Farmall Cub

anyone having trouble with mice in the house ? the cats have caught and killed 6 mice in the past week. I have seen mice in the house during the winter , but not in the summer .

John

I live in a 1860s farm house.We have a few that stay year round.I keep traps out year round.Fall is bad,but at least you have a worth while cat.Tracys cat has a hard time even with moles HAHA!!!!!I get on a roll 3 times a year to get rid of quite a few.GOOD LUCK!!!!Kevin

If it has been extremely dry where you are, they may be coming in looking for water.

While at RedMan's for CubFest I saw the answer to your problem.

They had a whole litter of kittens there, you just need more mouse catchers

John, ditto what Don M. says. It has been extremely dry here so far this year and even the ants have been coming in to search for water. A little rain will more than likely take care of the situation, if not, more cats .

it has been dry here that could be

I keep traps set year 'round, baited with peanut butter. I've been renewing the bait about once a month but mice don't seem to prefer fresh over stale. Don't know if I'm catching mice already in the house or attracting them! Fall and winter are prime time for mouse trapping, winter and spring for squirrels and summer for groundhogs - rodents are keeping me busy.

Too many mice here! Had one that would get up in the soffit and start gnawing at the aluminum - at 4:14 AM for an hour or so. Damn thing must have had a watch, it was always on time, for about 3 days. Finally caught it in a trap down in the garage. I couldn't sleep hearing some rodent trying to destroy my house. In the last 3 or 4 weeks, have caught 10 mice in traps. The critters take turns invading us. Last year it was ants. Ants of all sizes. Lots of ants. Terro finally got them all, but it took a couple of weeks. They were even coming up through cracks in the slab in an addition, getting on the kitchen counters, all over the place. Year before that, it was spiders, something out of a bad horror movie. All part of country living, and still tons better than city life with rats (both 2 and 4 legged ones!)
We love it in the country, and the critters are all a part of it.

P.S. Peanut butter works great in the traps. The new style plastic traps aren't very good. The old style wood ones work the best for me, and the less bait, the better. If I use too much bait, they lick a little off, and go away. With just a little bait, they try harder, and WHAM! I had one mouse that would take the bait, and not get caught. This went on for 5 days! I finally drilled a tiny hole in a peanut, and tied it to the trap trigger with thread. That got him!

Late last winter, I had to resort to the glue traps along the "mouse highway" in my kitchen. Apparently, I had caught the momma and papa mouse earlier in the winter, and the little mice were out foraging. Set the snap traps every night, and in the morning, the bait was gone and trap was still set

Well, I got the glue traps and set them where they ran....CAUGHT 10 OF THEM within two days. Now, I keep a glue trap on that highway all the time. No mice since winter...

Mike in La Crosse, WI

I agree, those plastic traps aren't worth a hoot. And don't even bring up the the lovey-dovey "catch and release" live traps, we're talking war and ya gotta be heartless.

The wood and metal Victor traps work the best but you need to fine tune them to work on a hair trigger. Keep those little buggers from taking the bait without paying the penality. I'm not sure about mouse trap terminology so bear with me. Adjust that little tab on the opposite end of bait hook that holds the crook in the wire that sets the trap. I think Victor had to make their traps child resistant. The slightest jarring or nudging should release the snapper and snag your prey, even setting the trap and putting it in place should require gentle and deliberate movement on your part.

My traps will snap as the humidity changes and the wood swells or shrinks, but nothing steals my bait and lives to tell about it. SNAP, WHACK, makes my heart sing!

I also use peanut butter , but I rub the pb on a small peice of paper towel and put it in the traps trigger, the mice have to work harder to get it and then it sets the trap off....

Carl you are ruthless!!!!HaHa!!!!!Kevin come over to my house have a worthless cat!!!!

Sorry, Kevin. I don't need worthless cats and evidently worthless cats don't need me.

We had an extremely anorexic cat come over to our house on Saturday. My lovely wife felt sorry for the poor creature and decided to put a hot dog out for it. A Hebrew National, just in case the cat's kosher. You never know unless you ask. The cat promptly dropped dead in the yard as the food was delivered so we never found out. But I gave the creature a prompt burial anyway.

P.S. - The food was prepared and parceled by a gentle and caring hand. I had nothing to do with it's demise. HONEST. There are witnesses.

Carl
West Nile, CWD and Rabies comr to mind as I read your posting. Fortunately my lowboy drips a little antifreez in the garage. I keep a tray under it. Since this started I noticed the pellets I keep in the bottom of the work bench are not dissappearing as quickly as they used to. Just can't figure it out.

Not a bad thought,hhhmmmm cat and mice same time.Tracy would kill me she loves that worthless cat as dry as it has been the antifreeze trick is a good one.Just have to put it where the cat can't get to it.Kevin