mice

[frugalman]

so now that winter's around the corner, i'm finding some mice droppings in my garage. those buggers are for sure back in my garage. but i don't keep garbage in my garage so dunno where they're getting food from.

so my question is, are those green blocks of poison from walmart/home depot effective? i put up traps before, but for every mouse i killed there's probably about 6 more of them..

[Dustbunny]

You can get better bait/poison from an exterminator. Just call them as many sell their products without having to come to your house. I tried the green bait last year and can't say it did much but when I bought the big chunks from the exterminator they worked instantly. The cost is about the same although I had to buy a bigger package at the exterminators (which is fine because I just kept half of it for this year and it's still working).

The big difference is what I could find at the stores seemed to kill by causing the mice to lose their 'coagulation' or some such thing. Basically I guess they bleed to death internally and that takes a while (like a couple of days plus they have to feed on the bait a couple of times). The exterminator variety dehydrates and the mice are dead the same day they feed (and only need to feed once). The up side of that (beside being a somewhat shorter agonizing death) is that when they go where they go to die, they are basically dried out so there is no lingering odour. I found one this year that I know (from watching the bait) had hit the bait in the morning and in the evening I found it and it looked like it had been dead for years. It was totally flat.

I mentioned I could see the bait had been hit, this is something I like to be able to see and you can't tell with the small pellets unless they all vanish. With the big ones you can see how much has been eaten and when if you check them regularly.

I also spoke with my vet to find out what would happen if my dog ate any of the dead mice and he told me the poison I had (dehydrating) might make the dog ill, but no serious damage. So another reason I like that one.

If your garage is attached to the house, make sure you bait your house too as those little creeps really travel. If you don't have pets or kids around, you can leave the large baits out without a bait station. Otherwise there are locking varieties. I was told to put them along the floor next to the walls, up on rafters, near water supplies, under appliances, etc. Basically anywhere they travel or might nest. If you have grass seed in the garage, get it out of there or seal it in something they can't chew through. Apparently they will also eat the wiring of your car so you might want to keep an eye on that. They could be running in and out all day and eating/drinking outside. Usually they will come in where the weather stripping at the bottom of the garage door is (mine were using that method to come in the house too... right through my back door which is very tight).

I also bought one of those sonic things and have to say that I have not found any evidence of mice in my garage (even though they have been in my house). It's mounted low (it has to hit them on their level) and whether it's the reason or not I can't say, but no mice since I plugged it in. They sell them in most stores but I found Walmart was a bit cheaper than Home Depot.

[conerstone]

I also discover mouse in my car garage since last Sat, the day after that I water clean the whole garage to ride of mice droppings. but the smell still remain until today. I found that enter my garage from the gap between the garage door and door frame. I try to seal it using white silicone (for bathroom). I don't know if it is effective, hope someone had experience could help out (without poison or trap, I guess block the source of enter, but what is the best way to do it)

[Dustbunny]

I don't think there is any way you can really block them from getting in the garage as long as there is a garage door because they come in through the bottom of that door usually. They will push the weather stripping to get in and out and they can get in a hole the size of a pencil if they aren't full grown. So that door offers them a lot of room to get in.

I had an exterminator check my house because I thought I had found all the entrances and it turned out the little creeps were coming in my back door which is very tight (so I thought) but it has weather stripping on the bottom and sides. It's air tight, but they were pushing it aside to come and go. I put some stiff wire mesh (bought at a HVAC store) on my door which blocks those edges as long as the door is closed. That has stopped the mice.

If your mice know their entrance and you silicone it, chances are they will chew through. I was told that all that will stop them from using a known entrance is metal (copper mesh is recommended) as they can't chew through it and if you use a mesh they don't like the feel of it. Anything else, they will do whatever it takes to go through.

Exterminator shops also sell fox and coyote urine. Sounds gross, but if you put it around the foundation/exterior it is supposed to repel them.

As for that smell....it's not so much their poop as their urine. They have no bladder control so pee as they walk and it gets all over the place. If it's really bugging you, get a black light (they sell them at pet stores for about $20) as it will show you where the urine is (think CSI). You'll also spot their routes to see where they are coming and going from probably which could help find the entrances. Also while at the pet store, pick up some Nature's Miracle or Folex from any other store. They are enzyme cleaners which eat things like urine so any source of smell is gone. They are easy to use and non toxic. If there is still a smell, then it's probably not urine.

