They were already coming in. The new ones probably would have found their way in with or without the bait seeing how they are trying to nest down protected for the winter.
Field mice
- Thread starter jimim
- Start date
so today was interesting. i decided to pull my winter cover out to make sure there is no damage cause i need to close the pool in november.
when i lifted it with y dad 2 small mice popped out. we dropped the cover outside and i went back in the storage room. they were in opposite corners of the room. i grabbed a screwdriver i had and got both. ya ya ya i know. . . clean kills. lol
carried the cover out to the driveway and started to unfold it. another popped out into my garage. that bugger got away from me so now i'm worried and getting more ticked off. started to unfold more and 2 more popped out! they were confused cause i think we surprised them. i grabbed my flip flop and bam bam 2 more clean kills.
no damage to my cover thankfully. that other one is still loose in my garage. left the doors open in the hopes it would find its way out.
went and cleaned out the entire storage room. cleaned up and put everything back. found a nest in my covers for the equipment for the winter. no other mice in the room. for sure.
added a bunch of moth balls and few more snap traps for good measure.
fast forward to an hour ago. i hear my wife yelling in the garage. i go down and she said the other mouse was behind the garbage can. i have a snap trap there. it must have been scoping it out. so she moved the can real quick and i flip flopped the last one. kept the traps out in the garage in case my dad and myself missed one but i really don't think i did.
so as of now 5 small small ones today. 2 other small ones the other day and 2 larger ones total.
no new poop in 2 days under my sink in the pool house. traps there. storage room cleaned out and baited. so we will see.
question. the ceiling in the storage room is open joists. meaning you can get into the soffits. can these buggers climb 9 foot walls and maybe nested on the top of my soffits inside? should i be looking up there too? i know the room floor and all shelves are clear.
i'm glad i physically killed all the ones i saw. i like having a visual body count cause then i know they are dead vs leaving the door open to see if they left on their own or wait for traps to get them.
when i lifted it with y dad 2 small mice popped out. we dropped the cover outside and i went back in the storage room. they were in opposite corners of the room. i grabbed a screwdriver i had and got both. ya ya ya i know. . . clean kills. lol
carried the cover out to the driveway and started to unfold it. another popped out into my garage. that bugger got away from me so now i'm worried and getting more ticked off. started to unfold more and 2 more popped out! they were confused cause i think we surprised them. i grabbed my flip flop and bam bam 2 more clean kills.
no damage to my cover thankfully. that other one is still loose in my garage. left the doors open in the hopes it would find its way out.
went and cleaned out the entire storage room. cleaned up and put everything back. found a nest in my covers for the equipment for the winter. no other mice in the room. for sure.
added a bunch of moth balls and few more snap traps for good measure.
fast forward to an hour ago. i hear my wife yelling in the garage. i go down and she said the other mouse was behind the garbage can. i have a snap trap there. it must have been scoping it out. so she moved the can real quick and i flip flopped the last one. kept the traps out in the garage in case my dad and myself missed one but i really don't think i did.
so as of now 5 small small ones today. 2 other small ones the other day and 2 larger ones total.
no new poop in 2 days under my sink in the pool house. traps there. storage room cleaned out and baited. so we will see.
question. the ceiling in the storage room is open joists. meaning you can get into the soffits. can these buggers climb 9 foot walls and maybe nested on the top of my soffits inside? should i be looking up there too? i know the room floor and all shelves are clear.
i'm glad i physically killed all the ones i saw. i like having a visual body count cause then i know they are dead vs leaving the door open to see if they left on their own or wait for traps to get them.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
I think you need to start notching your flip flops with your kill count.... Sounds like you may have gotten the litter, They come in 6's. AND it sounds like it was using your cover as a nesting area... yes? Did you find the fluff they create for the nests? Is there something they can use for food in there? that is the other thing that attracts them. They usually don't setup nests unless there is a food supply.
They can climb. I see them in peoples attics all the time, well the remnants of them at least. The mice themselves usually scurry before you get there.
So I might have to look up in the soffits then? Would they next up there? They would have to bring any soft material up to make a nest. I figured they wanted to nest in soft areas like covers and my material floats?
I found a lot of material balled up for nests they had nests in the material floats like I mentioned last week but they also had a nest in the cover for my equipment. Now I need to make a new one. But the cover was ok. Thankfully.
So ya I killed at least 7-8 small ones and I think I got 2 bigger ones. So would that be mom and dad?
Food supply. Nothing in the storage at all. For eating. Just peanut butter on my snap traps and sticky traps I was using. Bit before that no. Now in the kitchen of the pool house only food if u consider it food would be my grease pan for the grill which had poop in it. I cleaned it out.
So only food would be what they would bring in from outside.
