I’ve always had good luck with peanut butter, since yours is picky how about a dab of honey or maple syrup?
Mouse in the house... and he doesn't like peanut butter
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My daughter had a cup with some Reese's Peanut butter cups and we kept finding them partially eaten. We knew it was a mouse or mice. I set a trap and caught it, with peanut butter.
Actually, I would love to have a good cat. Other circumstances don't make this a good time to get one but I can definitely see the value in some good cats around the homestead.
In years past, we had a "barn cat", she mostly lived in the house, that was, well, kinda homely looking. She wasn't much to look at and wasn't the soft fur that some have that make petting them more pleasant. She was kinda plump but solid. But the was just the sweetest personality in a cat a person could ask for. Laid back. Friendly but not pushy. She had all of her claws, too, but never, ever, that I can remember, got them out with people. And, she was an excellent mouser, too.
At the time, my wife (now my ex wife) had lots of cats in the house, way, way, way too many. And I told her that we had to do something about it. She had probably a half dozen little hellians that peed everywhere, scratched, stunk, were about as unfriendly as they came, along with maybe 2 or 3 really nice cats. She got rid of the nice ones.
AARRGGHHH!!!!! Anyway, hoping to find a nice cat again one day, perhaps a few months from now. This coming spring will be a good time for that to happen... maybe a dog will show up, too... It's been a long time. And to me, a dog is like adopting a kid. It'll be a member of the family.
If you can handle the energy level, we had a rat terrier that was an excellent mouser/hunter. She was a bundle of energy though, it was like she mainlined caffeine and speed.Actually, I would love to have a good cat. Other circumstances don't make this a good time to get one but I can definitely see the value in some good cats around the homestead.
In years past, we had a "barn cat", she mostly lived in the house, that was, well, kinda homely looking. She wasn't much to look at and wasn't the soft fur that some have that make petting them more pleasant. She was kinda plump but solid. But the was just the sweetest personality in a cat a person could ask for. Laid back. Friendly but not pushy. She had all of her claws, too, but never, ever, that I can remember, got them out with people. And, she was an excellent mouser, too.
At the time, my wife (now my ex wife) had lots of cats in the house, way, way, way too many. And I told her that we had to do something about it. She had probably a half dozen little hellians that peed everywhere, scratched, stunk, were about as unfriendly as they came, along with maybe 2 or 3 really nice cats. She got rid of the nice ones.
Anyway, hoping to find a nice cat again one day, perhaps a few months from now. This coming spring will be a good time for that to happen... maybe a dog will show up, too... It's been a long time. And to me, a dog is like adopting a kid. It'll be a member of the family.
T'would be good if I could but I can't.
Have been around numerous dogs of that type and we don't tend to get along well.
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I like rat terriers. They are commonly bred with chihuahua's and make for cute little dogs, depending upon which traits they pick up.
D-con
Theoretically, I like the idea of a rat terrier. In reality, I have a better shot at making a pet out of the rat. The most endearing term for them around here is "ankle biter" and it goes downhill from there. No offense intended towards those who have or love them.
We call them ankle biters too but the one we had, had a purpose. My "ponies" (mastiff) have a purpose too. Both were very good at their jobs. I'm just closer to a mastiff than a terrier on the energy scale now a days.
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@PopPopT ,
Just don't make the mistake of using poison! It will stink up your whole house for MONTHS!
.We had one get stuck in our truck heater core and we like to never got that smell out of there either. Turned on heater and it killed it so we had to take whole dash and front end apart ' almost'. We made that mistake plus if your animals get hold of it it can kill or make them sick.
Try cheese?
and make sure trap is right size.
Don't worry about being humane, just kill it, and the sooner the better. I had a trailer home in the country once and mice literally destroyed it. I couldn't ever get it sealed up, no matter what I tried. The little turds breed so fast that if you dawdle at all, 1 or 2 become a dozen before you can blink. D-con kills them, but as previously mentioned they will die in your walls and stink. Glue traps are the best. They do seem kind of awful but the little rats seem to kill themselves pretty quick by struggling in the glue. I would not relocate the mouse, as that just leaves it to make more filthy destructive little vermin in the future.
PS mice dribble urine as they move around. They love to go on your kitchen surfaces to look for food. Think about that as you set out your traps and you won't feel so bad about killing them...
PS mice dribble urine as they move around. They love to go on your kitchen surfaces to look for food. Think about that as you set out your traps and you won't feel so bad about killing them...
12 gauge.
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They will also eat all the wiring out of RV's and Autos too. I read where a 1/4 million $ Motorhome wiring was destroyed by the little pest. In Colorado my SIL grannys car wiring was also eat up so bad the junked the whole car.But RV's are especially vulnable to them, since they are seldom used in most cases.
