Mice - poison

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D.W

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#250994 4-Jun-2019 12:21

I've read through a few older threads on tips to get rid of mice, we've had a few in our ceiling space recently, and traps caught some at first, but seem to be having little success lately (am using peanut butter on traps).

I'm reluctant to use poison due to what may happen to the bodies after they die, I've read some horror stories of dead mice rotting away inside walls etc.

Anybody have any thoughts on how likely this is? Any other options? I'd happily get a pest control expert in to deal with it if I knew it'd sort the problem out, but if they're just going to lay out poison I'd rather try that myself first.

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#2251071 4-Jun-2019 12:34

Our pest control guy said traps are 60% effective for mice, almost ineffective for rats, but poison is 95% effective. We had rats and mice recently, poison got rid of them and there's no smell as far as we can tell. Yes there's a risk they can die somewhere inaccessible, but there are devices which can help neutralize the odor. Call Integrated Pest Management in Wellington if you want info about that (I'm a customer, not associated with them).

To prevent rats getting into your ceiling get some wire netting and put it over your drain pipes, held there by clamps. You can get big hose clamps fairly cheap from miter ten - make sure you get the size that lets you get the clamp over the wire, I bought too small initially. Also ball up some wire and put it up the pipe in case they squeeze through. Rat and mice can often climb drain pipes if they're near a wall, mice can jump a meter up and rats can jump across surprisingly large gaps - 1-2 meters. It's difficult to make it impossible for them to get in. They apparently can't climb metal. I have a recent thread on this you might find useful.

xpd

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#2251083 4-Jun-2019 12:46

Yeah they can die in ceiling spaces etc and stink for a bit. Weve had issues with rats in the past, so tried lots of different solutions etc.

Used chicken wire, nails, timber etc to fill all gaps I could yet still got in (they only require a tiny gap to squeeze through - if the head fits, the body will follow)

Found they were using an external vent - one of the flaps had fallen off so one would go in the vent piping, and that would cause the piping to drop a little, and the others would jump on top of the pipe and have access to the ceiling cavity. Smart little buggers. Soon put a stop to that.

Then found they were getting in another way, had evidence of them but couldnt figure out how they were getting there. So I used chicken wire again and expanding foam. That stopped them. No issues since.

Mice/rats apparently dont like pure peppermint, so you could try sprinkling a bit of that around. Rats (dunno about mice) tend to only roam 100m from their nest.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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CYaBro

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#2251103 4-Jun-2019 13:17

We have rats and mice in the ceiling. :(

Don't like to use poison as we have a dog and apparently they can get secondary poisoning by eating the rodents that have died from eating the poison.

I've been told the poison makes them thirsty so they will go out looking for water so will usually die out in the open where dogs can find them.

So I got one of these:

https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat?variant=8689966743615

Also got one of the stands and have put it in the ceiling.

Been up there almost a week and have got two mice and a rat so far.

Haven't checked it today yet. :)

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

kingdragonfly

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#2251112 4-Jun-2019 13:28

Lots of videos on Youtube for mouse / rat traps.

One used a bucket as a dunk tank, with a "walk the plank" contraption. The plank would collapse under their weight, but reset. Unbelievably effective. The rats would drown if there was water in the bucket.

If there's no water in bucket, remember a rat jump 1.2 meters. So if you don't use water, it'll need to be a tall container.

I saw several from India where a guy used a 12V battery, a car coil and a birdcage. As the rats entered a tunnel, a flap closed. A car coil kept a floor plate charged. When their little toes touched the plate, they got quite a shock and almost flew in the cage.

Strangely the rats could see their friends in the bird cage, but still entered the tunnel. The rate never attempted to reenter the tunnel.

It was unbelievably effective.

Handsomedan

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#2251126 4-Jun-2019 13:57

We had a few mice last year in our garage.

We used traps - ineffective

We used bait/poison - 100% effective

We were lucky - a couple of dead mice found on the lawn and one trying to get into the house - dead by the internal garage door.

We still have traps around the place just in case, but if they didn't work last time, they're unlikely to work any time.

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Delphinus

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#2251133 4-Jun-2019 14:15

CYaBro:

https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat?variant=8689966743615

Also got one of the stands and have put it in the ceiling.

Been up there almost a week and have got two mice and a rat so far.

