Tough Rodents Round Here
October 15th 2007 01:30
This post isn’t about alpacas, but another type of furry creature you tend to find on rural properties. I think it has more to do with poultry than alpacas. Anyway, we had a bit of a mouse thing happening which had to be dealt with. I haven’t been a fan of regular mousetraps since I saw one go off and the poor mouse took a full 30 seconds to stop struggling.
I don’t like poisons much either. It must be a horrendous way to go, and I don’t want to risk having poisons around with my small dogs.
So I bought a Mice Device. Neat design. You put the bait (mice love GoodOs dog food) on a platform inside, which triggers the door flap to drop down when the mouse takes the bait. The mouse (or mice – you can get more than one at a time) is then trapped in there (alive) until you decide what to do with him.
The Mice Device is clear, so you can see when there’s a mouse in there. There are air holes too (which some similar traps don’t have). You just take the mouse away, give the device a quick rinse under the tap and set it up for the next one.
There are some downsides, however. The device is made from brittle plastic which breaks easily, specially the hinges. You can repair it to a workable condition though, with a nifty product called sticky tape.
I did manage to rid our home of quite a few of these fury fiends with the Mice Device. Sadly though, we have pretty ingenious mice around here, and it didn’t take long before they had it sussed out. Sadly I couldn’t repair the damage this time.
I’m not one to give up on a product prematurely, so I went out and bought another Mice Device. But the platform where you put the bait was a little bit less sensitive on this one, so the mice would come in, fill up their hungry bellies on the lovely food I left for them, then leave again without setting it off.
I bought a different brand of mouse catcher and happily rounded up the remaining (clever) mice. I suppose it won’t be long before they’re back. But I’m ready for them now.
I don’t like poisons much either. It must be a horrendous way to go, and I don’t want to risk having poisons around with my small dogs.
So I bought a Mice Device. Neat design. You put the bait (mice love GoodOs dog food) on a platform inside, which triggers the door flap to drop down when the mouse takes the bait. The mouse (or mice – you can get more than one at a time) is then trapped in there (alive) until you decide what to do with him.
Mice Device
The Mice Device is clear, so you can see when there’s a mouse in there. There are air holes too (which some similar traps don’t have). You just take the mouse away, give the device a quick rinse under the tap and set it up for the next one.
There are some downsides, however. The device is made from brittle plastic which breaks easily, specially the hinges. You can repair it to a workable condition though, with a nifty product called sticky tape.
I did manage to rid our home of quite a few of these fury fiends with the Mice Device. Sadly though, we have pretty ingenious mice around here, and it didn’t take long before they had it sussed out. Sadly I couldn’t repair the damage this time.
Mice Device - All Figured Out
I’m not one to give up on a product prematurely, so I went out and bought another Mice Device. But the platform where you put the bait was a little bit less sensitive on this one, so the mice would come in, fill up their hungry bellies on the lovely food I left for them, then leave again without setting it off.
I bought a different brand of mouse catcher and happily rounded up the remaining (clever) mice. I suppose it won’t be long before they’re back. But I’m ready for them now.
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Comment by JoH
Great idea, but I don't think I could 'deal' with a live mouse (let alone a dead one!)
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
They're getting smarter all the time. I find there are always a couple of ring-leaders in the group that take a bit of catching.
They get really cheeky and start coming out while you're there. They just stand there on the bench and look at you. Fearless as anything.
It's always a great day when you get the last one and the house is mouse free again though.
Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
We did have an old cat who came to stay for a while. Dumped I think, poor thing. Too old to catch mice though.
The dogs catch any that are at ground level, its only those smarty pants ones that get up out of reach that are the problem.