I’m assuming my kitchen area is clear cause I see no no poop in grease pan and under sink along with under grill. I don’t know about behind grill cause it’s a bully in and I really don’t feel like unhooking the gas to slide it out. I figured if there were still nice in there there would be poop under sink since it’s all connected together space.
How does my thinking sound? I figure of traps r clean and I see no poop I’m in the clear?
So I’ll just keep traps and moth balls out there for future?
I found a lot of material balled up for nests they had nests in the material floats like I mentioned last week but they also had a nest in the cover for my equipment. Now I need to make a new one. But the cover was ok. Thankfully.
So ya I killed at least 7-8 small ones and I think I got 2 bigger ones. So would that be mom and dad?
Food supply. Nothing in the storage at all. For eating. Just peanut butter on my snap traps and sticky traps I was using. Bit before that no. Now in the kitchen of the pool house only food if u consider it food would be my grease pan for the grill which had poop in it. I cleaned it out.
So only food would be what they would bring in from outside.
I’m assuming my kitchen area is clear cause I see no no poop in grease pan and under sink along with under grill. I don’t know about behind grill cause it’s a bully in and I really don’t feel like unhooking the gas to slide it out. I figured if there were still nice in there there would be poop under sink since it’s all connected together space.
How does my thinking sound? I figure of traps r clean and I see no poop I’m in the clear?
So I’ll just keep traps and moth balls out there for future?
Keep the traps and moth balls for now. Field mice will be looking for shelter as the days get shorter and the temps begin to drop. Once the crops come off the fields around my house I'll freshen up the traps and bait in my garage, basement and barn. A little field corn in a five gallon bucket and a plywood ramp works wonders in the barn. They can get into the bucket but the sides are too high to get out.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
They were eating something.. keep an eye out for that. and monitor you moth balls as they will slowly sublimate away...
regular baking chocolate chips or a small piece of candy bar stuck into a dab of peanut butter is the best bait for mice. snap traps only. "humane" catch and release is just feel-good fool yourself BS. there are repeater traps but they are kind of gross and either the early caught ones die and stink, or you have to deal with the live later caught ones, but they are ok for barns or sheds that don't get much human traffic (a little cruel but not as bad as glue traps)
best are snap traps, though. mice aren't as smart as rats but for either if you have a stubborn one, feed it on unset traps for a few days and then set the trap. don't clean used traps, the dirtier the better if you can stand to handle them. keep them set year round and just try to make a habit of checking them occasionally, especially in warm weather so you don't get a fly problem. around here they want to come in in the fall, other places may have different "invasion" periods. don't worry about drawing more in with set traps, they will come in anyway. best is to figure out where and block but I know how difficult that can be in some situations. I have a LOT of personal experience in this area.
snakes and cats are your friends but they won't catch them all. if you see one, there are at least 10 more you haven't seen.
now can somebody help me with rock squirrels? just had one fall out of a wall opening (we took out an ancient heater and haven't done the planned remodel of the opening) and run to the back room, causing lots of obsessed dog action before it finally found its way out to the porch and out that door. they are undermining my chicken coop and stealing pecans. I don't have time to sit around with a bb gun or .22 and pick them off but I sure am sick of them.
best are snap traps, though. mice aren't as smart as rats but for either if you have a stubborn one, feed it on unset traps for a few days and then set the trap. don't clean used traps, the dirtier the better if you can stand to handle them. keep them set year round and just try to make a habit of checking them occasionally, especially in warm weather so you don't get a fly problem. around here they want to come in in the fall, other places may have different "invasion" periods. don't worry about drawing more in with set traps, they will come in anyway. best is to figure out where and block but I know how difficult that can be in some situations. I have a LOT of personal experience in this area.
snakes and cats are your friends but they won't catch them all. if you see one, there are at least 10 more you haven't seen.
now can somebody help me with rock squirrels? just had one fall out of a wall opening (we took out an ancient heater and haven't done the planned remodel of the opening) and run to the back room, causing lots of obsessed dog action before it finally found its way out to the porch and out that door. they are undermining my chicken coop and stealing pecans. I don't have time to sit around with a bb gun or .22 and pick them off but I sure am sick of them.
thanks for the bait advice. I actually got one last night. first in over 2 weeks. it was outside my storage area. went in the storage area and nothing has been disturbed. no poop anywhere so i think it came in from the woods and i got it. i have to set another trap tomorrow. don't feel well so didn't like dealing with it.
the snap traps i'm using i just throw away. i don't feel like dealing with reusing them.
mguzzy
Gold Supporter
Yep its fall and the little buggers are looking for someplace to snuggle up... not on MY watch. This time I got the jump on the annual migration of rats that try to setup housekeeping in my garage. I got a pregnant mama and dad in a snap trap. They like peanut butter 'round here.