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iguessimtheITguynow t1_jdx6bcs wrote

We live out in the woods because it's what we could afford and when you live in the woods you get a lot of mice.

For years we stuck to traps but they number of mice was overwhelming. We could burn through the big box of traps in a week. We also did all the mitigation strategies recommended by folks online and exterminators.

We finally caved and switched to bait boxes and have had almost none since.

If there was an effective way that wasn't poison, we'd take it, but afaik there isn't one yet.

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kayakyakr t1_jdy454v wrote

There are baits that don't have secondary poisoning. Mouse-x for example, is effectively potato starch.

When choosing bait, go for the ones that are safe from secondary.

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iguessimtheITguynow t1_jdzzu9w wrote

The exterminator who does our baits bi-annually said they weren't anticoagulants and were fairly safe around pets.

I assume this means they aren't at risk for secondary poisoning

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scintilist t1_jdyuhip wrote

Its not always easy but any building can be mouse proofed. For years, we'd catch multiple mice in traps inside every week and couldn't figure out how they were getting in, but then inspired by this video, I built a mouse house with cotton balls, bait, and $10 of fluorescent powder. Sure enough, within a week there was a trail of fluorescent powder that could be tracked with a UV flashlight down a door frame, across the floor, and over to very small gap between the carpet and the wall where the sub floor wasn't cut tight to the log walls. After filling this gap there were no mice for while, but after a few months they found a new path. Repeated the process, and tracked them to a gap around the water heater vent: they were actually climbing up through the channels of a metal roof, and then down along the vent. After blocking that off, we have been mouse free for 3 years.

This is a log home surrounded by woods more than a quarter mile from the nearest building. If it can be mouse proofed, anything can. The only 100% foolproof method is to fully seal your house with no gaps a mouse can fit though.

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iguessimtheITguynow t1_je00ebv wrote

We have 30's house that is balloon framing so they can pretty much move freely. I did a lot of remediation work with copper mesh and spray foam which cut back on the places we knew they were coming in.

I'll look into the fluorescent powder method, might help us see spots we missed.

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TituspulloXIII t1_je09vpl wrote

You can reuse traps you know.

Unless you are somehow killing hundreds of mice, how are you going through a big box?

I live in the woods too and just use these:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TOMCAT-Press-N-Set-Mouse-Trap-0360710PM/205563821

They say disposable, but they can easily be reset. Each trap has killed dozens of mice.

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iguessimtheITguynow t1_je0hjui wrote

We use the cheapo wooden ones and they almost always absolutely destroy the mice, blood and guts everywhere.

I used to try to reuse them but the trigger plates often need to be re-bent which is gross to do when they covered in gibs.

That, or it doesn't kill them all the way so it's easier just to toss the whole contraption.

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TituspulloXIII t1_je0izzq wrote

If that's your experience with the cheap wooden ones.

Just grab a couple of these and give them a shot. Walk into any home improvement store and they likely have them and they are only like $6.

It's a very clean kill, I've never had to worry about cleaning up blood or guts from the floor.

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torhem t1_jdzi7d7 wrote

The bucket trap eliminated all mice for us. You can buy a lid or make your own. Final mitigation I found a well used quarter sized hole between chimney and soffit..nothing since.

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_gains23 t1_jdyg1jj wrote

Outdoor cat?

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land345 t1_jdywlbr wrote

Definitely worse for outdoor wildlife. Outdoor cats kill thousands of birds purely for sport.

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cforbinn t1_jdzj2zo wrote

Outdoors cats are worse than poison. They are responsible for almost 2/3’s of the birds extinct in the US. If I remember that stat right. We should be eradicating feral cats, and putting a ban on outdoor cats.

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