Rodents
July 18, 2008
So I think we have mice. Or possibly rats.
We have two cats and a terrier. You’d think that’d be some sort of a deterrent. Apparently not.
We know there are rats in the alleys - it’s a city. There’s trash and birds and cats and dogs and yes, rats. Our neighbour had his back porch rebuilt not too long ago, and very recently had his back yard paved over into a parking pad, and there are still rats under his house, despite the “secure conditions”.
Rats/mice outside? No big deal. Inside? Not a huge deal, except for the worry that they’re carrying diseased fleas (dog and cats are all treated monthly with flea/tick preventive) and the fact that they apparently like peanut butter granola bars.
This is the first indication we’ve had that they’ve been in the kitchen, and it’s likely it was actually some mousey’s first trek into the room, since Kitti usually has granola bars on the counter and they’ve always been undisturbed.
Kitti and I are the kind of people who will trap rodents and release them. Unfortunately that means they just turn around and come back inside - probably after telling their friends that we’re softies and won’t kill them so come on over for the buffet!
So what to do… invest in a bunch of no-kill traps and then what? Give them a key so they can get back in easier after we’ve released them? Build a really frickin’ big Habitrail and keep them as pets? Kitti is vegan. He really takes the whole thing about not harming animals very seriously (yes, he will catch-and-release bugs, too. Me? I say kill the little bastards. Except ladybugs and caterpillars. And the creepycool praying mantis.) so we don’t want to use poison. Also, we do have two cats, and a dog that will put anything in his mouth, so we really don’t want to go the poison route.
Balls.
4 Responses to “Rodents”
Go to the basement and look for cracks in the walls. Fill cracks with the expanding spray foam. This should deter them from entry. The most likely entries are walls that are surrounded by earth, as they appear to have made a tunnel system in that area. The construction has pushed them into new territory.
If you’re into the “don’t hurt animals” concept, what if one of the cats or the dog happen to act on nature and capture one of the buggers?
And when it comes to mousetraps, nothing beats Maj. Frank “ferret face” Burns’ trap:
The mouse enters here and sees his reflection, then this pendulum taps him on the shoulder. When he turns around to see who it is, WHAM these little babies crush his skull.
By daffyd on Jul 18, 2008
If the cats or the dog catches one and we don’t get to it in time, then that’s okay. That’s nature. I just can’t do it myself.
By The Ninth on Jul 18, 2008
If you have plumbing in the basement, also put the spray foam around any places where the pipes go through walls or the floor. Steel wool works too.
We use some of the ultrasonic pest repellers and they’ve worked well for us.
By idyllicchick on Jul 18, 2008
OOH, forgot about steel wool. Lime works very well also.
By daffyd on Jul 18, 2008