Varmints!

[Claire]

I'm going nutso. about a month ago, I saw my doggie go after something and realized it was a shrew. Now, we live in an area where mice and such are a problem in the late fall/early winter, after the corn/soy is harvested and cold weather sets in. I told hubby, who prides himself on getting those critters, that I'd seen a shrew. He insists mice. Nope, shrew. Then we saw nothing else for awhile. Unlike our previous dogs, Rosebud eats when the food is put down for her, period, so that problem went away. Then I was putting away groceries in my pantry closet and saw droppings. Looked further and realized that the corn meal, popcorn, one pasta container, etc, were broached. Threw away all the stuff that had been opened by the critter(s), scrubbed the pantry with a bleach solution, and husband set a trap. The damned creature is managing to eat food from the trap, and open more food (most recently a completely sealed package of crackers).

Help. HELP! I don't want to put out poison for fear of poisoning my dog.

 

[Rocklobster]

I've had those problems many times. I think you have to clear your pantry out for a while to make the food in the trap the only thing available to your uninvited guests. They will eventually get around to trying it if they have no other source.

 

[Claire]

Oh, deary me. Don't know where else I'd put the food!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Where are they coming in at?

 

[Rocklobster]

Oh, deary me. Don't know where else I'd put the food!

Cans and jars are fine. Can you not just put wrapped stuff in boxes somewhere else in the house\apartment for a few days? I have seen them chew through plastic containers. As long as they have a food source they will keep coming back. If all that is left is the food in the trap, I think they will eventually go for it. And I don't think they come back everyday. They take food back and store it, so they could go a long time before returning to your pantry.

One time I found a few cups of dog kibble in the bottom of my gas range by the burners after returning from a two week vacation. It started smoking after I turned on the oven a couple of days later. The bag was in another room at the time, so they carried it a long way. It took me all day to clean and disinfect the old range..

 

[Caslon]

Oh, deary me. Don't know where else I'd put the food!

I would suggest systematically going room by room, inch by inch and blocking, filling, covering up small access areas. These include any cuts in the walls made for pipes or wiring, behind dishwasher, washer/dryer, refridge, stove, and cutouts of any kind made to the walls. Check that all exterior foundation air vents are screened.

Pests often go down chimneys. If you have a chimney, you can buy a pest grate, it installs in seconds with thumbscrews.

Here's a exterminators trick for setting traps. Place bait on the traps but don't arm them. Wait a few days or a week and let the pests take the bait so as to feel accustomed to the traps, then bait the traps.

 

[Claire]

My house was built in 1854. I have seven chimneys; two actually have fireplaces, the rest are blocked off, but I'm pretty sure the mice/shrews are living in one of them. There is no access to them (for me, obviously mice/shrews find a way in). After the first few years, I stuffed everything I could find with steel wool. It worked for awhile.

My biggest problem is that there is no way for me to get behind my refrigerator to clean or set traps. I know that sounds stupid, but you have to live in an old house to get it. In previous years they were mice, and mice aren't as smart as shrews. I'd like to find something that repels them. Everything I've seen requires an outlet. Remember, 1854 house. I still think of poison, but my husband would kill ME if I killed the dog (no, he wouldn't have to, I'd commit suicide). Seriously, my mother says that varmints don't die in your house, they seek water and leave. But when I'd only had Rosebud for a few months, she brought me three shrews, just as a cat would. "Hey, new Mommy, see, keep me, I love you." So I don't want to use poison.

 

[Addie]

My house was built in 1854. I have seven chimneys; two actually have fireplaces, the rest are blocked off, but I'm pretty sure the mice/shrews are living in one of them. There is no access to them (for me, obviously mice/shrews find a way in). After the first few years, I stuffed everything I could find with steel wool. It worked for awhile.

My biggest problem is that there is no way for me to get behind my refrigerator to clean or set traps. I know that sounds stupid, but you have to live in an old house to get it. In previous years they were mice, and mice aren't as smart as shrews. I'd like to find something that repels them. Everything I've seen requires an outlet. Remember, 1854 house. I still think of poison, but my husband would kill ME if I killed the dog (no, he wouldn't have to, I'd commit suicide). Seriously, my mother says that varmints don't die in your house, they seek water and leave. But when I'd only had Rosebud for a few months, she brought me three shrews, just as a cat would. "Hey, new Mommy, see, keep me, I love you." So I don't want to use poison.

Can you purchase glass canning type jars and put your box stuff in them. I have several of them for aesthetic reasons. But I do keep my flour, pasta, and other dry goods in them. I just like the way the jars look on the shelves. Even though it means more work for me. But the lids lock and it is almost impossible for critters to get into them, if I had any floating around. Good Luck!

 

[Katie H]

Oh, Claire, I understand EXACTLY what you're going through. The house Buck and I lived in was built in 1880 and the challenges that come with a house of that age are far different than any one would encounter with a home of modern construction.

We HAD a problem with mice. Conquered that. Then a slight problem with snakes. Conquered that. And, finally, raccoons in the attic. Now THAT was a real problem, but we managed to be victorious.

Don't know what's happening in the house anymore because someone else owns it and is remodeling it. With any luck (and good sense) they'll seal all possible entry areas for critters.

 

[Ranchwifeg]

Use a tiny bit of peanut butter on the traps. They have to lick it off, which in turn triggers the trap and off they go to meet their maker.

