NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

You all are cracking me up with all this talk about silkies and poking fun at Rancher! LOL

I cannot believe this weather - less than two weeks before Christmas and I was outside without a jacket on cleaning coops today! Well I'm glad we did have some warm weather to get me out there and get that done. Went to the feed store and stocked up on some bedding, so that should last me thru the winter. I'll just keep adding it to the coops from this point forward to "freshen" them up a bit rather than doing a full clean out. Pearl is still sitting on those eggs. I've had yet to candle any...I came across a teeny tiny bug problem in my basement that skeeved me out and sent me running upstairs to change. Anyone know anything about wood mites? Although, I hate to call these mites because they are tinier than most normal mites if you ask me.

 

[rancher hicks]

I should have cleaned some today. At least take the worst of it out and add new chips. I stocked up before I went to AL. CM has a sale each year. I like to make sure I have enough for the winter.

I bought four mice traps yesterday and have been setting them outside the chicken runs. Got two last night. Those head lights are real good for doing things at night. I'll keep doing it til I can't anymore. I don't expect to kill them all but most of them for sure.

About those "mites". I didn't know we had such things. However what I would do if there is nothing in the basement that would be harmed it set off a number of bug bombs. leave it for the day and then air it out. Then I would dust the corners and crevices with DE.

I do like to set off the bombs in the basement once a year just to keep spiders and cooties at bay. I don't have to go down there often since we've only got the furnace and hot water tank down there. I do have to do more sealing with that foam stuff though. Just when I think I've gotten all the cracks and crevices I find more. I also have to do the holes that were drilled to run wire for the dishwasher.


Hi Lamoka, what's going on?

 

[Lynzi777]

I should have cleaned some today. At least take the worst of it out and add new chips. I stocked up before I went to AL. CM has a sale each year. I like to make sure I have enough for the winter.

I bought four mice traps yesterday and have been setting them outside the chicken runs. Got two last night. Those head lights are real good for doing things at night. I'll keep doing it til I can't anymore. I don't expect to kill them all but most of them for sure.

About those "mites". I didn't know we had such things. However what I would do if there is nothing in the basement that would be harmed it set off a number of bug bombs. leave it for the day and then air it out. Then I would dust the corners and crevices with DE.

I do like to set off the bombs in the basement once a year just to keep spiders and cooties at bay. I don't have to go down there often since we've only got the furnace and hot water tank down there. I do have to do more sealing with that foam stuff though. Just when I think I've gotten all the cracks and crevices I find more. I also have to do the holes that were drilled to run wire for the dishwasher.

Thats what DH just said, he'd like to throw some foggers/bombs down there. That basement skeeves me out just because it is an unfinished basement of an older home with stone foundation. We have a mouse problem, put 8 pellet/poison dishes down there the past two nights - they are ALL empty!! My worry is, the mice from outside are getting in, eating them and going back outside. I heard the mice in the walls last night which leaves me to believe they hadn't made it down to the basement to get any of this stuff before it was gone. Back out to tomorrow to get some more! UGH

 

[rancher hicks]

Thats what DH just said, he'd like to throw some foggers/bombs down there. That basement skeeves me out just because it is an unfinished basement of an older home with stone foundation. We have a mouse problem, put 8 pellet/poison dishes down there the past two nights - they are ALL empty!! My worry is, the mice from outside are getting in, eating them and going back outside. I heard the mice in the walls last night which leaves me to believe they hadn't made it down to the basement to get any of this stuff before it was gone. Back out to tomorrow to get some more! UGH

I would go down during the day and turn off the lights so you can see cracks and crevices where mice can get in. Then I would fill these with "Stuff" that spray foam. Wear old cloths and gloves. It gets messy.

Be sure to fill in around all pipe and duct work openings.

I used that poison once and a mouse died inside the wall. I like traps cuz I know I've gotten them. They are a pain to set though. They have a new easy to set trap 2/$4. But make sure you secure them to a board as they aren't quick kill and they get dragged off.

You could also do the bucket with water set up too. I bought some Pineapple juice just so I could have the can to make one and see how it goes.

You could use those Glue traps, but other mice will crawl over the dead mice and eat them too. At least that's what I'm told.

If it's damp I would leave a light on to prevent mold problems if there is one. DE can help with that too.

Mice carry disease so show them no mercy.

 

[stonykill]

I would go down during the day and turn off the lights so you can see cracks and crevices where mice can get in. Then I would fill these with "Stuff" that spray foam. Wear old cloths and gloves. It gets messy.

