Controlling rats and mice

[Madelinew]

My OH was rather miffed the other day to discover that we've had 'visitors' in the garage who have taken advantage of the fact he left some car parts lying around (who'd have thought in a garage?) and had nibbled through some of the wiring and softer bits of said car parts. He wants to put poison down. I don't. Apart from the ethics of killing them off like that and the fact that more would come in their place eventually, we have a number of cats and foxes locally and I don't want one of them to pick up a poisoned animal.

I wondered about the effectiveness of these electronic plug-in deterrents but they don't seem to get very good ratings online. I also suggested he keeps such things in large plastic boxes like the ones we store food in when camping. However, he points out, not unreasonably, that how is he to know the little (censored word for our younger readers) aren't eating into the wiring and upholstery of his car.

Ideas please!

[paulinemiller10]

I think you either have mice or rats, they don t usually live together, and sounds more like mice, I have loads of mice in my shelter I built for my hedgehogs, and I have electric wires and cam wires all over the place, and I have had none of them chewed, I feed my mice, they enjoy peanuts, I think they chew things because they are hungry, but I can t have rats as they eat all the hoggy food, and when they are full they will take the rest to their nests, I have a large home made trap to catch hedgehogs, rats and mice if I need to, I relocate the rats to the country away from buildings. Pauline.

[Madelinew]

Hi Pauline. I know we have rats at the end of the garden because their holes are very evident down there. Mice occupy the balcony at the back of the house and they help themselves to the bird food - I've seen the droppings. I haven't bothered to investigate yet but I'm pretty sure it must be mice in the garage which is close to the balcony. I've done some more investigation and found an electronic deterrent that gets good ratings so I'm going to give it a go. The nibbling of the wires was quite delicate rather than the wholesale chomping by rats - I know that cos I've seen the damage my 2 pet rats have done to the plastic bottom to their cage.

The best use of odd things by mice that I have discovered was in the garage of my old house where they made a nest in a box of latex gloves!

[helena]

Hi Madelaine
You probably know a rat when you see one if you have pet ones, but many people confuse watervoles and their burrows with rats (they are a similar size animal) I know my Dad killed what he thought were rats around our pond when I was a small child and now I am an ecologist (well part ecologist, and part something else), I realise they must have been watervoles. They have burrows along ditches like rats.

[Farplace]

Has anyone tried Eradibait? I just wondered how "good" it is. It is available on line, and sounds very effective against rodents and is raptor-friendly. This from SPH Supplies Animal Husbandry Supplies, hygiene Disinfectants, Kennel cattery Supplies Products


The Natural Way to Eradicate Rodents.

EradiBait® contains no poisonous chemicals and is based on ground maize combined with wheat and a sweet molasses attractant. EradiBait is effective even among rodent populations that are completely resistant to conventional anticoagulants.

EradiBaits® unique formulation ensures:

no risk to children or pets
no risk to livestock or birds
no risk of either primary or secondary poisoning - bird of prey friendly
no known resistance
no special requirement for transport, handling, storage or disposal
no risk of contamination to crops or food
no environmental pollution - fully biodegradable

These types of products were invented in the USA and have had over 15 years of development, resulting in many international patents. Extensive on-farm trials and GLP laboratory tests have shown EradiBait® to be as effective as conventional chemical rodenticides.

Where to use

livestock yards
pig & poultry farms
conventional & organic farming
equestrian centres
game farms
forestry & woodland management
food processing, packing & storage areas
domestic, industrial & retail premises
secure institutions
hospitals
schools
parks & other public areas
Safe to use on and around farm nature trails

Recommended by The Barn Owl Trust

How and why EradiBait® works

Why EradiBait® works:

The specific mode of action of EradiBait® and its inherent safety to non-rodents is based on a range of factors unique to rodents:

rodents are opportunistic feeders and can consume up to 10% of their body weight.
rodents cannot vomit or regurgitate.
rodents have a unique digestive system in which the caecum (sack between large and small intestine) plays an active role.

How EradiBait® works:

EradiBait® is consumed as a food source as part of a rodent’s natural eating habit.
after ingestion dehydration commences causing blood thickening & circulatory collapse.
rodents become lethargic, retreat to their burrow where they lapse into a coma and die.

How to use EradiBait® and how much is required
For most effective control EradiBait® must be the primary food source available to the rodent – following these simple rules will ensure success:

clear away all other food sources from the area to be treated.
bait all areas where rodent activity is seen - particularly along runs and around holes.
keep bait dry as wetting may reduce effectiveness.
continue to bait until rodent activity ceases.
Effective control is achieved with up to 40-60 grams of product per rat and 10-15 grams per mouse.

Pack sizes available:
EradiBait® - 500g, 3kg, 7kg.

What to expect:

rodent activity declines as death occurs within 4 to 7 days of regular feed intake - sightings reduce as rodents generally die in their burrow.
faecal droppings become bleached in colour & larger in size*.
an absence of smell from decomposition due to dehydration – similar to mummification.
*Change in colour and size of the faecal pellets are an indicator of product acceptance and consumption and can be up to 3 times larger than pellets from non-treated rodents.

[Jason Green]

Afternoon FP,

Originally Posted by Farplace

EradiBait® is consumed as a food source as part of a rodent’s natural eating habit.
after ingestion dehydration commences causing blood thickening & circulatory collapse.
rodents become lethargic, retreat to their burrow where they lapse into a coma and die.

It sounds pretty strong in my opinion. The resulting cause of death is very broad (dehydration could affect anything) and doesn't seem specific to rat physiology. The description sounds almost too perfectly-worded a product (for those whe feel humane products don't work) - and so possibly is. How can it prevent secondary species dying post-consumption? It sounds like a sad, drawn-out death too.

I wouldn't trust it personally.

Take care,

Jason

[Farplace]

That was my gut feeling too. I just wondered if anyone had tried it. The Barn Owl Trust seem to like it. However, rats are very intelligent animals, and dehydration is a nasty way to die.

[salukiwhippet]

I used it on one job where there was a massive amount of unsupervised public access, so trapping was out, and I don't use AC baits.

I put it down and the problem went away. It did take a long time (2 weeks or so) to work, but it did seem to. Not an exhaustive trial, I'll admit, but maybe of interest. Having read up more about it, it does sound like it takes longer to kill than AC baits. Think I'll stick to my Fenns, Magnums, and Lakeland!

James

[Tringa]

As you have mice nearby I think it is going to difficult to keep mice out of the garage, so a deterrent seems worth a try. If you decide to kill them I suggest the simple killing trap. It can take time to get the baiting just right, but it is as humane as I think is possible and there is no chance of anything getting into the food chain.

Dave

[darrenm]

I agree with Tringa and trapping seems your best option if it is mice.

Never seen any proof that the electronic sound emitting devices work

I rented a flat above a shop on the edge of Nottingham in a three storey Victoran building a few years back which became over-run with house mice like all the buildings in the row. I made certain they could not get any food and kept everything out of their way in secure cupboards and freezers but they still came and seemed to enjoy eating floorboards!!!. The local pest control unit decided to lay poison down in a nieghbours flat that was also getting them very badly but a few weeks later everyone in the row had flats that smelled of rotting dead mice, it really was horrible.

The course of this infestation may have been down to a pet shop owner in the row who used to sweep all of his cage bird mess into the back of his yard and still does. The mice came back and in the end i resorted to the old fashioned trap before i had enough money to move (even though i dont like killing for the sake of it). From what i can gather they still have a severe mouse problem and two of the shops are now takeaways and for some reason i never feel the urge to buy anything from them