Our car didn't start this morning, so we called good ol' CAA and got it towed to the neighbourhood garage, and went to work. Half an hour later I got a call from the garage...the guy says "Do you have any mice in your garage?" Mice?!? Turns out, the little bu***rs had chewed the spark plug wires, the computer wires, the antifreeze hoses, the caps over the battery connections, and several other things....their little lunch cost us over $500 today!
We had bought our car from a used-car dealer a few months ago - apparently most of those dealers spray some stuff on the engine to make it all shiny and new-looking (worked on us ;-). Anyway, the guy at the garage suspects that mice are attracted to whatever spray they use, because he's seen a few other cases like ours, where the mice have snacked on the engine, at the onset of the first winter after the car was bought. Just when you thought there was enough to worry about....lol
The irony is, we have three well-fed cats in the household, who aren't allowed in the garage because of potentially toxic stuff like antifreeze lying around. But you can't have mice running around either, so we plugged all the holes we could find and called a professional who installed a (so he claims) humane solution, just in case we missed anything. If anyone has a mouse-eradication (or at least shooing-away) story that involves something organic and guaranteed humane, I'd be all ears.
The nerve of them!
Live mouse trap baited with peanut butter??? Humane ...but what will you do with them after?
Take 'em to Gatineau Park - hmm, yeah, I think I can make that work. Good idea; thanks!
LOLOL ;)
one day i took my old subaru in for an oil change. i had used it at the farm to haul some bales cause the quad was on the fritz. when i went to pick it up the mechanic asked me where i lived and what i did cause a mouse ran out of the back when the gal went to wash it before finishing LOL
safe proof your garage and let the cats in (after you haven't fed them for a while)
LOL Lynn :-) My other concern with the cats being in the garage is that they might get parasites from eating the mice. It's been a problem in the past for cats in our family. Yep, I freely admit they're coddled house cats :-) Although they would sure relish some time in the garage. They're always ready to rush in there if we leave the door open an instant too long.
Hmmm.... Christine, are you out there? What's your urban cat perspective?
I amazes me that the mice can do all that damage, and not get hurt. I wouldn't know what to do with them.
Fortunately the car wasn't plugged in yet, as it's not cold enough...otherwise they might've gotten a shock. As it is, they were lucky to get away with chewing on the battery wire caps.
sent you another possibility to your mailbox Shannon.....not sure if it will work at yahoo or not. Needs volume as well.
Thanks Pam - will check as soon as I get home :-)
Boy I'd better stop chatting, lest you all think your tax dollars are not hard enough at work...lol
God forbid, we electrocute the little b@%^&s!!
What you need is a cat like we use to have(Checkers, the one I told you about with the frozen ears, sniff,). She used to be the best mouser you ever saw. The best part was, she'd never eat 'em. Whenever we suspected there was a mouse in the garage or once we had one in the basement that had come in with some weightlifting equipment that had been in storage, we'd just lock her up in the basement or garage, and you could just see the look in her eyes...let me at 'em.... Sure enough, the next morning, she'd be proudly standing over her prize at the basement door or garage door, greeting us with a big "Meow"!
LOL, Donna. What a good puddy! ((Checkers))
Our cats would want to get at 'em too...they've caught a few birds in the past. Hmm.
Ah yes, Shannon...definitely a negative with cats. With the mice come the poor birdies. What can you do, it's instinct for them.
Yep, nothing like finding a "present" laid out on the porch.... and what can you do, they're so proud and generous to share it with you - it just wouldn't do to scold them!
Not to worry about "chatting", Shannon. After all, it's Friday, nobody really works on a Friday!
Yeah, that's right.....good point! ;-)
Besides, not only is it still less time than the smoke breaks some folks take, but it's necessary to my sanity and that well-balanced life they keep promoting :-)
Shannon, we watch our cats like hawks when they're out; the DH is even paranoid about them eating bugs, so they've never had mice and I agree that they carry diseases.
