mothballs?

[Unquestionably Confused]

And on Pretend You're a Pirate Day nobody seemed to care

[tiredofspam]

That won't work here. My dog means more to me than the mice. He's getting on in years at 13, but still tries to act like a pup. Anyway he's going to break my heart when he goes, the last thing I want to do is kill him instead of the mice.

[Unquestionably Confused]

I never tried the moth balls for this purpose (rust preventative) however I can attest - at least anecdotally that the camphor blocks worked like a charm for me and, likely would have worked quite well in their intended environment.

Machinist's chests are a nice closed contained. I placed a block or two

- just as one would for machine tools - inside a short, felt lined, canvas case - also known as a gun case. The case contained a short barreled 12 ga Remington 870 with a pistol grip and extended magazine. It sat, locked and loaded in the trunk of my car 12/7 and I would only clean and oil it every six months or so. Before the camphor blocks, I would have to take it out every 3-4 weeks (either that or leave it slathered in gun oil (and gummy is bad))and work it over with a lightly oiled cloth. During the change of seasons Fall/Winter and Winter/Spring where there was a wide variation in temps, I'd have to wipe it down every weekend. PITA.

Camphor cured that. New blocks every six months and never s spot of rust and I'd just wipe it down with a silicone impregnated cloth, kept in the case, after taking it out of the case when needed. It should work most everywhere else

[Mike M]

I have two 13yr old Samoyeds, brothers, it's tough when they get older. They use to pull me on scooters and skis, follow me all over even on the tractor. It's been down in the 20's here lately and we all just hang out around the fire trying to keep our old bones warm. But if the squirels are around that is great fun for them. I try not to think of the going part, but one has just about lost his hip and the other has a torn ACL.

Mike M

[Doug White]

tommyboy wrote in news:nc78e81lj5i7si3gtok09f9s13o6129va8@

4ax.com:

Likewise. I do get the occasional mouse as well. Dried corn works well as bait. The downside is that you have to keep them out of the rain.

Doug White

[Unquestionably Confused]

Ratzapper sells (surprise, surprise) an outdoor housing for their equipment. From what I see, a polystyrene bread box or something similar (with appropriate entrance/exit holes and removable lid would work as well. As it's for outdoor use, size of the container should not be critical.

[Morgans]

"Larry Jaques" wrote

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Never again.

[yve lynch]

I also hate the smell of moth balls so I searched for an alternative. What I found is Peppermint oil. The smell is so much better and it is very much natural. The smell is intense for rodents and they will not go to places where they can smell it. Most grocery stores sell peppermint oil for a very low price and all you have to do is pour at least 2 drops of it on a cotton ball and place it where you found the droppings or at the corners of your garage.

Also, keep in mind that mouse loves to mess around places where they have places to hide so keep your garage tidy and clean. :) -yve

[John Grossbohlin]

I also hate the smell of moth balls so I searched for an alternative. What I found is Peppermint oil. The smell is so much better and it is

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I used to end up with mice in my shop, basement, kitchen, wood storage shed and equipment shed every winter... I used to set traps when I noticed mouse/vole activity. However, I've now taken to leaving Victor traps, baited with peanut butter, on shelves in the basement, shop and sheds through out the year. I changed over to having baited traps in place all the time in the house after catching 9 mice in my house in a 2 day period. I started doing it in the sheds after taking a box of gutter/leader fittings off the shelf and having two mice jump out... one ricocheted off my chest as it took off! I laughed at that but cleaning up the mess was no fun.

I've had no luck keeping the mice and voles out by plugging holes or using deterrents. So now the idea is to kill them before they breed!

John

[Keith Nuttle]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I laughed at that but cleaning up the mess was no fun."

Yours or the mouse's

[John Grossbohlin]

The mouse's... never been afraid of them or voles. Used to catch them in the fields when I was a kid... bare handed one time. They were cute then. Now... they are destructive, create smelly messes, and carry ticks and other illness causing problems with them. Dead is fine...

[Steve Higgins]

I've used a mixture of powdered sugar and plaster of paris. Usually works very well. After eating they go home dying there. But 20 years ago, we were called to a grade school where the pneumatic temperature control system no longer worked. We discovered that mice or rats had eaten some of the plastic tubing connected to the controls. We repaired everything we found but still had leaks. The principal suggested we use a little peppermint to smell the leaks we couldn't hear. So we put 2 small drops into the inlet of the air compressor. The smell was so strong throughout the school, they closed for 2 days! We ended up running alot of new lines because we couldn't find the last of the leaks.

Hold my beer and watch this...

[knuttle]

So much for good Ideas

I have had some like that that seemed much better before than after I had acted on the idea.