The only other thing I can suggest is to seal all holes they are entering through.

 

[Timothy]

In Florida, critters are a real problem. They out number us a trillion to one. Florida is the bug capital of the entire galaxy. Nothing is left out that can be chewed into. I use half gallon mason jars for almost everything.

I buy the mason jars by the case.

Dinky takes care of anything that manages to get in. It won't live long if he sees it. He generally traps them in the laundry room and waits until they come out or die of thirst. Dinky is the fastest cat I've ever seen. He's like a streak of lightening when he attacks something. You can't even see him move. He's over here one moment and over there the next.

Lizards are his favorite toy. He carries them around with only a bit of their tail sticking out of his mouth, wiggling...

 

[Rocklobster]

I understand your problem with the old house. Mine is 112 years old, and I had a restaurant there with a dry storage..We could never get rid of them totally, but we could keep them under control by constantly setting traps, keeping the place clean and disinfected, tons of moth balls in every nook and cranny, and everything in a tight sealable container. They are rarely a problem in the warmer seasons here, just winter.

 

[Kathleen]

I love glass containers. You can find them in all shapes and sizes, and spend as much or as little as you wish. I have many from Ikea from my college days. I wish we still used them, but Frank finds them cumbersome and thinks they take up too much space. They will keep mice/shrews, etc at bay.

 

[CWS4322]

Glass canning jars. Steel wool in every space you can find. Traps. I like the spring traps (the ones that look like alligator clamps).

 

[Uncle Bob]

Use a tiny bit of peanut butter on the traps. They have to lick it off, which in turn triggers the trap and off they go to meet their maker.

The only other thing I can suggest is to seal all holes they are entering through.

This!!! ~~~ I use Skippy Extra Chunky

 

[Claire]

We, too, use the old fashioned spring type traps. In previous years the mice and shrews went for the traps very quickly. This year I swear the critters, whatever they are (I know I saw a shrew, but for all I know there could be both living here). But this year they seem to have morphed into a different form. Timothy, never had a rodent problem in Florida (I lived maybe 90 min south of you for 6 yrs). But this year it's like they've gone to school. They are getting into food that has not been opened (most things I put in sealed baggies inside a tupperware type or canning jar once I open them), and they're eating the bait but not springing the trap. It is very frustrating.

Believe me I know about them hoarding and storing food. The first year I lived here, I'd forgotten about living in farmer's fields and mice moving in at harvest time. (Didn't have that problem in Florida or Virginia)(there it was roaches, another story entirely). I'd just bought a new electric range, and it smoked like crazy when I tried to run the self-clean cycle. I finally called (thank heaven I'd bought Sears extended warantee) and the repairman tried everything. He was trying to convince me that I didn't know what a self-cleaning oven smelled like! I finally just told him the only way for you to see it is to stay here for a half hour, 45 minutes or so. He didn't care (being paid by the hour), but then he said he'd try one more thing. He pried open the lid, and there in the insulation was a cup or so of dry dog kibble. We all got a good laugh, and he tells the story and now knows to look there first on electric stove tops when people have a complaint. I also found dog kibble in the rolls of shredded toilet paper, and I had cardboard under-bed boxes ... gnawed apart at the ends and every nook and cranny full of dog food. Thank heaven Rosebud remembers hungrier days and eats as soon as she's presented with a meal, so that isn't an issue.

 

[Chef Munky]

The thing about traps is YOU have to empty them.. That's gross.

The OTC DCon bait, pellets take too long to take effect and be rid of the critters. Mice can be very clever. They know if they eat the pellets or the blocks, they can counter the effects of it by eating dog food kibble.

We went to the hardware store and bought this. It truly only takes one bite. They eat it and immediately take off to seek water. Water won't help them now. It definitely has to be kept away from pets. It's very effective in getting rid of rodents.

Rat/mouse Poison, Just One Bite Ii Bar, 16 Oz. Bar Farnum Co. 3005449

Munky.

 

[Addie]

Have you given any thought to the sticky traps? The problem with them is that you have to have a strong stomach. Because when you get up in the morning, whatever it has caugfht is most likely still alive. And you have to toss it out with the critter still screaming and struggling.

When they were doing the Big Dig, rat trails that were at least a hundred years old were being disturbed. Fortunately the government was aware of this and started a rodent removal program a year before the Dig even started. There were black boxes all over the city with warning to not touch. For those critters that managed to escape the boxes, the sticky ones were very effective. I worked in a building close to the construction site. Every night before I left work, I would put the traps out and in the morning find critters stuck to them. You just have a strong stomach and using a stick to pick them up, toss them in the trash with the critter still alive and stuck. But then you have the problem of the dog. He could get stuck as well. Scratch the whole idea.

 

[Kayelle]

In my former house, I had mice in my pantry once and I also had a dog. I went through the nasty trap thing and then gave up and used this...
Mouse Bait Wedges - Rodent Bait Wedges: d-CON® Wedges | d-CON® with 100% perfect results, and I never saw a dead mouse ! If it happened again, I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

I wasn't worried about my dog getting into it as I placed them on shelves out of her reach.

 

[Andy M.]

Consider electronic rodent repellent devices? Victor® Rodent Repellents - How Do They Work? | Mice Repellent | Ultrasonic Mouse Repellent | Mouse Repellent | Victor® Rodent Control


There are too many critters to trap them all. Drive them off by making your home unpleasant for them.