Mice problems

Our cats and I have been busy all year with the mice.  One week we took out 17 mice.  My wife went the route of a mix of baking soda and Jiffy Cornmeal Muffin Mix.  I hesitate to share this, but we haven’t see a mouse in a month. The mix appears to have done its job.

Thanks for sharing this. I understand completely. When rodent populations explode exponentially, the only reasonable option outside of total surrender is a mix of this sort. It's a helluva lot less toxic than the hardware store products, and it won't poison natural predators like hawks, owls, or weasels.

Inside buildings or inside parked vehicles, there are also reports of mixing fast-acting drywall powder with ground grains to control outrageous rodent populations. When this mix touches moisture, it turns to plaster. Nasty, but effective.

thanks for sharing, John. Around here it is a recurrent seasonal problem. I set traps but they are too darn smart, I catch one at the beginning of the season each year and that's all I get, I think they must have good news reporting.
Also with the dogs, I need to think carefully about what I do, so this is a good option. Poison is a non-starter for various reasons, but the traps tend to end up on dog noses (repeatedly, usually in the middle of the night. I guess Dog News Network isn't as good at informing their population about the dangers of traps....)

Hi Tereza,

Normally we se a bump in the spring and fall.  I have an incredible mouser who deals with them quickly.   This year has been horrible with mouse droppings all over and anything chewable being chewed on.  I am still cleaning up the mess.    But, I am seeing no signs of new mice.

Here is another mix you can use a friend of mine shared with me.

They mix you mention works, and works well, but if you don't have the jiffy mix you can just do this ->    



Safe way to get rid of mice and rats only kills mice and rats as they can't expel gas.


I make a mixture of equal parts flour, sugar, and baking soda. Then add about ¼ part peanut butter (to attract the mice or rats), and just enough water to get the mixture to form into small marble sized balls.
I then distribute the balls around the areas where the mice are known to be, I have lost count of how many hundreds of dead mice I have found all around the yard.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Inside buildings or inside parked vehicles, there are also reports of mixing fast-acting drywall powder with ground grains to control outrageous rodent populations. When this mix touches moisture, it turns to plaster. Nasty, but effective.

* IMPORTANT *

Make sure dogs, chickens, etc. can never get at this mix.  It could kill them.

The baking soda route is much safer.

Bump.

It's nearly fall here, and the deer mice are looking for cozy winter quarters. I'm trapping them like mad.

Time to try the baking soda mix in the sheds and under the cabin. I wonder how long it stays active -- I suspect exposure to humidity would deactivate it.

The mix I set out a year ago seems to still be active.   I plan on replacing it soon. I want a fresh batch in place for the fall influx.   I am considering it still effective because no mice have appeared in our conventional traps and my Master Mouser is insisting ongoing outside more regularly.

And, as an added plus, the shelter pup we got a year ago barely touches her food. Observing her, she seems to be living on mice and moles.  So, that is reducing the number of mice outside that later might want inside.

I am still dealing with the damage done by the mice from over a year ago.

I hear all sorts of examples of ways to kill the mice, but please remember that there is more to be done, or else you are just leaving the mouse hotel empty for the next guests.

I'm not sure that someone can completely get rid of mice forever, but there are certainly things to do to try to reduce the issues. Mice are generally looking for food and warmth. If you make it harder to get those things, they will not be as happy to stay in your house/garage/chicken coop.

Remove food sources. Only feed pets what they can eat during the day. And remove anything else at night. Make sure you sweep and clean the kitchen and anywhere you eat regularly. It might look clean enough, but it doesn't take much to make a meal for mice. For food storage, make sure packages are sealed tightly, preferably in smell proof and chew proof containers.

Clean up around holes and trails as much as possible. Most rodents will follow the smell and pheromones of previous rodents. You could kill all the mice in your house, but if a new mouse happens by and smells the previous mice, it will follow the trail to whatever food or nest the previous mice liked. This needs to be done inside and outside. There are some enzyme based pet sprays for cleaning up urine smells... those would probably work, but at least use soap and water. Not to mention all the diseases they leave around.

Plug up holes. This is much harder, but you need to check in and around cabinets, behind furniture, go around the outside of your house and look for cracks and chewed holes where they can get in. If your house is on posts with a crawl space... good luck. If you have a full foundation or basement, I think it's a little easier... but they are small and can fit in very small holes.

Clean up and remove clutter. Again, this needs to be inside and outside. Those stacks of clothes, books, magazines, half finished projects, boots, coats, etc needs to be all cleaned up and put high up out of the way of the floor. They make the mice feel safer while exploring and are more likely to expand their family or cause more destruction. Outside, thin or cut back bushes close to your house. Rake away the leaves and debris. Cut the grass short. The more exposed they feel, the less likely they are to stay in that spot and the less time to find any food or ways into your house.

Matt McSpadden wrote:Plug up holes. This is much harder, but you need to check in and around cabinets, behind furniture, go around the outside of your house and look for cracks and chewed holes where they can get in. If your house is on posts with a crawl space... good luck. If you have a full foundation or basement, I think it's a little easier... but they are small and can fit in very small holes.  

This article suggest that same thing:

https://www.thespruce.com/my-foolproof-method-for-keeping-mice-out-all-winter-11846126

John F Dean wrote:My wife went the route of a mix of baking soda and Jiffy Cornmeal Muffin Mix

Is this mix just placed in a bowl, or... ?

teeter totter style mouse trap work well for me. i use 5 gallon buckets or small drums as the holding tank. on the lid i place/secure a rod across the top with a paint stir stick tied to it. one end goes to the edge of the bucket so the mouse can walk the plank to the peanut butter or beef jerky. as the mouse walks to the bait it's weight tips the plank at the pivot point dropping the mouse into the bucket. athletic country mice can jump out of some 5 gallon buckets, so in the generator shed i use a slightly taller drum in that area. sometimes i think I'm just taking mice for a walk  to the back field and they return, but the population has decreased significantly. internet image search for mouse rat bucket trap for pictures of various ideas

Hi Joylynn,

A bowl would work.  I place it in a container with an opening .  That way they are less easily accidentally disturbed.