Be sure to fill in around all pipe and duct work openings.

I used that poison once and a mouse died inside the wall. I like traps cuz I know I've gotten them. They are a pain to set though. They have a new easy to set trap 2/$4. But make sure you secure them to a board as they aren't quick kill and they get dragged off.

You could also do the bucket with water set up too. I bought some Pineapple juice just so I could have the can to make one and see how it goes.

You could use those Glue traps, but other mice will crawl over the dead mice and eat them too. At least that's what I'm told.

If it's damp I would leave a light on to prevent mold problems if there is one. DE can help with that too.

Mice carry disease so show them no mercy.

glue traps don't kill the mice. They are stuck to the glue trap, unable to move, freaked out waiting for you to kill them. The most inhumane most popular trap as people consider them humane. Water bucket works. Drowning is a terrible way to kill. But it works. Using the same principle take an empty 5 gallon bucket, put some cracked corn in the bottom. You will still catch the mice, then you can stomp them to a quick humane death. One quick stomp on a mouse and it is instantly dead.
I kill way too many critters. Instant or nearly instant death is all I will accept. Glue traps and drowning are ways I won't use. Well not on purpose. Sometimes one just finds dead mice floating in water.

 

[Lynzi777]

I would go down during the day and turn off the lights so you can see cracks and crevices where mice can get in. Then I would fill these with "Stuff" that spray foam. Wear old cloths and gloves. It gets messy. This we HAVE done, there were a lot of spots over the summer that we spotted and we filled them immediately. But I think we definitely need to do another round from inside the basement.

Be sure to fill in around all pipe and duct work openings.

I used that poison once and a mouse died inside the wall. I like traps cuz I know I've gotten them. They are a pain to set though. They have a new easy to set trap 2/$4. But make sure you secure them to a board as they aren't quick kill and they get dragged off.

You could also do the bucket with water set up too. I bought some Pineapple juice just so I could have the can to make one and see how it goes.
I read online today about the bucket traps, I do want to try this because I will obviously feel better SEEING that I caught one rather than wondering if the poison killed them.

You could use those Glue traps, but other mice will crawl over the dead mice and eat them too. At least that's what I'm told.

If it's damp I would leave a light on to prevent mold problems if there is one. DE can help with that too.

Mice carry disease so show them no mercy.

THANKS!!! All great ideas!

 

[Lynzi777]

glue traps don't kill the mice. They are stuck to the glue trap, unable to move, freaked out waiting for you to kill them. The most inhumane most popular trap as people consider them humane. Water bucket works. Drowning is a terrible way to kill. But it works. Using the same principle take an empty 5 gallon bucket, put some cracked corn in the bottom. You will still catch the mice, then you can stomp them to a quick humane death. One quick stomp on a mouse and it is instantly dead.
I kill way too many critters. Instant or nearly instant death is all I will accept. Glue traps and drowning are ways I won't use. Well not on purpose. Sometimes one just finds dead mice floating in water.

Yes, this is what I read about this morning with the bucket, not necessarily filling it with anything, but placing something they are attracted to in the bottom, and placing a "ramp" from the ground up to the bucket so that once they are up they will jump in to get the food but have no way out.
"

 

[featherz]

I really like the 'nooski' for a mouse trap. I don't use them often, but they are reusable and supposedly very humane.

http://www.nooski.com/

 

[stonykill]

I really like the 'nooski' for a mouse trap. I don't use them often, but they are reusable and supposedly very humane.

http://www.nooski.com/

so this trap chokes the mouse to death.

. Slowly starving it's brain of oxygen until it dies.

. I'll take a good old fashioned "crush the skull for instant death" mousetrap any day. If you are seriously over run take anything you can get. I've come to believe in today's world it is a humane death if we don't see any blood or any obvious injury. Even if it less humane. I'm sure it is effective however.

 

[featherz]

so this trap chokes the mouse to death.

. Slowly starving it's brain of oxygen until it dies.

. I'll take a good old fashioned "crush the skull for instant death" mousetrap any day. If you are seriously over run take anything you can get. I've come to believe in today's world it is a humane death if we don't see any blood or any obvious injury. Even if it less humane. I'm sure it is effective however.

You do have a good point - however, when I was looking at mouse traps, all I could find that was safe to be in a coop with chickens involved drowning or poison.. The snap traps would snag chickens also and also could hit a mouse in the wrong place and not kill em. I've only used the nooski twice, but what I liked was that it involved no poison and was chicken safe. and less chance of a maimed mouse. Always willing to hear better suggestions!