Rats and mice

[JSM]

All,
Hello. I am hoping I can get some help/suggestions. Ever since I have had my tractor, I have been paranoid about rats/mice getting into it and destroying something. Well, this weekend, I found a nest and chewed through tubing on top of the engine.

I keep it in an old haybarn. I have gone through an entire bucket of the bait bars from tractor supply. I can literally put out 10-12 of them and they will be gone in a week. I then tried the pelletized bait. Put out 4 trays of it, gone in a week. I found most of the pelletized bait in the rat's nest on top of the engine. Unreal.

I have tried baiting the old victor mouse and rat traps with cheese and peanut butter. It will be gone overnight, without the traps getting set off. I think ants are doing that.

I tried gluing whole peanuts in the shell to the traps. The rats traps are untouched. The mouse traps get set off, the peanuts are stolen. Found two of them in the rats nest today.

I went and got more bait bars from tractor supply today as well as 2 rat glue traps. I put the bars in a location that forces the rats/mice to walk through the glue traps to get to them.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am at my wits end with this (all of this is almost laughable, although after I found that line chewed through today, laughing would have been my last response).

Thanks in advance!

Joseph

 

[Clint S]

I use these or a variation. Making a 5 gal. bucket mouse trap. - YouTube
fill with non toxic antifreeze in the winter and they will drown. The most I have caught 15 in a week. Best part is keeps working and working and working.

 

[SSdoxie]

This may sound straging but worked for me. I got a rat infestation in the dog kennel. Started putting out the TSC bait bars and killed a few here and there. Then one day ny hired helper mentioned he had put the bait pail out and had signs of the rats trying to chew at the pail, I told him to keep baiting but leave the lid off the pail. They ate everyting in the pail, and nibbled on the distributed bait. End of story, cost about $80 for big pail of bait but they ate almost all of it and no signs of rats or mice.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Agree with the mouse "wheel of death"...
The Wheel of Death

Every Fall I battle those liitle pests, best traps I have come across are the ones with fake plastic cheese. I have the old metal ones baited with peanut butter right next to the fake ones, the mice go for the fake ones everytime! My traps from last year still pull them in, something about the plastic I guess. The plastic trigger has settings to make them super sensitive too.

Pre-Baited Mouse Trap | Victorｮ Easy Setｮ Mouse Trap Bundle, 20 Pack

 

[RaydaKub]

Hey JSM, :welcome: to TBN!

 

[vegaome]

I use a hair triggered number 1 long spring for rats, baited with peanut butter.

 

[JSM]

Thanks for the welcome! Thanks for the tips about the bucket trap as well. I am going to build one this week. Now, I just hope that my dealer doesn't charge me an arm and a leg for that line that got chewed through.......looks like it would cost $10 to make, but something makes me think there will be a 5x multiplier on the price.......

 

[gwdixon]

Keep up with the poison from Tractor Supply - buy the expensive stuff and lots of it. If it is disappearing then it is doing its work. Keep putting it out until it no longer disappears. It will take a while.

I used to raise hogs and you have not seen rats like that business will produce. Unfortunately, poison can't be used since the poisoned rats will be eaten by the hogs.

We would turn on a light at night and the floor of the pigpens would actually look like they were moving with the number of rats.

After getting out of the business something had to be done with the vermin. Poison blocks were the only solution. Now there is not a rat to be found.

To keep the poison from dogs or other animals use 4" plastic pipe. Use two, two foot long sections with an elbow in the middle. Then just put 3 or 4 of the small blocks in the "tunnel". Shaking it will tell you when it is empty. Place it where you know there are runs. It works.

The pelleted bait in the nest was actually what went through the vermin...and killed them.

Most poison blocks have a hole in the middle. Thread some bailing wire through it and wire it to the top of the engine where nests can be made.

 

[savageactor7]

LOL on the 'wheel of death'...I'm gonna try that.
We use moth balls up here in and around static equipment.

The mice don't seem to bother the stuff you use on a frequent basis.

 

[PineRidge]

For years we have put mothballs in the control boxes on condensing units that sit outside. The mothballs keep critters including chipmunks away from the wiring.

 

[JSM]

Thanks for the replies. I just got the part price - $6.50. Thank goodness. My dealer is pretty honest and fair, I think.

I am going to get the bucket trap up and running this weekend, keep replacing the TSC bait, and disperse a couple of boxes of moth balls in the old barn. The parts guy at the dealer told me to put some dryer sheets and a small box of moth balls up under the hood where I found the nest, each time I put the tractor up.

The first guy I talked to in the service dept told me to get 3-4 cats. I declined on that one.... lol

Thanks again for the help.

Joseph

 

[Poncho]

Hey... I got some kittens I can mail to you! I actually have "barn cats" the roam the property and after 12 years, I've yet to see a snake or a mouse on the property

 

[tractchores]

The 'rat zapper' works really well and I've never had anything steal the bait, just be careful with it (hurts like heck if you get zapped!). You may have warafin resistant rats / mice, so you can vary the bait and poison type. I'd use some caution with mothballs, I use them too, but the fumes can eat away at some kinds of rubber and flexible plastics. I've found my best bet is to have a bunch of traps around the equipment and to put out poison at times when the mice tend to come inside (around here that's when it gets cold).

 

[Jay4200]

There is an old wives' tale around here - if you keep the hood open on your tractor, mice won't nest in there. I've been keeping my tractor's engine sidepanels off, and I haven't had anything get into the area. I have a LOT of critters running around in my barn too. Not to say it isn't just coincidence, but it's easy enough to try.

JayC

 

[kneedeep]

I use this in my hunting camp and lake house, seems to work and available at TSC

Fresh Cab® #1 Botanical Rodent Repellant, 10 oz. - 4205547 | Tractor Supply Company

 

[tractchores]

There is an old wives' tale around here - if you keep the hood open on your tractor, mice won't nest in there. I've been keeping my tractor's engine sidepanels off, and I haven't had anything get into the area. I have a LOT of critters running around in my barn too. Not to say it isn't just coincidence, but it's easy enough to try.

JayC

Ive heard that too and think its because they don't want to be in the open. I try to keep anythng that is inviting in the open and avoid stuff against walls at floor level and that cuts down on some nests.

 

[rlinwood]

I use these or a variation. Making a 5 gal. bucket mouse trap. - YouTube
fill with non toxic antifreeze in the winter and they will drown. The most I have caught 15 in a week. Best part is keeps working and working and working.

We have barn cats that do a fairly good job but might be interested in trying this bucket-mouse-trap idea, too.
Any feedback on drowning mice without nailing the cats?
They have a hard enough time avoiding the coyotes...

 

[Jay4200]

The 'rat zapper' works really well and I've never had anything steal the bait, just be careful with it (hurts like heck if you get zapped!).

What's a rat zapper? I've always wanted to build an electric mouse trap. Either that, or one that sets off an M80 in their mouth.

Edit:
Nevermind - I looked "rat zapper" up. I also found this:

http://pestcemetery.com/3-easy-home-made-mouse-traps/

2-liter bottle trap shows promise - I think I might try one this weekend.

JayC

 

[creekbend]

There are various types of devices available, as other members have suggested. But, from my personal experience, nothing beats a good "CAT". If you have a problem with squirrels, a "CAT" will take care of them also.

 

[nybirdman]

As stated keep putting out the baits;it does take a while.I have had good luck with TomCat from TSC.Strange thing this year had baits(large ones) disappearing nightly.Finally caught a possum in a live trap.I read later poisons don't work on possums.