Preparedness for when

mardatha

Can you leave one kickboard off and leave the dog in the kitchen overnight? Or will the dog ruin the flooring by digging? Agree a cat would be ideal.

GreyQueen

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

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.

Hey, had a LBM; how would Buggalugs like a holiday in Shropshire? She could catch the mice and bully the dog. I've seen her picture and she looks like a mog who knows her business.

nuatha

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

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.

I'm not recommending them, and if you can't cope with removing a dead mouse from a trap then "Little Nipper" style traps are less than 50p each delivered and could be considered disposable (I've come across a lot of people who are squeamish about kill traps and more who won't use for religious or moral reasons).

I'd always recommend living with felines, though they are the reason I've had rodents in the house from time to time (they are also responsible for the largest rat I've ever seen, left deceased on my doorstep, thankfully they didn't bring that one to play with)

mardatha

We get field mice in the kitchen in winter. I stopped them coming by feeding the birds at the top of garden. I noticed wee mouseholes appearing in the garden and just kept on feeding them there, and we haven't seen any mice in the house since.

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

how would Buggalugs like a holiday in Shropshire?

It would save putting her in a cattery, the next time I go to Germany.

I've seen her picture and she looks like a mog who knows her business.

She's an brilliant mouser/birder.

One thing's for sure, she'll never go hungry.

Shropshirelass

Thank you all so much for advice. OH is blocking the entrance hole with wire wool as we speak. Then we will pop down to hardware store and get a couple of traps, and some cement. I have read that they like peanut butter and it works well as sticky and they cannot run off with it. We will take off one of the kick boards tonight and set traps. This is not so easy for us as both elderly!
Bonnie sleeps in the kitchen, but may be contained to the utility tonight, as she is also fond of peanut butter ( in her Kong).

Just now I showed her the gap near the ventilation grid, and she seemed to follow a trail from it towards nextdoors garden so they may be field mice just coming for a scrounge at night, like yours Mardatha. If only she could talk!
I found a biggish hole under the back fence, which I have blocked with big stones - similar to long-tail runs we have had in the past. I will check there frequently now.


I would love a cat, but don't think Bonnie would appreciate it. She runs circles round other dogs when we go visiting, but has never come up against a cat at close quarters. I do think Buggalugs would enjoy a holiday here, but she might be very busy with all creatures, creepies and birds.
I am now wondering about my storage containers not being rodent proof. Most of our supplies are in glass (ex-coffee jars) but some strong plastic also in use. Have to admit teabag supplies were only in cartons.

[Deleted User]

Shropshirelass wrote: »

I do think Buggalugs would enjoy a holiday here.

I'm not sure you would appreciate, being left with a nervous, whimpering dog.

ALIBOBSY

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Last night we had 3 power cuts, one for over half an hour and a couple of shorter ones afterwards of a couple of minutes each, we checked and it seemed to be the whole neighbourhood. How lovely it was to be able to go direct to where the matches are kept and light the candles that live beside the box and then to turn on the solar/wind up radio and tune in to the local station to see if there was any information as to why they had happened. We sat by the woodstove and stayed warm and listened to the radio by candlelight feeling totally in control of the situation and I have the small camping stove upstairs and could have made us hot drinks if we'd wanted them. There is a lot to be said for preparedness, there is a lot to be said for knowing in the dark where things are and being able to locate them by touch isn't there?

We were like that last time the lights went out here a few months ago. Next door had an old torch and no batteries and 3, yes 3 tealights, nothing else lol. Lent them a few candles and refrained from telling them to be better prepped next time . Whats silly is I have lived in the area for years and so have they and we get a fair number of power cuts as we are semi rural and still have alot of overhead pylons around here. We got a square magnetised torch (aldi I think) for not alot and it lives stuck to the fridge. Like the smoke alarms it gets tested every few weeks. Easy to find the fridge in the dark and grab it, it also is great to use as a standby when doing stuff at the worktop underneath it-the fridge/freezer is right next to a worktop if that makes sense.

Ali x

ALIBOBSY

Spotted this article about oil prices,

http://oil-price.net/en/articles/will-collapse-in-oil-price-cause-stock-market-crash.php

suggests a possible scenario where the oil price crashing could lead to another bank/stock market crash. Sadly it sounds really plausible, particularly in the US with the shale oil companies based around higher priced oil.

Still cheaper oil means cheaper fuel for now so could be complex how it effects the economy here.

Ali x

jk0

Here's an odd one:

Back in 2000 I bought one of the first Orange PAYG phones & SIM where the credit lasts for ever.

A few years ago I bought a Land Rover tough phone, and transferred the SIM to it. Now I rarely even have the phone on, but it's handy for emergencies.

It used to work fine all round Reading & London. However, I get the impression the provider has been reducing the signal to persuade me to change my plan. Here in my house it now only connects when it is jammed in my the top of my 1st floor bay window. Everywhere else in Reading it's a dead loss.

Yesterday I tried it in London, and again it didn't work at all in a house where it used to be fine.

(It's the same when I put the SIM back in the 2000 mobile.)

I am so fed up with this, I just bought a Sainsbury's SIM, and that works brilliantly. I am annoyed though, because my Orange Broadband is £5 per month cheaper because I have an Orange phone.

Has anyone else found coverage disappearing? Am I correct in my suspicions?