The Battle Over The Chicken Shed: Me vs. the Mice

[PioneerChicks]

These mice have been in my shed for several months now! I'm getting chicks sometime in February so the squeakers need to leave!!!

I have three good mousing cats, but the cats can't fit under the chicken shed, where I suspect there are several mouse nests.

Last week I cleaned out the shed, and now all my extra chicken feed is sitting in containers covered in garbage sacks outside; yet another reason to hurry this along. I shoveled out all the food and loose shavings and mouse droppings. But there are still enough crumbs and scraps around the chicken yard and compost pile to feed several families of mice for years!

I set two traps homemade traps made of duct tape a while ago. Hopefully I can upload pictures of them soon. But it has been several days with no luck! I'll put on some better bait later today, I guess.

We have a couple mice in our house, probably from the same source, and they are smart! We only just caught one after several months of gluetraps, and the second (and hopefully last house mouse) is yet to be caught. Bold, too.

I know they're there. Tiger (one of my cats) can smell them, but is angry that he can't reach them. It is driving both him and me nuts!

I don't want to use poison, because 1) a cat, a chicken, my puppy, or some hawk or fox might eat a poisoned mouse and 2) I would prefer not to have dead mice rotting under the shed. But the family keeps pushing me to just buy some poison and get it over with!

So help me catch these pests, preferably without the help of poison! Please, help me win this ever going battle!!!

 

[nuthatched]

Well, I recommend a product called Mouse X, it's not a poison, there's no risk of second hand poisoning anything, it's safe around poultry and animals except for rodents. So keep your guinea pigs and capybara out of the hen house.
It's made from a certain salt that keeps only rodents from feeling thirst, they die in a coma from dehydration without suffering.
Put in a bottle with a large mouth bottle like a Gatorade bottle. Anyway you came jack up your shed so the cats can have a go at them?

Maybe try ultra sonic buzzers?

 

[Purple_grape84]

Can you leave a cat in the shed with some feed to lure in the mice?

 

[PioneerChicks]

Can you leave a cat in the shed with some feed to lure in the mice?

Currently the traps are in the shed, but I could take them out and put a cat in. The problem is, the mice can smell the cats and won't come out if the cats are around. The cats can only help if they find the mice away from the shed, sadly. But I'll give it a try!

 

[PioneerChicks]

Well, I recommend a product called Mouse X, it's not a poison, there's no risk of second hand poisoning anything, it's safe around poultry and animals except for rodents. So keep your guinea pigs and capybara out of the hen house.
It's made from a certain salt that keeps only rodents from feeling thirst, they die in a coma from dehydration without suffering.
Put in a bottle with a large mouth bottle like a Gatorade bottle. Anyway you came jack up your shed so the cats can have a go at them?

Maybe try ultra sonic buzzers?

Mouse X sounds like it would work great! I'm looking around for some right now. Thank you for the advice!

It would be hard to pull up floorboards in there, but it is possibly I could dig a large hole under...the mice would be long gone but the cats could monitor the area for a while. But first I'll double-check the structure and make sure the whole shed won't come crashing down.

Thank you for all the advice, nuthatched, you're a lifesaver!

 

[Purple_grape84]

Also I wanted to add that peanut butter is the best bait I've found. The nice have to lick it, not just grab and run.

 

[PioneerChicks]

Also I wanted to add that peanut butter is the best bait I've found. The nice have to lick it, not just grab and run.

Good point! Thanks!

 

[aart]

Properly set snap traps have worked the best for me,
in house/garage/sheds/coop,
the old school type with the wooden base and small metal trigger mechanism.

Two key things that upped success immensely:
-Place the bait end of trap against a wall or other flat surface(like a box at least 6" tall).
-Cram some solid bait tight into trigger so they have to really dig for it.
I've found sunflower seeds or a chunk of corn from chicken scratch mix to work very well for bait.....and no more pnut butter mess.

There are various ways to protect the chickens from them...in a box with mouse sized holes down low, under a milk crate or wire basket with holes big enough for mice but too small for chickens.

Been catching mice in under-house garage and sheds(rarely in house thank goodness) for 20 years, way before chickens happened here.

I keep some always set, and am especially vigilant in spring and fall.

 

[RobertaD1]

Properly set snap traps have worked the best for me,
in house/garage/sheds/coop,
the old school type with the wooden base and small metal trigger mechanism.

Two key things that upped success immensely:
-Place the bait end of trap against a wall or other flat surface(like a box at least 6" tall).
-Cram some solid bait tight into trigger so they have to really dig for it.
I've found sunflower seeds or a chunk of corn from chicken scratch mix to work very well for bait.....and no more pnut butter mess.

There are various ways to protect the chickens from them...in a box with mouse sized holes down low, under a milk crate or wire basket with holes big enough for mice but too small for chickens.

Been catching mice in under-house garage and sheds(rarely in house thank goodness) for 20 years, way before chickens happened here.

I keep some always set, and am especially vigilant in spring and fall.

I have never thought about the box on top! DERP! Great advise!

 

[PioneerChicks]

Properly set snap traps have worked the best for me,
in house/garage/sheds/coop,
the old school type with the wooden base and small metal trigger mechanism.

Two key things that upped success immensely:
-Place the bait end of trap against a wall or other flat surface(like a box at least 6" tall).
-Cram some solid bait tight into trigger so they have to really dig for it.
I've found sunflower seeds or a chunk of corn from chicken scratch mix to work very well for bait.....and no more pnut butter mess.

There are various ways to protect the chickens from them...in a box with mouse sized holes down low, under a milk crate or wire basket with holes big enough for mice but too small for chickens.

Been catching mice in under-house garage and sheds(rarely in house thank goodness) for 20 years, way before chickens happened here.

I keep some always set, and am especially vigilant in spring and fall.

If I get my hands on some snap traps, I'll try this! Thank you!