However, there is a mouse problem in my complex. We've had one (poor little fella once Lupin spotted him-still I was able to catch him humanely and release), several of our neighbours them - usually in our garages. But those of us with a door from garage to house (like us) have had them inside (brave little thing made it to my kitchen-how the cats missed him until he made it, I'll never know-its not even on the same floor!).
Anyway, one neighbour found a sonic thing (I'm so good at product names) at Home Depot that you plug in and it emits a sound only the mouse can hear and it hurts them, so they leave and don't come back. Its spreading around so other neighbours have it too, and it appears to work very well.
I didn't use it in my garage, because I thought that the sound might hurt the cats too - now I don't know for sure and I'm probably wrong, but I just couldn't see another mouse making it past my two sentries... I used humane traps with peanut butter as bait, and it worked within 20 minutes - personally I think he thought it was protection from Lupin...lol.
Christine.
I don't worry too much about the mice's feelings. You are right about cats getting parasites from eating them. That's one of the ways cats get worms. Tape worms anyway. Another problem we have to worry about is the deadly Hanta virus. If you don't know about this, read up on it and find out if it's in your area yet. Don't know if you'd consider it humane or not, but one method of eradication uses cement mixed into oatmeal. Not so good for mice, but safer for predators.
Shannon, nature is cruel also. Control of mice is necessary. Would you be so gentle hearted if it were rats or snakes threatening your home? Although the snakes would get rid of the mice for you. And they wouldn’t worry about how gently they did it. Hope I didn't hurt your feelings.
All good points Brenda; thanks. Not to worry at all. I like the frankness on this forum, and that we all seem to feel pretty free expressing our opinions. There were lots of hantavirus warnings when I lived in Edmonton, but haven't heard about it here. At any rate, the mice definitely have to be gotten rid of.
Hmm....I don't think I fell victim to the "they're so cute" thing, but it wouldn't have been the first time!... lol I'm just trying to be conscious of any pain that I cause to any animal, even bugs or whatnot. My rationale is just cause nature is cruel doesn't mean I have to add to it. But then, that kind of thinking is often a luxury reserved for urban folk, isn't it? :-)
The exterminator installed some kind of stuff that is appetizing to them, and they eat it and then go back to their nests and supposedly expire very suddenly. I think I'll try the trap & peanut butter thing next, if there are any still around.
Hey, how come you never worry about hurting my feelings...? And I am sooo sensitive too. So quit being so mean to me, will ya? ;-)
I'm out on the farm and despite my cats killing two or three everyday and the dogs getting the odd one, they are still getting into sheds, the employee lunch trailer and the work trucks. My DH also bought the sonic thing from Home Depot and it seems to be working. He bought 3 of them and put them under various sheds. So far so good!
Wonder if the cats & dogs can hear it too?
Hey Donna, where'd that come from? Boy, tell someone to take it easy shovelling snow and she gets all affronted... ;-)
Actually I am the queen of thin-skin...I must have a sign on my forehead saying "I'm gullible, tease me". Remember that photo of the tractor with the "big tomato"? Well I thought it was real for a while there... I did not, however, fall for that orange-and-purple brug photo ;-)
Not so sure you should look at the joke I sent you then Shannon.....it is cartoon like but has a Bugs Bunny type ending. :S
I have a 100 year old house on Denman Island which is surrounded on two sides by hayfields and a farm. I put 2 of the sonic things in years ago and I've never had any more mice in the house. Before that, the mice ate right through the walls to get in. One made a nest with babies in my bedroom dresser. You can image how thrilled I was. The sonic things I got were approved by Ag. Canada for use in grain elevators.
I hate mice in my house.
Actually, Shannon, I was bugging Brenda in that last post of mine. You guys just seem to post faster!!
That is so interesting about those sonic thingys for getting rid of mice. It mustn't bother the dog and cats, or you wouldn't have them anymore either, right? I agree with you though, Jeanne, I hate mice in my house, or anywhere for that matter. Yuk!
Pam, that carton joke was hilarious!
Shannon...what orange and purple Brug photo?
This message was edited Dec 10, 2004 11:35 AM
Sorry Donna, here's the thread:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/468404/
It's in Strever's post on 24 Nov. The whole thread is interesting! (and that's from a non-bruggie ;-)
So that "tricky Dicky", was playing with Photoshop, was he? Sure did look strange didn't it.
