Mouse deterrents

[TheOldFellow]

On Turdsday night a rodent eating insulation foam made a pinhole in one of the polypipes in the loft leading to the UFH. It soaked the insulation and eventually started to drip through the vapour barrier and T&G ceiling.

Fixed leak, dried everything - no long term consequence, except...

I am now waging war on the little furry chaps. The simple old wooden trap is proving the best mouse killer. The special expensive metal trap is too insensitive and bait is eaten without it going off.

The sensitive-creatures in my household are ag'in me killing them, however, and truth be told, I'm not so keen myself. Living in the country next to a water course we inevitably will have rodent problems.

I've tried 'Humane' traps in the past and found them 'Inhumane' as the trapped mouse dies in great distress unless you can service them once an hour throughout the night. I find this distressing, and can never be convinced that it is the right approach.

Now I see Ultrasonic Mouse Deterrents that just plug into a nearby socket (I have several in the loft) and claim to affect a large area.

E.G:

question is: Do they work? =C2=A325 is a lot for a mousetrap, but if it saves the polypipe....

Any experience? Suggestions?

TIA R.

[martin_pentreath]

My experience of mouse wars is pretty much as you describe. The humane traps are a waste of time, as are the ultrasonic repellers. You can leave them plugged in to console the sensitive souls while you quietly murder the little buggers with the trusty wooden traps. Peanut butter and raisins are good baits as I recall. Since we've had a cat the mice stay away.

Plan B: replumb in copper.

Cheers!

Martin

[Dave Liquorice]

IMHO no.

We used to get mice in every autumn when it started to get cold outside. We would live trap(*) and put them down the bottom of the paddock. For the transportation down there we put them in a small mouse cage. As an experiment I tried switching one one of these ultrasonic scarer things whilst observing the mouse. They can certainly hear the noise as they make a little start when you turn it on but other than that they behave as normal and I can't say I noticed any difference in the numbers of mice we caught with/without the device.

Deportation to the bottom of the paddock didn't work, having caught the same mouse (it had a nick out of one ear) several times over several days I reckon they were getting back to the house before us. What did reduce the number of mice coming in was deportation several miles away to bit a of forested fell side, also miles (literally) from any habitation. Note release of vermin is technically illegal. We now have a cat, we don't have mice coming in and any we do see (a couple/year) are in the form of a light snack for said cat.

(*) Rentokil square plastic tipping tube type baited with Nuttella worked well.

[JTM]

I've just sent for one of these: on the assumption that if it doesn't work it's only a fiver, and as Martin suggests, it looks as though you're doing something

and poison have limited success. Dormouse doesn't go for the same bait as the rats and mice, but makes a mess of soft furnishings. At least SWMBO is not bothered by the spiders, lizards and snakes, problem is she's scared of cats as well.

Ah well

John

[Dave Liquorice]

I wonder if putting the thing on a time switch such that it's on for "a while" and off for "a while" would improve the lack of effectiveness of one that is always on. With one that is on they could just get used to it where as one that goes on and off would be far more irritating, especially if it wasn't a regular cycle.

I'm not sure what time period "a while" would be. As I said earlier they do give a start when it comes on so that happening every couple of minutes would be pretty irritating. Think of some one giving a blast on a pneumatic drill every few minutes would be like, maybe with some longer on periods so they can work out where it's coming from and move away (or chew through the wires...). B-)

Peanut butter goes rancid, Nutella doesn't (it doesn't even go mouldy!...) Raisins are good for sticking on the prongs of a back breaker type trap.

[S Viemeister]

We've had good luck with small chunks of dark chocolate.

[Derek Geldard]

Noooooooooo.

We found the best solution was the pre-baited disposable ones (traps not cats) that come in a bag of a dozen from B&Q. they are small like miniature "Little Nippers" and don't have any visible bait but seemed to be soaked in orange oil.

