we are seeing alot more mice around our feeders. what can i do , I was thinking of poison down the holes they run off to but I dont want to hurt the deer any ideas
Thanks Ed
Thanks Ed
mice mice and more mice
- Thread starter H&M Whitetails
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H&M Whitetails said:
I know a couple of farmers who have cats that hang around their pens...I've had a couple wild ones that come and go, but never been able to keep any tame ones. I'm sure that would help your situation.
Joined Apr 2009
1,428 Posts | 0+
Northeast Wisconsin
We have barn cats that we feed to keep them around and keep the mice down. Since we switched to the Outback feeders we have a lot less mice than the trough feeders. A good gravity feeder makes a lot of difference and we love the Outbacks. They have runners on the bottom so you can hook them up to the truck and pull them to a new location to clean things up. Also they have a center tube that comes down lower for fawns.
Joined Jul 2009
1,215 Posts | 0+
Deer Park, Alabama
I use my live trap with the door cracked open on both ends and poisin on the plate. Tie the trap down where deer can't turn it over.
Joined Nov 2010
704 Posts | 0+
Annville, PA
Get your teenager and his frinds, get them all pellet guns and place a bounty on each mouse head. Heck sounds like fun, where do I sign up.
Cats. Ask your local humane society if they have any barn cats to find homes for. They'll typically be fixed and many times free. I have about 20 cats on the farm and they are invaluable for keeping mice and rats down.
Wild Rivers Whitetails said:
I can second the Outback feeders. I also have a bunch of the newer Boss buck feeders that work really well with very little spillage. The Boss feeders are much less expensive but they are only 600# capacity. I really like them though because you can adjust the feed flow better than anything else I have used.
My problem is squirrels!
We have a ton of mice on the farm. I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I was going to construct the "ultimate electric bucket mouse trap".
Pick your location based off of rodent activity. Bury the 5 gallon bucket up to the PVC pipe (so the pvc pipe is resting on the ground and acts like a tunnel into the bucket for the mice) and bait the bait cage (made out of hardware cloth) with your favorite mouse attractant such as peanut butter mixed with feed seed).
Run the hot wire (the sheathed hot wire for electric fences, not the bare hot wire) off of an electrical fence energizer and then at each bucket location have some type of tie-in for the sheathed wires coming off of the bucket. I am simply going to strip a section of the hot wire off of the fence energizer at each bucket location and use a heavy-duty copper alligator clip for the hot wire and ground connection. I am going to used the sheathed wire for the leads off of the bucket as well.
To check the trap, turn off the energizer, un-clip the alligator clips, remove the bucket from the ground (the hole should be molded around the bucket and remain intact), pry off the lid, and remove the deceased mice from the water with an old set of BBQ tongs or just pour out the water making sure it doesn't get the interior components wet. The mice will either die instantly, or drown.
Replace the water if needed, replace the lid, and re-seat the bucket. Reconnect the wires and turn the fence energizer back on. Should be able to hold many, many mice if you only check once a week.
The only concern I see is if a snake decides to go into the tunnel. It will either get fried as well, or end up in the water. So be careful removing the lid!!!
I take no responsibility if anyone builds this as it is an idea from a bored hillbilly and probably does not meet ANY safety codes.
Pick your location based off of rodent activity. Bury the 5 gallon bucket up to the PVC pipe (so the pvc pipe is resting on the ground and acts like a tunnel into the bucket for the mice) and bait the bait cage (made out of hardware cloth) with your favorite mouse attractant such as peanut butter mixed with feed seed).
Run the hot wire (the sheathed hot wire for electric fences, not the bare hot wire) off of an electrical fence energizer and then at each bucket location have some type of tie-in for the sheathed wires coming off of the bucket. I am simply going to strip a section of the hot wire off of the fence energizer at each bucket location and use a heavy-duty copper alligator clip for the hot wire and ground connection. I am going to used the sheathed wire for the leads off of the bucket as well.
To check the trap, turn off the energizer, un-clip the alligator clips, remove the bucket from the ground (the hole should be molded around the bucket and remain intact), pry off the lid, and remove the deceased mice from the water with an old set of BBQ tongs or just pour out the water making sure it doesn't get the interior components wet. The mice will either die instantly, or drown.
Replace the water if needed, replace the lid, and re-seat the bucket. Reconnect the wires and turn the fence energizer back on. Should be able to hold many, many mice if you only check once a week.
The only concern I see is if a snake decides to go into the tunnel. It will either get fried as well, or end up in the water. So be careful removing the lid!!!
I take no responsibility if anyone builds this as it is an idea from a bored hillbilly and probably does not meet ANY safety codes.
