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The 7 - One Question... - Ever Catch a Rodent?
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The Guinness.
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#1 Posted on 30.12.05 2247.12
Reposted on: 30.12.12 2250.03
I’ve caught many. I wish I could say I was bragging with this one. Unfortunately it’s not like its notches in a belt when it comes to dating.

I live in San Carlos CA, which is apparently notorious for rats and mice. It makes sense considering the forestry preserve that runs pretty close to the back of my house.

What is the best way to catch them? I’ve tried humane traps, sticky traps, the G.I. Joe “Kung-Fu Grip” neck breaking spring traps and poison. Poison made my garage stink. I found a convulsing rat (I had to put it out of its misery) in a spring trap in my back yard (the trap was in my garage). The sticky traps caught a few mice, oh those poor beady eyes...

This is not a sanitary issue, my house is as clean and the yard is well kept. Yet I grow tired of finding that I have a rat/mouse in my garage as well as finding rodents that don’t die when they are supposed too.

How the heck do you stop them? Is their really an answer to this?
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J. Kyle
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#2 Posted on 31.12.05 0049.45
Reposted on: 31.12.12 0049.45
The D-Con no look, no touch is the best in my experience.

There also getting a cat... but cats are jerks.

(edited by AngryJohnny on 4.1.06 1853)
Kevintripod
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#3 Posted on 31.12.05 0324.14
Reposted on: 31.12.12 0324.24
I kill about 3 mice a year in my kitchen with an old fashioned wooden mousetrap with peanut butter as the bait.

Fortunately for my family, I'm always the first one awake in the early hours of the morning, so they never get to see the deceased mouse staring up at them with his/her dead bulging eyes.
AWArulz
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#4 Posted on 31.12.05 0645.32
Reposted on: 31.12.12 0647.34
I agree with Kevintripod - the old fashioned trap and peanut butter. I just toss the trap as well. We usually get about one or two a year in our basement.
redsoxnation
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#5 Posted on 31.12.05 1142.25
Reposted on: 31.12.12 1142.29
Last summer I was able to kill a rat in my garage swinging a broom as it tried to climb up the wall.



(edited by redsoxnation on 31.12.05 1246)
ekedolphin
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#6 Posted on 31.12.05 1628.08
Reposted on: 31.12.12 1628.12
I haven't personally, but one of my cats did once. Simba caught a mouse late at night, carried it in his mouth and set it down next to my mother, who was mostly asleep, as if to say, "Hey, mommy, look what I caught!" My mother was all, "That's nice, Simba" and fell back asleep. Didn't realize what had happened 'til she woke up, heehee.
CRZ
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#7 Posted on 31.12.05 2009.14
Reposted on: 31.12.12 2009.58
    Originally posted by AWArulz
    I agree with Kevintripod - the old fashioned trap and peanut butter. I just toss the trap as well.
This is me. I've only thrown away one trap since we moved here - usually the cat on the first floor stops everything, but this fall there were some painters who really liked leaving doors open, so this winter's been a little more populated than last. But yeah, snap their necks before they get the peanut butter and (because I'm a wuss) I never have to touch the ex-mouse because I'm only handling the trap. I may be cheap, but I can't see reusing traps.

To keep them out, I borrowed a trick from my wife and applied steel wool (well...SOS pads, actually) to what looked like it might have been the possible entry point (a hole in our floorboards). They can't chew through them - or they can try and then croak, if they REALLY want to.
DrDirt
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#8 Posted on 2.1.06 1407.22
Reposted on: 2.1.13 1407.30
Cheese Whiz on the trap works well also.

Best rat catching stories from me. Mucking out horse stalls after winter weather allowed the accumulation of straw and "stuff". Rats loved to make nests in it and you had to spear them with the pitch forks as you uncovered them. Nests of babies were a load of fun. Thank God wood shavings are used now.
too-old-now
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#9 Posted on 4.1.06 1402.30
Reposted on: 4.1.13 1402.37
In the backyard, moles had been digging up the lawn worse than the gophers in Caddyshack.

I was carrying a crowbar to do a minor repair on the fence in the back yard, and actually accidentally caught one in the act of making yet another tunnel. I stepped on the tunnel and heard the squeak, then I speared the sucker with the crowbar. Made me sick to my stomach, as even though I wanted the varmint dead, to kill it myself still skeeves me. I then had to dig it up and carried it away into the back woods, so the dogs/kids wouldn't dig it up to play with.

Once or twice a year, I'll catch mice in the attic with glue traps, these work amazingly well with a little chocolate for bait. These say on the package that they are disposable, but I can't imagine trying to re-use them. They are just much easier than the wood/metal traps.

I have also caught mice nesting in the gas grill. They've shredded the inside of the grill cover to make a fluffy nest on the lava rock. Four of the last 5 springs, I've pulled the grill into the middle of the yard and started it, then when they run I've whacked them with a rake or hoe. Last year I didn't have to do this, but the neighbors now have a cat.

