Keeping mice and chipmunks out of the stacks

"Here kitty kitty"

 

Exactly, you know what you're talking about. I see the same thing year after year.

 

I'd swear that is the same cat that lives in the woods next to my house! That thing eats one bird a day from around my bird feeder hanging from the back of my deck. Un-suspecting birds land on the ground to find a tasty morsel that fell out of the feeder and they quickly become cat food! That thing has a big thick strong neck, similar to the one in pic.

 

A pail half full of water isn't even sporting. When I had mice get into a house I am building I just filled a small pail half full of water and leaned a board against the side to form a ramp. Every time I was there after that I dumped out the dead mice and refilled the bucket with water.

 

I love the idea of setting up a bucket mouse trap. Put one in the garage, pump house, wood shed, and on the porch. Then feed their carcasses to the crows!

 

No need to go that big Stargazer. My bucket trap was about a one gallon pail. Mice just can't climb the vertical walls of a pail and can't seem to get into a position to gnaw through the plastic either.

 

But they can jump! I'm surprised that the 1 gallon worked for you as they can/will jump out of it.

Whoops, I read now that you had water in it!

 

A little dish soap or antifreeze cuts the water tension, 1 gallon works for mice but for chip ya need the 5 gallon size or similar so they can't touch bottom too well and tall enough not to be able to jump out.

 

I found a mouse stuck in a shop vac once.
I could hear this repeated small thump in the basement and finally went down there to investigate.
I guess he went up the hose and jumped in only to find no way back out.

So, keep your shop vacs empty !!

 

Lol. I'm no fan of rodents, but Douglas Squirrels seem to have big personalities. I watch them all the time out my kitchen window and have had some funny experiences with them while camping and hunting.
It's an annual event in my neighborhood in the summer when the squirrels are tossing fir cones down on cars and rooftops from 100ft up at daybreak. One of my neighbors has a metal roof that makes a lot of noise when the squirrels bomb it from his fir trees.

 

I went ahead and put together one of those 5 gallon bucket traps for next to the wood stack in the garage. I used a broth can and some fencing wire for the main part, and then took a little piece of cardboard, cut a slit in it and put it over the wire near the can on both sides and glued the cardboard (1/4 inch square) to the wire. Then coated the can with Peanut Butter. I also put in some water and a bit of antifreeze since it does freeze often here at night. I know some field mice are now in the garage so I'll have to see if I caught any a bit later. If not, and I find there is activity, I may have to redesign it.

I also have field mice in the house (really wish I could find where they get in). I caught one the night before last with a snap trap with a Q-Tip end tied with thread to where the bait is supposed to go, and then smeared peanut butter over the Q-Tip end. Works like a charm. Last night, or actually at 4:30 this morning I was awakened by what sounded like a ratzilla or something. I grabbed my pellet rifle and headed towards the kitchen as that was where the noise was coming from. No ratzilla, just a field mouse in one of the snap traps trying to get out even though it was very secure. (should have been dead) So, I decided to dispose of the trap and all IN THE WOOD STOVE! Yep, I tossed it in, stove top temperature was 450 degrees. I'll be danged, before I could close the door it had flipped itself out onto the floor with the trap still on it's neck. No problem, I just tossed the thing back in on top of the hottest coals. Took care of that!

It is that time of year where the field mice and other rodents try to find warm spots to spend the colder months and some manage to find their way indoors. Snap traps work, but having to remove the mouse and reset them isn't one of the most likeable chores, but it has to be done. I usually only keep two snap traps active with a few fresh ones in case one becomes unusable, like the one that went into the stove.

 

Some of those mice are smart!

 

My friends thought drowning a mouse was cruel...wait till I tell them not only had you caught one nearly decapitated but had then thrown him into the incinerator with his last attempt at freedom a twist of his weakened body and a glare of his sorry beady eyes......did you hear his fur sizzle? You won't be sorry about the bucket method....not near the commotion of the snap trap and you won't have to run out naked in the night with a gun to hold down the fort...

 

As soon as it hit the hot coals it's tail burst into flames, followed by it's feet. Then the trap itself burst into flames and the mouse gave one last twitch before it too was engulfed in flames.

That would surely be a cold run especially if it were this morning. At 4:30 it was 23 degrees! (maybe if I ran real fast!)

 

I see this as a precursor to larger animal sacrifices----snap, crackle, POP!

 

A 10 year old +BB gun= hours of fun!

 

We have a healthy population of Hawks. I kept thinking they were after my chickens, but after a hawk flew by me with a rodent squeaking I was relieved.
The other trick I use is seeds hot glued to the trigger on a rat trap. Ever since I started glueing the bait to the trap the kills are all clean. I nail the traps onto pieces of scrap 2x4 so the traps don't get dragged off, and so the traps have have a handle that I can easily slide them under wood stacks. Right now I am just letting the Hawks have at the rodents.

 

I can't resist trying the "walk the plank" method I saw on that website---same bucket with peanut better at the end of a paint stick that will go off balance when the culprit ventures out to get it.....doomsday!

 

When mine are in the house they are really mellow also. But when a small furry creature is in "THEIR" yard. all H@#^ breaks loose.