Haven't checked it today yet. :)

Rekon the counter is worth the extra $? I'd prefer the Chirp but no stock of that for another 4 months.

xpd

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#2251139 4-Jun-2019 14:25

I heard one trick that works well on farms.... large barrel, half full of water. Put a post in the barrel with plate of food attached to the post. Rat comes along, smells the foods, jumps onto the plate. Finds he cant get out so cries for help. Another rat will come along and jump to the plate. And so on... eventually they start pushing one another off the plate and land in the water and drown.

Person I heard it from got about 30 rats in a single night the first time he tried it.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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CYaBro

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#2251265 4-Jun-2019 15:04

Delphinus:

CYaBro:

https://goodnature.co.nz/products/a24-rat-stoat?variant=8689966743615

Also got one of the stands and have put it in the ceiling.

Been up there almost a week and have got two mice and a rat so far.

Haven't checked it today yet. :)

Rekon the counter is worth the extra $? I'd prefer the Chirp but no stock of that for another 4 months.

I bought the bundle with the counter from Mitre10.
Mitre10 may have stock of the chirp bundle.

You do need something so you know how many times the gas has fired, as it's only got so many shots, and needs to be replaced once it's run out.

It helped me with the last one as the dead rat wasn't in the trap!

I checked the counter and saw that it had been triggered since I last checked it but wondered why?

Had a look around in the ceiling near the trap and found the rat. It had been dragged out of the trap by another rat and had been munched on!

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Delphinus

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#2251281 4-Jun-2019 15:24

xpd:

I heard one trick that works well on farms.... large barrel, half full of water. Put a post in the barrel with plate of food attached to the post. Rat comes along, smells the foods, jumps onto the plate. Finds he cant get out so cries for help. Another rat will come along and jump to the plate. And so on... eventually they start pushing one another off the plate and land in the water and drown.

Person I heard it from got about 30 rats in a single night the first time he tried it.

Peanut butter on a plate 3 bricks high. Will report back tomorrow.

D.W

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#2251283 4-Jun-2019 15:25

The A24 looks good but then I found this, which makes me a bit hesitant given the price: https://www.naturespace.org.nz/news/whareroa-farm-low-kill-rate-mice-goodnature-a24-traps

froob

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#2251367 4-Jun-2019 17:36

I've found Nooski traps work well for mice. Have used them in the subfloor as well as in the house.

I also have the rat version, but haven't had any success with that.

These traps don't kill as quickly as a standard snap trap (they deploy a rubber ring that suffocates the mouse). But, I understand they are much more consistent than a snap trap, and have less chance of maiming the mouse but leaving it half alive.

The mouse dies just by the trap, so you're unlikely to get issues with them climbing into walls, etc, to die.

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bfginger

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#2251426 4-Jun-2019 18:26

The major problem with a traditional rat trap is the rat pushes the trap off and doesn't go near them again. Modified traps where they can't do that are much more effective There is one at Mitre10, I don't remember the name but it's made of metal and has the UK flag on it, much nastier than the wooden sue-friendly American made things.

Bung

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#2251454 4-Jun-2019 19:26

There's a modified wooden Victor rat trap that has a cover over the bait trigger that forces the rat to approach the bait straight on with less chance of triggering without being hit.

I think an A24 is too hi tech just for mice. I have no trouble catching them in the easy set plastic traps. Either peanut butter or a wad of bread with vanilla essence on it seem to work.

xpd

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#2251731 5-Jun-2019 08:24

Delphinus:

xpd:

I heard one trick that works well on farms.... large barrel, half full of water. Put a post in the barrel with plate of food attached to the post. Rat comes along, smells the foods, jumps onto the plate. Finds he cant get out so cries for help. Another rat will come along and jump to the plate. And so on... eventually they start pushing one another off the plate and land in the water and drown.

Person I heard it from got about 30 rats in a single night the first time he tried it.

Peanut butter on a plate 3 bricks high. Will report back tomorrow.

Hehe thats the one :)

Good luck :D

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Delphinus

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#2251736 5-Jun-2019 08:38

Nope, nothing in there this morning at all. Even had a platform leading up to it to make it easy for them to get in.

What I did have was dreams of a horde of rats roaming around the place, with 10 caught in the water, and 5 cats prowling to drag out the dead ones.

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