Furry Animals - an invasion - and struggling with life!

lipsthefish

OP - if you can get hold of any ferret droppings spread them round your garden - the rats won't come near if they think there is a ferret around, it does work, we supplied a couple of friends with them.

alyth

Unfortunately it's not down to me how the estate is managed, the factor is aware of the problem and I'm sure he wil deal with it, especially as a couple of people up here have chickens and ducks and they won't want rats around. Thankfully there have been no further mice, and there seems to be little scrabbing around outside and I've not seen any furry friends running about - for all I know the factor may have come up when I've not been here and taken his own precautions or done something....

Mojisola

lipsthefish wrote: »

OP - if you can get hold of any ferret droppings spread them round your garden - the rats won't come near if they think there is a ferret around, it does work, we supplied a couple of friends with them.

Works for squirrels, too. This was how we finally got rid of the squirrels from our loft.

ali-t

Alyth, I second the plug in repellers that someone earlier suggested. I moved to the country recently and was forever hearing scratching in the walls at night and found a dead mouse on my doorstep one morning but the plug in seems to have shifted them and as a bonus it apparently works on spiders, flies and wasps too.

Mine was less than £20 on ebay and the blurb with it said that if there are nests it wont work immediately as the mice wont move their babies but they will stop nesting there in future as the sonic noise that is carried through the house is so unpleasant for them.

Kaz2904

We tried those sonic things when we had a mouse in our flat (a new estate was built on an old field opposite our flat). I couldn't bear it. I had a constant headache. DH thought I was nuts and started putting it on when I couldn't see. Then when I complained of a headache and kept getting really twitchy and pacing the floor he realised it really did bug me!

Our cat has kep all of the furries at bay. She keeps catching rats and mice. She brought in a baby one the other day with big floppy ears . The rats she catches are at least the same size as her so thankfully she kills them before she brings them in.

Ainsley1

Mice in the country usually only come into houses when looking for a warm home (winter) or looking for food. Additionally rats are similar but are an especial problem when disturbed from existing homes such as farms being demolished, building work etc.

The story of the hole size is correct for mice and wire wool is good for providing a barrier where holes can not be blocked up.

Chocolate and peanut butter makes great bait to trap them!
I'm told mothballs are an effective deterrent.

Don't wish to worry you but; If you've any doubts about still having either of them around get some professional help. Their urine can make you very ill and it can even kill if infected with diseases.

Bird tables and the like can be very attractive sources of food as can compost heaps with rats loving them if they have cooked food added to them!

I agree about secondary poisoning being unsatisfactory to other animals but given the choice between my family/me and them.......

Gloomendoom

ali-t wrote: »

Alyth, I second the plug in repellers that someone earlier suggested. I moved to the country recently and was forever hearing scratching in the walls at night and found a dead mouse on my doorstep one morning but the plug in seems to have shifted them and as a bonus it apparently works on spiders, flies and wasps too.

I have three of various different makes. One is very fancy and alternates the noise it makes so the mice (supposedly) don't get used to it. Despite that, I have found them all totally useless.

I put them in the attic where we have a persistent mouse problem (I didn't let the cat to go up there because of the fibreglass insulation.) I ended up supplementing them with lots of little nipper traps and then removing them all together.

I don't mind the furries if they stay outside where they belong. If they come in the house, they die.

kayjay1809

I sympathise greatly as a few years ago we were overrun with mice. We bought a house that was pretty neglected, and next door was being renovated and I kept guinea pigs both in the house and garden. We had no carpets, just floorboards with holes in and the whole house was in disrepair. In one day I caught 40 in one small room, as you say, as soon as I set the trap and left the room it went snap. I went from feeling awful about killing the mice to ... well the sooner they went the better. We had them in the drawers under the bed, in the eaves, eating my wedding dress, climbing the walls outside etc. So I know where you are coming from.

But we got rid of them. I called the council for advice and we put poison down in a few key areas in the house, under the floor, in the kitchen cupboard and the wardrobe etc. We set traps. Again and again. Use chocolate spread as a bait as they have to sit and lick it. The council said if there is a space that a biro can fit into, a mouse can too. So we went around the outside of the house blocking up every tiny space. Even cracks between the concrete floor and the brick wall, which you wouldn't think a mouse could fit into (we found a baby mouse stuck in one). And we covered up all floors in the house with board and carpets. And then we went around the house again blocking up anything and everything. Mice can climb walls outside to get in under the gutters. Cracks in air bricks etc. Once we had done all this, one by one they died off. There was a small odour as the poison did its work which was horrible, but most were caught by the trap method. We did try humane traps but they just didn't' go in them. A few years on and we are *touch wood* mouse free. I rehomed my guinea pigs and we keep poison still in a couple of places, just in case. It took a few weeks and perservering but it can be done. Good luck!!!! Ps rats are considered more of a health hazard and I believe councils are obliged to deal with them for you.

barbarawright

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I have three of various different makes. One is very fancy and alternates the noise it makes so the mice (supposedly) don't get used to it. Despite that, I have found them all totally useless.

I put them in the attic where we have a persistent mouse problem (I didn't let the cat to go up there because of the fibreglass insulation.) I ended up supplementing them with lots of little nipper traps and then removing them all together.

I don't mind the furries if they stay outside where they belong. If they come in the house, they die.

Yes, I've used several different sorts without permanent success. The traps I've had most luck with are the electrified ones which zap the littlre critter immediately (peanut butter is a good bait but not too much as they stick to it :eek:). You can then shake the mouse into a bin.