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I have a friend whose Toyota Camry sits in her driveway. She has had to have the wiring replaced a couple of times. She told me she learned that the coating on the wiring is the desirable part. It is made of something that rodents are attracted to.
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One of our dogs is very good at chasing the rats way from our vehicles and boat. She had killed several rats where they are parked. We are very careful not to eat in the autos and clean the boat.
I was very worried about that expensive Travel trailer we had here for a year, but we really kept a watch on it and sold it fairly quick. Dog was told to keep eye on it too, we told her it was hers. So she laid under them.
I read that rats hate peppermint but never tried that. Anyway so far thank goodness nothing has been messed up except rat inside heater fan what a job that was but left the wires alone.
The termite guy was here last week. And that was exactly what he suggested. Said there was evidence of mice/rats in the crawl space and he suggested putting some D-con under the house. I did put some stuff under there, not D-con, but it's the same idea. We'll see whether there is any effect. I'm told it can take a week or so to actually kill them sometimes.
Too soon to know for sure but we did see little Rupert again last night. I blocked off his path behind the refrigerator by fixing a hole in the wall that I think he used frequently. But he's still around. Maybe he'll find the poison, not sure. It's not in the house so I don't know if he'd eat and then crawl into the wall. (Actually, it's a wall I've been thinking I'd tear down as a part of a remodel anyway so that's not quite as big of a deal as it might seem.)
I need to remodel my crawl space anyway. It is vented with crappy little vents the size of a standard concrete block that I am pretty sure allow pretty easy access to the crawl space to any critter with any determination at all. It needs those vents closed up, some cleaning work done, new moisture barrier placed, and a dehumidifier installed. It's on my to-do list...
Hey, don't laugh too hard, but this did give me an idea.
No, not a 12 gauge. But I used to be a very good shot with a .177. I had a Crossman .177 rifle with a scope on it that I could get very accurate with. It was a pump model so I could use it with just a couple of pumps in a confined space without blasting too hard. Or pump it up and hunt small game. Thing of it was, with that scope all set up, it was very accurate, enough so that it wouldn't be hard to sit on the far side of the living room and wait for the little $@#$#@$$ to show himself and then pop him off. If the poison under the house doesn't get him, that may be something I'll try.
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As I recall, D-con's active ingredient(s) and what kills the mice is something that dehydrates them quickly. What causes mice to stink is the decay of flesh until it does fully dehydrate (and then there's just skin and bones). With D-Con, you should get very little smell and for a short period which is why you can use it indoors.
Unblock that hole and put a sticky trap in front of it. We put them anywhere the "path" is narrowed by obstacles like furniture or appliances so they have to go over the traps.
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My daughter lived in a building that was very old, with 12 townhomes. Mice were rampant and she was always trying to get rid of the mice. When you live in a building like that, it is really almost impossible. She bought some rodent poison and her previous ridgeback got into it. The dog went to the vet. I am not sure of how it was treated as I wasn't involved. Now when she get mice, in the townhome she and boyfriend are buying, we (me) put out traps. Her current dog would probably not survive being poisoned and then treated. She has enough health issues already.
If you put out D-Con or other poison, be careful that you put it in a place where your animals won't get into it.
If you put out D-Con or other poison, be careful that you put it in a place where your animals won't get into it.
If memory serves D-Con has blood thinners in it and the rodents bleed to death. In the process they get thirsty and typically leave the home in search of a water source. Leave egress and remove any water sources inside the home.
One of our dogs got into some rat poison and the vet gave him Ipecac syrup to make him throw it up and I think charcoal. That was the last time I took him up to my landlords barn.
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The dog takes medication that makes her thirsty already. She drinks more water than any other dog at the dog park.
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Another thing that is given to dogs to make them throw up is hydrogen peroxide. Of course, it may not work for everything, such as rat poison.
Ipecac produces projectile vomiting. It is really impressive, you wind up throwing up everything in your stomach, everything you are likely to eat in the next week, and your toenails. The charcoal is to absorb any left over poison.
It was quite messy but I don't remember seeing any toe nails...
The poison is warfarin. It produces ebola like signs and you do not want your pet to go through this.
We have no pets to get into the poison.
What about rats? If they leave the house for water source, that would be good. I'm pretty sure one is in my mobile home. And I wish my cat of 19 years was still around.
Caught one last night. Don't know it he tried to eat the old peanut butter or whether I just put the trap in the place where he stepped by accident. Don't know, don't care. 1 dead mouse. There are more. Two of them were chasing each other around the living room last night. New trap set in the same place. Put peanut butter and then a drop of honey on top. We'll see. Need to set several more traps.