We have used smoke bombs to get rid of woodchucks in the side yard.

Not to hijack the thread, but lately, my problem is deer eating all the shrubs on the front yard, and just outside the fence in the back yard. I worry about them, but they are big, loud and voracious. I dunno how to deal with this yet.

cranlsn
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#10 Posted on 4.1.06 1459.24
Reposted on: 4.1.13 1459.28
We used to have rats at my parents house, D-con took care of them. But not before we got to see the occasional dying varmint wheezing and dragging itself across the driveway, yuck.

Our big problem growing up was squirrels that got into the attic, then the walls. You haven't lived until you've had to wake up for an exam after listening to an all night marathon of squirrel passion. They were finally dealt with and the attic blocked off.

As for the deer problem, I've heard you can by "predator" urine scent...kind of the opposite of doe scent that hunters use.
J. Kyle
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#11 Posted on 5.1.06 0655.31
Reposted on: 5.1.13 0655.48
    Originally posted by cranlsn
    You haven't lived until you've had to wake up for an exam after listening to an all night marathon of squirrel passion.
Oh that's going in the sig.
R-Dub
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#12 Posted on 5.1.06 1229.00
Reposted on: 5.1.13 1229.01
Alright, as far as rats, we have used the wooden traps, throwing them out with the rodent. Usually in the summer, we don't need to bother, since our oldest cat catches them like nobody's business. One side note, he HAS to have someone see him with the "evidence". He makes an awful racket until someone praises him for his good deed. Of course, this thread's timing is too perfect. Last night when I got home, my wife greeted me a the door with the news that our daughter's pet rat escaped! We tracked it down to the furnace area where I had to coax it from a cubbyhole in the wall with a peanut butter covered cracker. After about 30 minutes, I was finally able to grab him by the tail and gently pull him out. Throughout the whole ordeal, he never once bit me. I thought for sure that some time during the course of me poking at him through a gap in the wall that he would take a chunk out of my finger. I am glad he didn't, he's growing on me.

Squirrels. It was a cold December evening and I was watching tv, when I felt the floor vibrating. Then, the house shook a little. Next was a loud banging sound coming from the basement. I ran downstairs to see the furnace shaking. I ran back upstairs and shut the heat off. I was so surprised, I had to have my neighbor come over and check things out. Everything was fine as long as the heat was off. So we went down into the basement and started checking out the furnace. Everything was fine until we checked the blower, which contained one very large, very bloody, very dead squirrel. He had entered the furnace through a vent, followed it back to the blower, which must have been off at the time, and curled up for a nap. Needless to say, furnace blowers aren't equipped for passengers. We removed the intruder and the furnace was fine. That squirrel was huge, almost the size of a small cat. I hate those creatures.
Parts Unknown
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#13 Posted on 5.1.06 1449.35
Reposted on: 5.1.13 1450.57
    Originally posted by too-old-now
    Not to hijack the thread, but lately, my problem is deer eating all the shrubs on the front yard, and just outside the fence in the back yard. I worry about them, but they are big, loud and voracious. I dunno how to deal with this yet.




No kidding on this story:
There is a lady in my immediate area who made the news many times over her orchard. She was getting deer in it all the time eating her apples and it was putting her out of business. Despite this, the wildlife department wouldn't let her kill any of them. The solution: she bought a ton of LION CRAP from a zoo and spread it all around the orchard. NO MORE DEER.
The Guinness.
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#14 Posted on 6.1.06 1019.26
Reposted on: 6.1.13 1019.35
    Originally posted by "The King of all Moderators" CRZ
    To keep them out, I borrowed a trick from my wife and applied steel wool (well...SOS pads, actually) to what looked like it might have been the possible entry point (a hole in our floorboards). They can't chew through them - or they can try and then croak, if they REALLY want to.


This is a really good idea. It it so easy and it all just makes sense.


Unfortunately, I can't get a cat to put in the garage. My German Shepard and Jack Russell wont have any of that. Luckily, the Jack Russell is a great dog for rodents. It’s too bad she isn't quite as nimble as a cat though! She ends up just barking at the rodents when they are out of her reach. That can get really annoying at three A.M.

It seems as though most agree that spring traps are the best way to go. I'm off to the Home Depot for traps and S.O.S. pads. I'll give an update on the running total once I think I have captured all of them. I saw a baby/young rat in the garage two days ago. Now I know I am going to be at this for a while. It's not likely there is just one baby rat that found it's way into my home! I think my problem moved from having a rodent to a small infestation. I love the winter!





Parts Unknown
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#15 Posted on 6.1.06 1458.22
Reposted on: 6.1.13 1458.30
    Originally posted by The Guinness.Lanny Poffo?
    Unfortunately, I can't get a cat to put in the garage.


