Preparedness for when

pineapple

Dear me - I wouldn't have expected them to attack the water bottles or olive oil but it's amazing what rodents will eat. I have a bench type container full of garden tools etc in the back garden and a rat (I'm assuming) got in and ate it's way through a load of that grey spongy pipe lagging. There were teeth marks on the remaining piece and bits all over - and the whole lot stank of urine :eek:
Apparently they pee copiously http://www.ratbehavior.org/WhyDoRatsPee.htm so I had to clean it all out.
Inside the house I once spied a mouse running up the bedroom curtains - which was somewhat concerning as I had a stash of flour etc in the bed drawers (!) and I have a habit of not closing them properly. Anyway food intact and no signs of 'visitors' but I moved the flour elsewhere and now store it in tough plastic containers with snap on lids. Once a bag of flour is opened I transfer it to glass kilner jars.

[Deleted User]

Morning all, KITTIE I think the little critters have exhausted what little wild food that was around this year and are now so hungry they will find anything unguarded and try for all things stored within reach guarded or not. I think we will all have to be extra vigilant this year even indoors in store rooms as they will get in if they can, and they nibble at and urinate on everything, so we could loose packeted and cardboard wrapped stores so easily, also as you have found plastic containers too. Tins and glass should be fairly safe though. Out with the mousetraps then, and I think it will be ongoing until next autums at the very least. Good luck, Lyn xxx.

maryb

I have had uninvited visitors in my food store so learned the hard way to stash it all in crates, which so far seem to withstand mice. We have a problem with rats outside and they chewed right through my green food waste bin so plastic is no obstacle to them. Mice seem to adore anything with foil and we found they went for bottle tops as well. They also seem to love chocolate so the bait that worked best for us when we set mousetraps was Mars Bar rather than cheese and putting a small bit of foil round it helped as well

sb44

Found another SHTF tip if anyone wants to try it, finding direction in the fog (without a compass).

http://survivaltek.com/?p=3053

Confuzzled

kittie wrote: »

arghh, dh has just gone to lean to shed to remove all liquids, some of which were in a large sturdy wooden box with a lid. There are very small vent holes at the bottom. The tops of several bottles have been nibbled right through, esp tonic water. A large container of olive oil has also been attacked but not entered. He is cleaning it out now and will line with wire mesh but we are going to have to put traps out again as I keep many kgs of flour in that lean to, although several feet off the ground. shtf will not just be coming from mankind but from the animal world

kittie, i suggest, if you're able, growing mint around the outside edge of the lean to, mice hate the smell. i used peppermint oil on bits of paper towel first to wipe down the inside of cabinet doors with then to toss into the cabinet and it helped keep the mice coralled into an area where i kept the traps and away from the food when i had my invasion this year

mice can jump up to 13 inches high but they can climb like monkeys so mesh wire inside the containers might be an idea too if you can manage it

someone was telling me that once they find a hole the mice get in through they stuff it with steel wool pads, they may gnaw on it but it will rip their mouths to shreds and they'll stop. she said she's had excellent success with this. the soaped steel wool pads are really cheap if you get the value brand so that might be an option too for any known entrances

meme30

sb44:- Love the 'thumbdial'!

Sadly mice and rats are bu**ers for chewing, we found glass and tin to be the only deterrent. Keep an eye out for old tin trunks at car boot sales, great for larger items. Also if you can, lots of workplaces use metal lockers and filing cabinets and they are great for sheds. Amazing what these places will throw away, and they are so useful.:)

Confuzzled

maryb wrote: »

They also seem to love chocolate so the bait that worked best for us when we set mousetraps was Mars Bar rather than cheese and putting a small bit of foil round it helped as well

i've also found peanut butter very effective in traps, they'll even eat it when it's been around for awhile and gone a bit 'chewy' :eek:

pineapple

I live in a small row of ancient stone cottages with rubble filled walls and I'm pretty sure they can get from house to house! If I see or hear anything suspicious I stick in one of those ultrasonic pest deterrents. They tend to get a bad press but mine really does work.
Also since hearing that that mice can get through a hole the diameter of a pencil. I went round the inside and outside and blocked the tiniest gaps with that expanding foam stuff. (probably a tasty treat for rats :rotfl:)
The funniest thing was when I was renting a farm cottage and I had no idea I had visitors till one day when I put my foot in a walking boot and found it full of crunchy stuff. :eek:
I used to keep the boots in the spare room and it appeared that mice had been transporting dog food mixer from the opened bag in the kitchen and stashing it in my boots! :huh:

Popperwell

I'll regret saying this now...I do check. My food store in the dining room is checked daily and so far ok. Its all in solid plastic crtaes that are stacked. Everything else is in cupboards and the pantry. All doors and windows closed too...and they would have to get past three or four doors or rather under them.

I understand that mice can dislocate their spines and get really flat so if there is a gap below the any door it is amazing what they are capable of...

pineapple

2tonsils wrote: »

An old dog from the village comes to the house to see me now and again and have a love and some scraps of food. He never comes up the steps but stands and waits for me to go out to him.

That's no way to talk about a neighbour :rotfl: