Opinions on mouse control

[Katanahamon]

They're fine if you take food out during the night.

Yes..bring food in at night.

 

[3KillerBs]

Since then I use sticky traps in places other animals can't get into.

Glue traps are horrifically cruel -- the mice die of starvation and dehydration. They are vermin, but we have no right to make them suffer.

Snap traps are the swiftest and most merciful.

Poison can be used in a safe and careful fashion and some kinds are not dangerous to pets.

@Thanera What does your run look like? Do you have it wrapped entirely in hardware cloth with either an anti-dig apron or a trench burying hardware cloth 12" down? Find the way the mice are getting in and block it off because that same 1/2" gap could admit snakes and weasels.

 

[AOrchard]

I live trap the mice and feed them to my indoor cats. Pulling feed works, but that's one more chore on my list, and I'd rather not have to deal with that. So, I trap every two months or so, for a couple days at a time until the trap is out a full day or two without catching anything.

 

[Thanera]

Glue traps are horrifically cruel -- the mice die of starvation and dehydration. They are vermin, but we have no right to make them suffer.

Snap traps are the swiftest and most merciful.

Poison can be used in a safe and careful fashion and some kinds are not dangerous to pets.

@Thanera What does your run look like? Do you have it wrapped entirely in hardware cloth with either an anti-dig apron or a trench burying hardware cloth 12" down? Find the way the mice are getting in and block it off because that same 1/2" gap could admit snakes and weasels.

I do not have it wrapped in hardware cloth, I have the run surrounded on 3/4 sides with 2x4in welded wire fencing that goes down into the ground about 6 in and is 6 ft tall. One long side of the chicken run is against a building and on 1/2 of the run there is a fabric view blocker attached to a chain link fence that is a couple inches in the ground as well. Wrapped around all of that on the inside, except for against the building, is 3 ft high chicken wire. I know it won't keep anything big out but it's just another layer of protection. Covering the whole run I have bird netting. I have never seen a predator around my house and not even my night vision cameras have picked up anything ever. So I am not too worried about predators coming in. My coop door also closes and locks every night so I think predators would be hard-pressed to make it in there. I also have five dogs running around nearly 24/7 and so do my neighbors dogs, so anything bigger than a mouse I think is smart enough not to come around.

 

[Thanera]

Snap traps with peanut butter has always worked well for me. Have a jar that expired last year that I store in the cabinet above the stove so I don't accidentally contaminate the good jar and wrote mouse trap all over it so no one eats it. One evening they were snapping the traps faster than I could set them when the neighbors were moving, after a week I wasn't catching anything anymore and haven't seen any since.

I went out and purchased two catch and release traps and use peanut butter in them and I actually caught four mice. I drove at least 2 miles away and release them into a sort of wild park green space. That way that I don't have to kill them and nature can sort itself out. I haven't caught any more for a few days so hopefully I got rid of the population I have, fingers crossed

 

[3KillerBs]

I drove at least 2 miles away and release them into a sort of wild park green space.

Releasing vermin on land that you do not own or, at least have specific permission from the owner, is unethical and, in many places, illegal.

Wrapping your run in hardware cloth is better than passing your vermin problem to someone else.

 

[Thanera]

Releasing vermin on land that you do not own or, at least have specific permission from the owner, is unethical and, in many places, illegal.

Wrapping your run in hardware cloth is better than passing your vermin problem to someone else.

I agree but also disagree. If I dumped them in my neighbor's yard that would be really messed up. The place I use is public land, no homes, business, or places of human congregation for at least 2-3 miles. You can't really say there isn't already field mice in a wild area like this.

 

[3KillerBs]

I agree but also disagree. If I dumped them in my neighbor's yard that would be really messed up. The place I use is public land, no homes, business, or places of human congregation for at least 2-3 miles. You can't really say there isn't already field mice in a wild area like this.

It's still not yours and you have no right to treat it as if it were yours.

It's just like dumping trash on public land.

 

[Wrooster]

We haven't had mice in a while, not since the snakes moved in. I think I'd rather have the mice. I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said but IMO, if you're going to trap them, it's not fun for the mouse (nor for you, I hope) no matter how you do it. Just do it and get it done. And relocating is almost never a good idea nor good for the critter, although I'll admit to having done it on rare occasions.

 

[MountainWoman73]

My preferred method is a good barn cat, as well as using a hanging feeder and storing food in a lidded mouse-proof container.

If you have some money to throw at the problem, I hear good things about the Grandpa's chicken feeders. I don't have one myself.