No, but you CAN put lion dung in there. I bet it works for mice, too!
tricia
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#16 Posted on 6.1.06 2146.37
Reposted on: 6.1.13 2151.19
    Originally posted by The Guinness.Lanny Poffo?
    Unfortunately, I can't get a cat to put in the garage. My German Shepard and Jack Russell wont have any of that. Luckily, the Jack Russell is a great dog for rodents. It’s too bad she isn't quite as nimble as a cat though! She ends up just barking at the rodents when they are out of her reach. That can get really annoying at three A.M.


Wasn't the Jack Russell breed used to kill rats for betting purposes? I think they used to put the dogs in a pit of live rats and bet on how many the dog could kill in a certain amount of time. It may be in your dog's genes to bark at rats.

The Husband has had to stop up several holes and put out poison for critters. Occasionally, a mouse (or something) will fall down a wall in the basement and not be able to get out. We know that it is there because of the hideous stench that lasts in our basement for about a week....

The only mouse I have seen in the house was dead because we have two siamese cats. I am shocked that the spoiled fat-asses managed to catch and kill a mouse, but I suppose miracles can happen.

My interesting mouse story comes from college. I was a psychology major, and was working with rats a lot. (I would have a pet rat, but the cats would kill it and Husband just doesn't like them at all.) My senior year I was living with five junior girls in an on campus apartment. I used to get up much earlier than my roommates because I had a heavy workload my last year. Believe it or not, I think I was watching wrestling on an early Saturday morning, and I was in the kitchen/living/tv room and I saw a grayish blur on the floor. I first thought I was crazy, but then I saw it about three more times. At one point, the gray blur slowed down enough, and I realized that it was a mouse. My first thought was "aww... it's so cute!" and I named it "Maurice". My five roommates were not as amused; T. called the college's apartment maintenance crew and literally yelled into the phone to get down to our apartment and get rid of it. The other four roommates stood on chairs (seriously!) until they left the apartment for the day. In the end, it was me who went down to the science department to get a spring snap trap. And it was me who had to flush poor Maurice down the toilet the next day.
ICEMAN
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#17 Posted on 7.1.06 1126.09
Reposted on: 7.1.13 1127.01
When I was younger we used to have mice all the time. We caught maybe 4 one year. Thank goodness but we don't have that problem anymore.


One time in particular we caught on in a trap. Me and my dad were watching tv and we could hear the trap spring in the kitchen. So, we go in the kitchen and we hear little squeaks. The trap just barely caught him by the tail. So, my dad picked freed him from the trap and set him
outside.


About 3 weeks later, same situation and we go in the kitchen. In the same trap, we caught him again. This time we got more than his tail. He still had a little mark on his tail so we could tell is was him.
The Guinness.
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#18 Posted on 7.1.06 1719.42
Reposted on: 7.1.13 1720.27
    Originally posted by tricia
    Wasn't the Jack Russell breed used to kill rats for betting purposes? I think they used to put the dogs in a pit of live rats and bet on how many the dog could kill in a certain amount of time. It may be in your dog's genes to bark at rats.


As far as barking at the rats goes, I am 100% certain that it is in the Jack Russell's genes. They are by nature a hunting dog. The Jack Russell was bred for the purpose of fox hunting. While I have no doubts that they were later used for gambling activities, fox hunting is the true origin.

If interested see this; http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dogs-faq/breeds/jackrussells/

There are some good FAQ's. As an owner of a Jack Russell I can say this site is right on the money. If you ever consider getting a Jack Russell (or any animal for that matter) because they look cute, like Wishbone, do some research first. You might be getting into something you aren't prepared for.

    Originally posted by Parts Unknown

    No, but you CAN put lion dung in there. I bet it works for mice, too!


Now, that's an idea I haven't tried!



Traps are set, So far no mice


AWArulz
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#19 Posted on 7.1.06 1918.39
Reposted on: 7.1.13 1918.53
About every other day, repaint the bait with some peanut butter (even if you used cheese or somthing else.) You just need a small dab for the smell.
TheBucsFan
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#20 Posted on 9.1.06 0955.27
Reposted on: 9.1.13 0959.01
    Originally posted by cranlsn
    We used to have rats at my parents house, D-con took care of them. But not before we got to see the occasional dying varmint wheezing and dragging itself across the driveway, yuck.

    Our big problem growing up was squirrels that got into the attic, then the walls. You haven't lived until you've had to wake up for an exam after listening to an all night marathon of squirrel passion. They were finally dealt with and the attic blocked off.

    As for the deer problem, I've heard you can by "predator" urine scent...kind of the opposite of doe scent that hunters use.


When I was eight years old, we had squirrels in our attic from a nearby park. My dad set up cages in the attic to trap them, and we would return them to the park, but they kept coming back, so my parents decided they had to kill them. Well the next time they caught them, my dad was out of town and my mom refused to kill them so it was left to me. My dad told me to fill a big plastic bin with water, drop the cages in there, and close the lid. I did, and had nightmares for months.

(edited by TheBucsFan on 9.1.06 1056)
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