a threat to an adult chicken.

 

[aart]

I know it is the only one mouse in our house because we set out traps for a week and we only caught one. could that mouse have come up from the chicken coop??

Maybe. I get them in the house every once in a while, just keep setting traps until signs are gone.

But snap traps cost money and are unreliable.

Eh, they're pretty cheap, reusable and highly effective if set properly.
I use a bucket trap when populations are high tho.
Both easier than corralling a snake.

The large metal garbage cans will produce condensation and mold or rot your feed in the bottom in some situations.

Never had condensation problems.

 

[chickens really]

Maybe. I get them in the house every once in a while, just keep setting traps until signs are gone.

Eh, they're pretty cheap, reusable and highly effective if set properly.
I use a bucket trap when populations are high tho.
Both easier than corralling a snake.

Never had condensation problems.

You are the be all end all ...

 

[Mtnboomer]

Maybe. I get them in the house every once in a while, just keep setting traps until signs are gone.

Eh, they're pretty cheap, reusable and highly effective if set properly.
I use a bucket trap when populations are high tho.
Both easier than corralling a snake.

Never had condensation problems.

Yeah, but once triggered its useless, whether it caught the mouse or not until it is reset. A snake never needs reset. Hard to catch? Eh, just gotta be fast!

 

[aart]

Yeah, but once triggered its useless, whether it caught the mouse or not until it is reset. A snake never needs reset. Hard to catch? Eh, just gotta be fast!

Yah....but...don't want a snake in my coop or garage...and definitely not in my house!

 

[Mtnboomer]

Yah....but...don't want a snake in my coop or garage...and definitely not in my house!

Dont knock til you try it. My parents pulled a 6.5ft black snake out of the drop ceiling in their basement about 3 weeks ago. They haven't needed to catch a single mouse all winter.
He wasn't planted there though just a happy accident.

 

[aart]

Dont knock til you try it.

Don't need it......my trapping works just fine.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This past summer I couldn't figure out why I was only getting 0-2 eggs a day from my 8 laying hens. Till I caught Mr Black Snake in the nest with 3 eggs in him already, coiled around 5 more. Not sharing eggs with a snake just to control mice.