Mice in the Shed. Aarrgh!!!

[Elijay]

Thankfully not in the house but in one of my sheds. I was turning it out because I couldn't find the decorating stuff. What I wanted was sandpaper and where had I put it?

There's nothing endearing in these creatures, the infestation was disgusting. There were droppings everywhere and it smelled. They had got inside a tough fabric bag - lined with cardboard - containing the paint brushes and sandpaper. Only the bristles had been attacked - not the handles, the favourite being a wall papering brush with thick white bristles. They'd even tried to make a nest with these bristles and some chewed up cardboard. All the brushes were useless so I threw them away. Fortunately the sandpaper was left untouched. Priority now is to give the entire shed a good turning out and when it's cleaned up I'll put down poison. I don't like doing this but one has to draw the line somewhere.

[rustylady]

Aw, poor little meeces. I surprised one in my compost heap a while ago and I'm not sure who was more scared - on reflection it was probably the mouse. I agree they can be a total pain, eating things you need/want/have stored. They don't tend to nest in places that are visited regularly, so maybe you should visit your shed every day and make a lot of noise!!!

[mrs dog]

I am with you on this. I can hold a snake or a terantula but put a rat or mouse near me and I freeze. Yes there we go my bet noir things with ropy tails that carry germs and desease with them. Yuk

[Alice]

I'm with you Elijay. I'm not for the gratuitous killing of animals, but the meece have to go. They are disease carrying , destroyers of the things you want. And 2 today and hundreds soon. Better to deal with them sooner rather than later.

[Elijay]

I wouldn't kill gratuitously but mice aren't on my list of favoured wildlife.

The compost bin is near the shed and rats get in there every day. I leave them alone because they turn it over. I can only assume they're after the nice fat juicy worms because they leave the veg peelings untouched.

Mice have been a nuisance in the under stairs cupboard. I poisoned them as well as getting one in a trap baited with peanut butter. It was quite big and very sleek. I go up and down the stairs regularly and the noise hasn't put them off.

My garden is wildlife friendly as it has slow worms, frogs and toads.

I've been a house owner since the sixties and never had a problem like this before - maybe last summers rain and the mild winter has something to do with it?

[lainey lou]

I,ve had a moose in the hoose this spring too!

[Pootle]

When I was 8 months pregnant with our first child, our cat brought a mouse into the house. It scampered behind the freezer - we were trying to get it out, OH saying 'don't go near it, it'll be full of germs...' when it ran up my trouser leg!

We must have looked a right pair as OH held the trousers round the bottom while I climbed out of them and he deposited the trapped mouse outside

You couldn't make it up!

[Elijay]

No you couldn't make it up.

I've spent the morning clearing out the shed and they've been very destructive. The smell of mouse wee is disgusting but not as bad as un-castrated tom cat pee!! I have laid poisoned grain sachets on which I have spread some peanut butter

An elderly friend once told me that mice ate candles and nibbled at clothes in chest of drawers. They climbed up the inside of back (which was rough enough to get a foot hold) to get into drawers without being seen.

[OverWyreGrower]

We found signs of meeces inside our garage the other day....

Like you, we need a good clear out and some poison down, where the meece can get it but our dogs can't....

[HeyWayne]

The little toerags cleaned me out of my summer flowering bulbs recently. Shed will be cleared out and made mouse-unfriendly at the weekend (weather permitting again).

Anyone used anything like this: Strikeback Ultrasonic Pest Repeller Twin Pack - Mouse Repellers

I'd rather deter them, than kill them to be honest.

Edit: Just a though on "humane" traps - what do you do with the meece once they're trapped?

[Madasafish]

I use old fashioned traps with bread and a rubber band to hold on bread. Score:
10 in greenhouse last year.
7 in garage this spring
2 in house.

Humane traps? waste of space.. There are some cheap traps on ebay.
I dare not use poison ... too many frogs/birds/newts etc..

[peanut]

I used humane traps baited with Peanut butter......then let them go in the woods. Good fun, they were very sweet to look at.

I don't/won't kill anything.

[fran]

Meece scourge

Evening all.

We have a bad mouse problem.

They're in two outhouse sheds attached to the house where they eat fertiliser, plastic - almost anything. But what is worse is that our collie is fixated by them running round the garden at night and he charges after them knocking over any plants in his way. Last week it was a lovely magnolia that has been in a pot too long, my fault, but had gorgeous flower buds on. Not so many on now!

Lately they've taken up residence in the compost dalek - nibbled a perfectly circular hole in the front, and the dog stands for ages with his nose up against it. Waiting. I'm slowly trying to empty the compost out - but I'm a bit scared of unleashing hoards of the scurrying things!

Last scary thing I had with a mouse was staying at friends. I turned the grill on for toast - pulled out the grill pan when it was nice and hot - and a mouse jumped out at me half singed!

We've also had them behind the bath, under the stairs and in the kitchen.
I'm really worried that they're going to nibble all my crops - so in the garden will prob have most salad things up on high windowsills.

Looks like another job for the council. They are quite good round here - the poison does get rid of them for a good few months. Trouble is - I'm quite fond of them really!

[Birdie Wife]

I'm not a fan of using poisons but mice do need to be controlled - I would favour giving the place a good clean out, putting any seeds in secure metal boxes, blocking up holes. Use poison as a last resort, traps are better for an instant kill (or use humane traps and take the animals a good few miles away before releasing).

[jackie j]

One of our cats brought in a mouse a while back took us hours to catch it, we realeased it away from the house without the cat following us, soon after a mouse was back, unfortunatly dead not sure if it was same one or not.