"When they see them coming the meeces all try an-hide,

But they still fall for mousetraps when coa-ted with cyan-hide ! "

A close second comes the standard format, standard size mousetrap baited with a piece of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate.

Derek

[Peter Scott]

Use correctly ultrasonic repellers do work. I had a severe problem in lofts in a rural area. Rats were coming in and nesting. I could kill them with poison but then they died up there and stank.

About four years ago I fitted a Lentek PR12 device in one loft and the problem ceased. I occasionally get a footfall but it soon goes and doesn't come back. I have now fitted them to all roof areas and have had no further problem. The Lenteks also send a signal through the mains wiring. I wondered if this would interfere with equipment but it doesn't.

The key seems to be placement. Put them high up at one end so they flood the whole volume. Make sure there is nothing producing a shadow. They even effective through glass-fibre insulation. I have about 20 cm.

Peter Scott

[Andy Champ]

I really hope you aren't killing dormice, and it's something you've confused with them. They are protected under the wildlife and countryside act, substantial fines for even disturbing them!

Andy

[The Natural Philosopher]

And are as rare as hens teeth and almost NEVER inside a property.

[Gordon Henderson]

The "trick" I found is that you've got to wire it on - especially with the cheap wooden & metal traps - otherwise they will take the bait and get away wit it ... Sweet things seem to work - rasins, dates (most dried fruit) and chocolate... I've never actualy tried cheese! But whatever works for you, wire it on. Instant death via broken neck. Very humane.

What is in Nutella that it never goes off...? Glad I don't eat it!!!

Gordon

[JTM]

No not the (common, usually shrub dwelling) dormouse, but its cousin the garden dormouse (Lérot) which is not protected. They sometimes wait and allow themselves to be picked up when we find them inside the house, but from experience I've found they need depositing about 1/2 a mile or more away.

Also the 'fat dormice' occasionaly. Fortunately no grey squirrels here.

John (in France)

[JTM]

No, the garden dormouse, which IS fond inside property. Confusing eh?

John (in france)

[Dave Liquorice]

- Which is what I would recognise as a Dormouse. The big give away is the furry tails, house and field mice have bald tails, like rats.

that's quite a cute looking mouse but I still wouldn't want it wandering freely around the house.

Fortunately no grey squirrels here.

Looks like you don't need 'em with glis glis about. B-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not as instant as you might think.

And often traps another part of te biody.

Still harden your heart: its a lot better to die with a boot on the back of the neck than of old age and disease, or being ripped to shreds by and owl, polecat, weasel, fox, etc etc.

Unlike other animals, we don't like to see other animals suffer. No other predator gives a damn. Nor does disease.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Note it is the only native pritish species, and is not a house dqweller.

And is not found in the UK.

which again is not native, and only found in a small area of teh home counties.

[The Natural Philosopher]

But never in the UK, as it is neither a native nor introduced species.

[ARWadsworth]

The Vulture prefers dead or dying animals.

Adam

[The Natural Philosopher]

I prefer dead ones. Never really liked gulping down live oysters.

[gazz]

i keep pet rats, and had a friend who swore by those ultrasonic repellers,

so i got him to bring one of them round to our house one day, and he pluged it in to the socket oposite the rats cage,

2 of the rattiew were asleep, other 2 had been playing in the bottom, when the devise was turned on, the sleeping ratties stayed sleeping, the ones who were playing stopped playing and rose up on their haunches, swiveling their ears around, they pinpointed the devise and came to the cage bars to investigate,

i opened the cage door, and they both climbed out and walked over to the devise to sniff at it, it in no way bothered them, they were deffinately hearing something from it, but it deffinately did not produce the result my friend was expecting,

My dog came in later on whilst it was still operating, she sniffed it as she would a new thing in the house, but showed even less interest in it than the ratties,

we got the bat detector out, and it does indeed produce an ultrasonic noise, but pet rats at least arent bothered by the noise it produces.