[frugalman]

dustbunny can be an exterminator
lots of great info you gave us, thanks as it was fun to read as well
i'm going to local shop within this week to see what they got

[Dustbunny]

Gee, I'd rather pass on that job thanks. Just one of those times you have to learn or live with rodents and the latter is not an option IMO

[laterscooter]

Thanks for the informative post.

I noticed some ruffling yesterday night in the basement ceiling yesterday. I was going to buy some traps from the local Home Depot but I think I'll look up an exterminator for their products instead.

[sunnybono]

During the first winter after I moved into my new subdivision we had mice in the garage. Thankfully, the $0.99 traps from Rona worked like a charm. both critters were caught within 24 hours. I did notice where they were coming from. There was a small crack between the garage door and the jam. Ever since then I have gone out and bought garage door weather stripping and never seen them ever since!!!!

sk

[IoannI]

I've tried the product, Ratoxin, that exterminators use to get rid of some mice at my grandma's house. To tell you the truth I was very disapointed with its performance. It did kill a few, but thats about it. I had purchased it from a few different exterminators and I asked them if I was doing anything wrong and they told me no. The only thing they did tell me was when they go into houses is they use a more generous portion. I've stopped using that product.

For a while I started using the CIL pellets that Home Depot and Canadian Tire sell. It worked way better, we had better results. However, the problem still pursists. It comes and goes. Mostly cause the next door neighbour has one of those garbage storage bins practically leaning on the house and they bred and come from there.

I have seen many ppl purchase those green blocks they sell at Canadian Tire. They say that they work. I really have no clue, I've never tried them personally.

I did try those glue traps from Canadian Tire. They cost ~7 dollars for two, but they work and are super sticky. I used them at my cousins house, the tenants left the door open and they came in, and by the next day they were caught. I also used them at my grandma's house and I've caught about 10 already. So I highly recommend using those glue traps.

The best tinbits that I ever got about mice.
*Toronto has a huge mouse problem.
*Once they start eating the bait they eat until they get thirsty and when they get thirsty they tend to stop eating and then they leave the bait. To get them to continue eating leave some water next to the bait so they eat and when they get thirsty they drink the water and then continue eating.

[laterscooter]

Update:
Ok I picked up mice bait and put it out over the weekend. The active ingredient is Bromadiolone. It's supposed to be effective within 4-6 days. I've notice the bait has moved so they are taking it. There hasn't been as much noise lately but it would still be too early to tell.

[gmark2000]

Goddamn mice made a nest in my softball gear bag. They ate, pooped and pissed all over my helmet, leather gloves, balls, bats, and bases. I don't know how you clean a leather glove.

I had my cabana opened today too and they ripped open my patio chair cushions to make a nest there too. Frick and frack! I hate these rodents!

[sillysimms]

The problem with mice is they are quite common and they multiply like crazy. If they are in your area, chances are they'll soon find their way into your home. A small problem can quickly become big. We live in a condo now, but at a house we lived in several years ago, we began to have a problem with mice. It started with just a few, but we soon started seeing more. We bought some poison from a store. We'd put it out and the mice would eat the entire thing, but it didn't get rid of them. The problem was getting worse and worse. We finally called an exterminator. It was unbelievable. The exterminator put his poison out and within 2 days we had no more mice. I think it cost about $225 and had a one year warranty (which fortunately we didn't need). It was worth it and if I ever experienced that problem again, I'd call the exterminator as doing it ourself didn't work (in our case).

[Dustbunny]

Goddamn mice made a nest in my softball gear bag. They ate, pooped and pissed all over my helmet, leather gloves, balls, bats, and bases. I don't know how you clean a leather glove.

I had my cabana opened today too and they ripped open my patio chair cushions to make a nest there too. Frick and frack! I hate these rodents!

I hope you aren't just handling that stuff willynilly. The poop in particular can be very dangerous (carries hanta virus) so you aren't supposed to vacuum, sweep, or do anything else with it when it is dry which could raise the virus in the dust. I was told to get a spray bottle full of water (or water and bleach if the bleach won't hurt what you are spraying) and wet the stuff down and then wipe it up and seal it in a plastic bag. After you have the poop done, you should be able to clean everything else up if it isn't chewed or anything but make sure you use something that kills germs/bacteria/viruses. As for your leather glove, call a shoe repair place and see what they say. If they can't clean it for you a dry cleaner might be able to. They clean leather clothes all the time, why not a glove?