Under Siege

[Rick W]

After dragging the Missing Linc home from South Carolina, swapping the motor and some other stuff and got it running on the road, I moved to the little things like heat and wipers and such.

Amazingly everything seemed to work. It sounded like the blower was going, but I couldn’t get any air on the windshield, out the dash, or underneath. I started to pull it apart and realized I didn’t have a “mouse house,“ I had a mouse mixed use apartment and condominium complex.

I started pulling it out with long nose pliers, and twisted coat hangers, and realized I would’ve been doing that forever. Then I cut a piece of old shop vac hose and taped it onto the end of the leaf blower, and started pointing it in and out at strategic places. I got it all cleaned out in about 15 minutes.

I got covered with leaves and insulation and mouse crap and some nuts and pine straw, etc. Yeah, I blew it all out in 15 minutes, and then I took a hot shower for an hour and a half!

I’ve always had a bunch of cars, and the mice crawling in and building a house was always a problem. I used to put latex gloves on the end of the tailpipes, etc., so they only build the mouse houses under the battery or such. One of Rick’s tips by the way, if you use something like a latex glove and you forget it’s on there, it blows off with the first crank.

 

[holyford86]

Mongolian beef for dinner!

They were too small to prepare for cooking effectively, so I had to scrape some change together to head to the store for groceries instead.

 

[broncc]

AJ's ranch is under siege. It must be put under lockdown!

Reliable snap traps against the wall are best. Poison lets them wander off and die somewhere hidden. Go around the outside your house and mow the lawn. Trim back plants against your house if you can. While you're there, look for any holes large enough to fit your thumb into and seal it up. Check under the lowest board in your siding, they're tricky.

Rat shot comes in all sorts of calibers too

 

[Shran]

If any of you have Kia or Toyota vehicles, really keep an eye on those for rodents. Mice really like Kias for some reason... my parents would get mice in the heater box of their old Forte in just a couple of days. I think their Sorento has been better... but the dealer even said they are really bad about attracting mice for some reason.

Toyota seems to have wiring that tastes great to rats, pack rats, rabbits, etc... I worked on an FJ Cruiser recently that had most of the injector harness eaten by a pack rat. It wasn't just chewed on a little.. there were big sections of wire just totally gone. It was horrible. Even after patching the harness back together, I still had literally every warning light on the dash lit up. It at least ran & drove where before it was just totally dead... there must have been damage elsewhere, I had over a full day into it at that point so I told them to just come get it and take it somewhere else that can diagnose all the warning lights.

They were too small to prepare for cooking effectively, so I had to scrape some change together to head to the store for groceries instead.

If you put a bunch in a pot of water, I bet you could add your choice of seasonings and salt and cook till the skins fall off, then pick those out with a slotted spoon. Then simmer for a few hours and save the liquid. Presto! Mouse broth!

 

[pjtoledo]

I was able to get those exact Tomcat traps at Meijer this week. No luck on getting the rodent yet thoug. 4 pack is under 3 bucks. What do you use for bait? I set a couple out with peanut butter, but evidently the doritos appeal to them more. In the past chocolate chips work really well tool.

AJ

my rats walk right past peanut butter without even sniffing it. actual peanuts they will eat.
salty chips are ok bait, so are pet food nuggets. grind bait up so they stay still a few seconds .
black oil sunflower seeds and almost any bird food brings 'em in.

I have videoed them snatching seed from snap traps. those varmints are fast 'n sneaky so firmly attach the seeds to the trap.
they tend to establish schedules, a few nights with the game camera then I set an ambush.

at times when raccoons and opossums are active they will carry away fresh kills.

funny story, years ago a neighbor had a house dog that started getting out way too often.
one day a different neighbor saw the dog pick up a dead rat that had crawled into her flower bed to die and go home with it.
the dog disappeared a couple days later.