I guess I must have missed that thread. Thanks Shannon. Too funny!
I have a theory about mice and other fast breeding rodents. I believe they are intended as snack food for animals up the food chain. They have a very short life expectancy under the best of circumstances, and there is never a shortage of them.
A daub of peanut butter, a hair trigger trap, and their short, but comfy lives are over. Live trapping them and hauling them off into the fields is like taking coals to New Castle or hungry refugees to a 3rd world country. Of course, I have to admit they can look pretty endearing in a natural setting, but that natural setting isn't chewing through my cereal box.
We don't have many problems with mice in our house or around the acreage. We have a couple of barn cats and a couple of indoor/outdoor house cats. Last year however a couple of babies made their way into the house. They were the smallest critters I have ever seen. Check out the picture to see just how successful I was (not!) in my trapping attempt...
Oh, durtcom, that is funny! LOL! That's why I have used peanut butter in traps. They have to reach in and wrap their little tongues around it.
This baby was so light he didn't spring the trap. Funny how just a brush of my finger will make it snap on me!
LOL That is a treasure of a picture durtcom. We had a little one in the house (and three cats I should add).....our trap laced with peanut butter finally caught it and then we found one of our cats proudly walking around with *her* catch.
Lilypon, I'll bet your cat prefers mice seasoned with peanut butter now! For some reason, this house just doesn't seem to get mice, though I leave enough food around to feed a legion of them. However, in our old cabin, the mice were always a problem.
I remember the first time our cat Flatch caught a mouse in the cabin. He grabbed it and wolfed it down like a seal eating a fish... gulp and it was gone! I was so amazed and impressed. I eagerly awaited his next catch to see the process again, but this time he caught it, teased it, licked it slimy, buffeted with his claws, then crushed its little head between his jaws. That was the last time I watched. Cats love to play with their food.
yep....the trap is *much* kinder!
Ah, is he ever cute. I have to admit that I'm very much a softy when it comes to any kind of animal. I know, you can tell me all the reasons against being like that but I just can't help it. I draw the line at rats though. Recently we had a rat getting into the bird feeder. I have to admit that he was pretty ingenious. He had to go along the fence, along a tree branch and then along a wire that kept the feeder from blowing over. Whenever I'd see the rat I'd tell the dog then let him outside. He'd just go crazy. Jack Russells are ratters. He never managed to get it because of the fence to keep the him out of the garden. By the time I'd get the gate open the rat was gone. We moved the bird feeder and haven't seen the rat for awhile.
You guys are trying to gross Shannon out. I just know it.
Think of it this way, if you were to move into the Trump mansion, uninvited, and begin raiding his refrigerator at night, I don't imagine he would allow you to continue doing it, or even find you attractive. These little fellows have found the Trump mansion, and they will not take kindly to being evicted.
How do you go back to grass seed when you've had Post Raisin Bran? Consider that these little fellows have been convicted of tresspassing, sentenced to death, and are having their last meal of peanut butter at the time of execution. Even a mouse has a right to a speedy trial.
We fought the mice off in this old farmhouse for a few years after moving here. I remember late one night, sitting on the throne and my first time a mouse scurried across the floor. Nearly fell off trying to keep my feet up off the floor. The problem has all but disappeared the last while. Once or twice a year, usually spring or fall, I hear one of my cats in the middle of the night and get up to chase them down before they can eat it. They work well as a team, but its always my little black one with the mouse tail hangin out of her mouth. Won't give it up unless you give her a piece of cheese to distract her.
We went through spring traps with peanut butter, cheese, cheesewhiz, tunnel traps, flip door traps, poison pellets, poison seed, oatmeal cement. And ohhh that wonderful smell when they die in the wall. The most effective thing we did was the bait traps outside around the buildings and in the corners of the outbuildings. If you can get them before they decide to hunker down for the winter, you're ahead. I would like to get those sonic repellants and the crushed glass around the foundation sounds like a thing to try.