18 Mar 2024, 01:13 (This post was last modified: 18 Mar 2024, 01:16 by Tinker D.)
Heard a small sound a few days ago. Then found one of my socks were missing. Hmmmm……
Again, heard a small noise.
BANG… Light comes on.
Small field mouse caught in the light.
Ok, mouse traps, sticky traps, mice bait.
Mouse no more.
I would have let him live, if he was Mighty Mouse. But without leotards and a cape, he’s dead meat.
Wait a minute!!!!! I fetish clothes and other gear…
Oh no… whew, everything ok except a shop rag and one sock.
It turns out that the sock and shop rag, were the ones I used for cleaning after a good play. It looks like mice love my milky white.
18 Mar 2024, 09:31 (This post was last modified: 18 Mar 2024, 09:31 by madjack.)
Had a similar problem a few years ago.
Operated a 'live and let live' approach until I discovered the little darlings had chewed through a few £100's of stuff (not clothing I should add, but gear for another of my hobbies).
All out war followed; initially with humane traps (daily 2-3 field mice or harvest mice at a time). I realised all I was doing was giving them a free meal and some exercise after I recognised one mouse that I'd released a 100m away.
Carnage followed for a month or two before I gave up and moved my gear!
Rats were different and when we suffered a veritable plague of them I had to resort to more direct, lead based, solutions.
MJ
Ps. Any suggestions for dealing with clothes moths?
19 Mar 2024, 10:35 (This post was last modified: 19 Mar 2024, 10:40 by Lancer.)
Moth balls and sticky traps work great against moths, keeping your infrequently used or out of season clothes in vacuum bags or somewhat sealed boxes also keeps them from being damaged. The bugs also appear to be attracted to humidity so keeping that down during the spring and summer keeps them out.
For rodents denying them access to food and if possible water is most effective, vacuum crumbs, keep food in the fridge and leave nothing out overnight (they come out at night for food) and usually that is enough to convince them to leave. If they are unconvinced using mechanical traps or capture devices keeps them from dying in your walls which can get very smelly.
As a more long term solution sealing up the holes they use to get inside your home is the best solution, make sure that any attic ventilation is properly screened and the air intake and output of any furnaces or AC systems are screened or grated. After that going around and looking for obvious cracks inside or outside the house which they could get in from, frequent points of entry being pet doors, loose vents and light mounts, gaps between the exterior walls and the roof
I've only ever had a problem with a mouse once (in my airing cupboard) but a 'Little Nipper' sorted it out in hours. It was probably a wood mouse but possibly a yellow-necked mouse. I didn't fancy doing an autopsy to check.
