# Mice and Rat control in house or barn



## Reble (Dec 8, 2009)

Peppermint oil, it must be 100% pure and natural, extracts will not work .

The stuff is so strong it has to be greatly diluted to be fit for human consumption or use in rubs etc. Anyway wet some cotton balls and place them where the mice seemed to move about. In places like inside a closet, behind the stove or refrigerator, sprinkled some around, in the closet, several drops in the corners.

Same for your barn in holes, and areas in your feed room would help.

Again you must get the 100% pure oil and refresh and reapply the oil every couple weeks especially in the winter when they want to stay inside they will come back when the scent wears.

I also have read that you can Peel an Onion in four parts and place it 4" underground (Root side UP). The gases ... keep mice or rats away. We have dirt floors in our feed room and find lots of tunnels made from rats last year.

*Anyone try these*, last year I used a live trap and caught at least 23 rats in our feed room, sure hope they have got the message this year. I am thinking of trying one of these remedies.

Just sharing, this sounds safe for our other pets in our home and barn.


----------



## valshingle (Dec 8, 2009)

I fought the rat war in my barn about a year ago. A vet told me to put Alka Seltzer out and the rats would eat it and then their stomachs would explode, but it would be safe for dogs, cats and horses. Well, I put it away from the horses, dogs, and cats but the rats never ate them. I guess someone told them. The rats were so bad that the cats avoided the barn.

The guys at the feed store told me to get a 22 caliber bolt action rifle and load it with 'rat shot' (available at Walmart). This would kill the rats without damaging the barn (do avoid the lights, though). I've never shot an animal and am generally a softie, but the rats were bold and getting worse. It worked like a trick. The first day we killed 10 rats, the second day 6 rats, and over the next several days we killed about 4-6 more. I even gave the cats a couple of killed rats to remind them of their job. The only catch is that it may take more than one shot to kill the rat. That was a year ago and since then the cats have returned to the barn and I haven't seen a rat since.

At least my daughter now knows that I can handle a gun and when I mention this to her prospective boyfriends, she tells them that it's true. I do get some funny looks from them


----------



## Annabellarose (Dec 8, 2009)

Be careful of onion around dogs! My current Shetland Sheepdog will accept and eat onion; one of my uncles offered her a bite of raw onion at a family reunion a couple of years ago before I could stop him.



Onion is certainly less harmful than mouse/rat poison, but you might want to make sure to place it where a dog could not get to it to dig it up and eat it.


----------



## anita (Dec 8, 2009)

You might try moth balls. It worked for us


----------



## Loess Hills (Dec 8, 2009)

[SIZE=10pt]We had a problem with mice and a rat a few years ago. We tried trapping.........got some, but not all. Even called a "Critter Getter" from the yellow pages, a very nice young man who explained much about the habits of these rodents. Here's a link to information about them Habitat.[/SIZE]

The main thing we found is that you have to eliminate a habitat that appeals to them. We had insulated our barn with the batt insulation ...............well, it worked well for keeping the barn warm.........but it allowed mice and rats a place to nest and hide. That spring we removed all the insulation, cleaned very thoroughally, and plugged any holes that would allow them access into the barn. Every corner where they could hide was cleaned (found a lot of nests and places where they had been storing dry cat food!). Yes, we did have a cat in the barn but apparently he wasn't interested in rodents. We got rid of junk that had accumulated.............thus making continuous cleaning easier. The key is INSPECTION, SANITATION, and EXCLUSION and ELIMINATION. It's a continuous process but we have eliminated rodents.

Our cat population grew also when a stray mother cat had kittens. The mother taught the kittens to hunt by bringing them a mouse, then they began to learn to hunt. A year later, I pity the rodent that would try to take up residence in the barn with six cats!


----------



## Charlotte (Dec 8, 2009)

We have really good BRCUs! LOL An interesting story goes with that acronym. Biological Rodent Control Unit = CAT!





We have 4 VERY skilled BRCUs that live in our barn, but they cna't get into the feed room so I keep some of my patented rodent repellent in there. Irish Spring bath soap bars. Chunks of it tucked around. We have a TERRIBLE time here with pocket gophers and moles and that is where I learned about the Irish Spring. Rodents are really turned off by the smell and it lasts for a LONG time. It's cheap and to my knowledge not a problem for pets or horses....they aren't attracted to it either.

Charlotte


----------



## Reble (Dec 8, 2009)

Annabellarose said:


> Be careful of onion around dogs! My current Shetland Sheepdog will accept and eat onion; one of my uncles offered her a bite of raw onion at a family reunion a couple of years ago before I could stop him.
> 
> 
> 
> Onion is certainly less harmful than mouse/rat poison, but you might want to make sure to place it where a dog could not get to it to dig it up and eat it.



Thanks again on reminder of onion toxic to dogs, forgot about that. but lucky our new puppy is not in the barn yet and will watch where we try the onions.

Moth balls sounds great to try.

lots of good info, so hope it helps others too.


----------



## vickie gee (Dec 8, 2009)

We have been having a problem with mice getting in our laundry room. My husband hates to set traps and I just don't have time unless of course he wants to learn to cook and do dishes. LOL. Also he is a softie and will turn the live ones loose in the field behind us.



So I have been using the glue traps on shelves and behind the freezer. Works well! But I will try using the Irish Spring. My husband buys lots of that brand and although I love the way it smells I use goats milk soap only. I love it! Think I will put some of HIS Irish Spring loot in out of the way places around the laundry room. SHHHHHHHHHHHH. He will never miss it unless somebody tells on me.


----------



## wantminimore (Dec 8, 2009)

I have a cat that does a really good job and I also put moth balls down. I use the moth balls to not only keep the mice away but snakes too (I heard it worked with them too). Lobstermen and fishermen around here put moth balls in their nets and traps while they are being stored on land to keep the mice from chewing on everything.


----------



## Katiean (Dec 8, 2009)

One year I found a rat in my Arab colts stall. He was back in the corner. I beat it to death with the flat shovel. I HATE rats!


----------



## Charlotte (Dec 8, 2009)

> I HATE rats!


Katiean, You aren't the only one!

but I have been told that moth balls are poison. ??? I used to use them under pallets of hay to keep skunks out though.

Charlotte


----------



## rabbitsfizz (Dec 9, 2009)

Poison.

I tried everything else and nothing worked, but poison got them.

Hated doing it, but this was WAR!!!





I took a pop bottle, one of the clear ones, and cut a small hole in the side at the bottom end.

Put in some grain and left it for them to eat, hidden behind my feed bins. I would put out about ten of them, altogether.

Once the rats/mice had eaten the grain I refilled with the poison + grain.

That was it, really.

This year I filled one bottle and put it down. Grain got eaten over three days, so I put the poison in again.

The only thing I have to be careful about, as the bottles are hidden, and hard to get into anyway, is to make sure that I empty them out and dispose of all the remnants safely (down the loo!!) at the end of the winter.

They are not completely dog proof, but hiding them helps and they are dog - difficult!!

I also do not want poison and grain anywhere the birds could get it, so they are on the ground, either behind the bins or under the stacked bags.

You can buy metal, lockable, rodent poison traps, if you have children or Terriers...the bottles would not deter a Terrier for a moment, although the poison I have bought has a low attraction rate for dogs and cats (but no-one can guarantee anything if you have a Labrador!)


----------