 

[sgtsandman]

If any of you have Kia or Toyota vehicles, really keep an eye on those for rodents. Mice really like Kias for some reason... my parents would get mice in the heater box of their old Forte in just a couple of days. I think their Sorento has been better... but the dealer even said they are really bad about attracting mice for some reason.

Toyota seems to have wiring that tastes great to rats, pack rats, rabbits, etc... I worked on an FJ Cruiser recently that had most of the injector harness eaten by a pack rat. It wasn't just chewed on a little.. there were big sections of wire just totally gone. It was horrible. Even after patching the harness back together, I still had literally every warning light on the dash lit up. It at least ran & drove where before it was just totally dead... there must have been damage elsewhere, I had over a full day into it at that point so I told them to just come get it and take it somewhere else that can diagnose all the warning lights.



If you put a bunch in a pot of water, I bet you could add your choice of seasonings and salt and cook till the skins fall off, then pick those out with a slotted spoon. Then simmer for a few hours and save the liquid. Presto! Mouse broth!

It's the wire coating. Hondas have that problem as well. They use soy or some other plant based product to make the insulation. Thus, why the rodents like it.

 

[bobbywalter]

Arwin, a large tabby is a proficient killing machine.

keeps vermin at bay.


i love him.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I was able to get those exact Tomcat traps at Meijer this week. No luck on getting the rodent yet thoug. 4 pack is under 3 bucks. What do you use for bait? I set a couple out with peanut butter, but evidently the doritos appeal to them more. In the past chocolate chips work really well tool.

AJ

I usually coat the hooks and the underside of the flaps with peanut butter and on those boards I sprinkle some sunflower seeds in the middle by the handle... usually works especially if I know where they are going and I put a couple of those boards out... that size fits in the floorboards of RBV's, I need to set a couple in the explorers, they've been in the glovebox and all over again the bastages...

 

[bobbywalter]

they are destructive

 

[97RangerXLT]

If you put a bunch in a pot of water, I bet you could add your choice of seasonings and salt and cook till the skins fall off, then pick those out with a slotted spoon. Then simmer for a few hours and save the liquid. Presto! Mouse broth!

should this be in the "whats for dinner" thread?



AJ

 

[Shran]

should this be in the "whats for dinner" thread?



AJ

ChatGPT says: "Eating bush meat can offer a sustainable source of protein and essential nutrients, particularly in rural areas where access to conventional livestock or agricultural products is limited. Additionally, it can support local economies by providing income through hunting and trade, while promoting cultural practices tied to indigenous food systems. "

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

These work really well FWIW

Amazon.com : Mouse Trap (3 Packs), Indoor and Outdoor Trap Bucket, Automatic Reset Trap Bucket lid, Human Trap, Reusable Trap Bucket lid, Compatible with 5-Gallon Bucket : Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[ekrampitzjr]

should this be in the "whats for dinner" thread?



AJ

That reminds me. I was going to get Asian take-out for dinner tonight.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

When I lived in the boonies, we had several cats doing their job with the mice, but we still had plenty of mice in parts of the house. Apparently the manufactured home was placed on the local field mouse Grand Central Station. We never could get rid of all of them.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

When I lived in the boonies, we had several cats doing their job with the mice, but we still had plenty of mice in parts of the house. Apparently the manufactured home was placed on the local field mouse Grand Central Station. We never could get rid of all of them.

I wouldn’t call where I’m at the “boonies” especially because I’ve seen the real boonies before, lol. But down next to a creek, it’s field mouse central too. Cats, dogs, traps, there’s always mice everywhere. Constant war and it’s about exhausting. Ever hear someone tell you to put out Irish Spring soap? That it will repel mice? Apparently our mice are broken if so because the bastages LITERALLY ATE the bars of soap…

I used to use poison over at my shed until a mouse dragged it’s bleeding body back and forth through all of the paint roller covers that were in a bulk contractor bag (I had only used one roller out of this pack of something like 6 or 8 covers), thus ruining all of the rollers and still had the ability to drag off somewhere obscure and die in the shed and stink it up for awhile. I was not amused.