Preparedness for when

Ryanna2599

Frugalsod wrote: »

Here is something that some of you can make but I opted for the designer versions.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/egloo-candle-powered-heater/x/7630030

This looks like a fabulous device - thank you for sharing Frugalsod! I've just ordered one; fingers crossed it arrives as it doesn't seem to have added delivery charges!

[Deleted User]

It snowed again overnight (only a dusting on the cars), and it snowed quite heavily, briefly, about half an hour ago.

It's still snowing (only lightly atm) but, judging from the look of the sky, I'm expecting more today.

greenbee

Send it down here Bob. I'm happy to be snowed in till Monday night. Might get some work done!

[Deleted User]

You're welcome to it greenbee.

Frugalsod

Ryanna2599 wrote: »

This looks like a fabulous device - thank you for sharing Frugalsod! I've just ordered one; fingers crossed it arrives as it doesn't seem to have added delivery charges!

If you are within the EU then you need to add $15 but that can be added later. Also it might take longer than you think. First the fundraising has to end then the product will be made afterwards. It can be several months. Sometimes there are problems but a lot of the time everything goes through without a hitch.

Shropshirelass

I've not posted for a while, due to various reasons, but would like to ask advice from some of the experts here.
We seem to have attracted the unwelcome attention of vermin (of the 4-legged variety). We have had long-tails in the garden, last seen evidence of them last year after we were away for a long family visit, when they ate through the shed floor and started on stuff stored inside. I don't think we will ever get rid of them outside, as we live on the edge of a little town close to farms, barns and canal in the town. We filled in all holes, which seems to control them, and we got a new puppy, Scottie/Westie cross, now 11 months old. In the last few evenings she started sniffing round a corner under the kitchen cupboards, getting really excited and seemed to be barking and snarling at something behind the 'kickboards'. Cant see evidence inside the cupboards.
We have examined the outside walls, and found a small (1cm) hole next to a grid in the wall, where I think a mouse could get through - we can repair this, but should we try poison under the cupboard (don't want dead creatures making a nasty smell in kitchen).I don't think a rat could get in.
Council Pest controller cant get here until next week, and charges £20 for advisory visit, then £70 for action, if you cant do it yourself.
Would be grateful for advice.

RAS

A 1 cm hole is probably big enough for a rat to get through.

Can you get the kickboards off; should be relatively easy?

GreyQueen

Gosh, your LA charges a lot more for pest control that my employer!

If it were my situation I would do the following:

1. Block up the hole - they can get thru anything the diameter of a pencil. I'd jam wire wool inside (can't be chewed through) then use filler.

2. Remove the kick boards and leave them off for the duration.

2. Buy spring kill traps like The Little Nipper (v.cheap) and bait them with chocolate. Check every 24 hrs. Because mice are very small, even dead ones don't tend to make much of an icky mess, but I'd leave the kickboards off so you can trap underneath and remove the evidence.

Happy Hunting.

nuatha

Shropshirelass wrote: »

I've not posted for a while, due to various reasons, but would like to ask advice from some of the experts here.
We seem to have attracted the unwelcome attention of vermin (of the 4-legged variety). We have had long-tails in the garden, last seen evidence of them last year after we were away for a long family visit, when they ate through the shed floor and started on stuff stored inside. I don't think we will ever get rid of them outside, as we live on the edge of a little town close to farms, barns and canal in the town. We filled in all holes, which seems to control them, and we got a new puppy, Scottie/Westie cross, now 11 months old. In the last few evenings she started sniffing round a corner under the kitchen cupboards, getting really excited and seemed to be barking and snarling at something behind the 'kickboards'. Cant see evidence inside the cupboards.
We have examined the outside walls, and found a small (1cm) hole next to a grid in the wall, where I think a mouse could get through - we can repair this, but should we try poison under the cupboard (don't want dead creatures making a nasty smell in kitchen).I don't think a rat could get in.
Council Pest controller cant get here until next week, and charges £20 for advisory visit, then £70 for action, if you cant do it yourself.
Would be grateful for advice.

Remove the kickboards and look for droppings.
I'd use a trap* rather than poison, that way I know I've removed the critter rather than it decomposing (and smelling) where I can't get to it.
Whether a juvenile rat would get through a 1cm hole is open to debate - there's lots of people say they could, but mice certainly could and they rarely travel alone. Rats can certainly eat their way through brick walls, I first encountered this in my teens but have seen more recent evidence. Rodents gnawing through chipboard (which is what most kitchen carcases are made of is the work of minutes) though there are often sufficient holes and gaps in the back of units that they can pass unhindered without leaving obvious holes - again droppings is the best sign that you have an infestation.
Hopefully the wee terrier is reacting to something that isn't there, but it should be a fairly easy problem to sort.

Incidentally you mention the hole is adjacent to a grid - if this is a ventilation grid cover it with fine mesh, I've known mice get through air bricks.

HTH

* If you use live traps then you need to release more than 3 miles away as the critters will find their way home.

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't recommend live traps, as all you are doing is passing the problem on to someone else.

Also, consider getting a cat, and perhaps an air rifle.