Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage. I set
traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice leave.

I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a point,
they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those electronic pest
control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?

About ten years ago I worked for a defense contractor that did
performance-based contracts. (The gov't says "we need a product than
can keep a dozen eggs fresh for a week," and you invent and provide the
product.)

One of the contracts we filled was to replace the electronic rodent
control devices with something else - something that worked. I was
assigned to "install" the new product - house cats! This was a large
military facility, so plenty of fields and such for the cats to go poo
and nobody around to be bothered by them, so it ended up working out
well.

When I arrived to install the product, the guy in charge said the
electronic devices not only didn't work, they gave some of his guys
headaches. (You could actually hear them.)

"Miki" wrote in message
ups.com...
About ten years ago I worked for a defense contractor that did
performance-based contracts. (The gov't says "we need a product than
can keep a dozen eggs fresh for a week," and you invent and provide the
product.)

One of the contracts we filled was to replace the electronic rodent
control devices with something else - something that worked. I was
assigned to "install" the new product - house cats! This was a large
military facility, so plenty of fields and such for the cats to go poo
and nobody around to be bothered by them, so it ended up working out
well.

When I arrived to install the product, the guy in charge said the
electronic devices not only didn't work, they gave some of his guys
headaches. (You could actually hear them.)

I am very aware that cats are great for catching mice outside and my
neighborhood is loaded with them. However, I am not overly fond of cats and
would almost prefer the mice as to having cats tearing up and stinking up my
house.

Thanks anyway.

Hound Dog wrote:
I am very aware that cats are great for catching mice outside and my
neighborhood is loaded with them. However, I am not overly fond of cats and
would almost prefer the mice as to having cats tearing up and stinking up my
house.



Bitch, bitch, bitch....



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

VE

Hound Dog wrote:
Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage.
I set traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice
leave.
I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a
point, they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those
electronic pest control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?

It appears you don't know cats well, but we won't hold your ignorance
against you. :-)

I suggest some of the poison bat. You don't even need to remove it from
the package, just make sure you put it in the areas where they will be
traveling. Winter or not, they need food and water.

Down side is if they die in some enclosed area there may be a wee bit of
odor while they rot away. I have never had this problem, but I would tend
to believe it is a weather related issue. If they desiccate there should be
no problem.

Frankly not all cats are very good at this game. I once watched as a
mouse ran across 20 foot of kitchen counter to my cat's food bowl, removed
some food and returned. The cat was sitting on my lap about three foot from
the food bowl and just watched the mouse all the time. I moved the frig (the
mouse had returned by going between the frig and the counter) and replaced
it with a tall trash can. When the mouse next returned I chased it back, it
jumped right into the can, which was about 8 inches taller than it could
jump. On less mouse. A few glue traps and a second mouse was caught. That
one was cleaned up and became a pet from my daughter for the next couple of
years. She is now grown and a zoo keeper.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 00:06:37 -0600, "Hound Dog"
wrote:

Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage. I set
traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice leave.

I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a point,
they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those electronic pest
control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?


I have heard mostly negative comments about the electronic pest
devices. Your best bet is a feisty cat. I've had good results with
poison. Sometimes in a city environment they will set up a poison
station free of charge.

Hound Dog wrote:

I am very aware that cats are great for catching mice outside and my
neighborhood is loaded with them. However, I am not overly fond of
cats and would almost prefer the mice as to having cats tearing up
and stinking up my house.

1. Towser, the mouser at the Glennfiddich brewery, caught 28,899 mice during
her career.

2. You can borrow a cat for a month.

3. Cats don't "stink up" the house. Cats are the "self-cleaning" model of
pets. Untrained, they will shred your furniture, drapes, and carpets. But,
so what? It's just furniture.

4. Cats will generally stay out of your way: For example, they sleep every
chance they get.

In article ,
says...
I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a point,
they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those electronic pest
control machines they have on the market work on mice?



The sonic deterrents will not work as you want.

Mice have a small home range. The ones getting in your home have been
living rather close to the house this Summer. Make sure there is no
debris or even tall grass near the home through out the year. Baits
with a seed base will be effective on mice, but there is more of a
chance with them dying inside than with rats due to their small range.
Placing protected bait stations on the property outside in Summer will
help reduce the numbers to deal with when Winter comes.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

I had problems with mice once. I searched until I found where they were
getting in. Once that was blocked, the mouse problem went away. Don't make
the mistake of thinking that a hole is too small for them to get through, it
is quite amazing what they can squeeze through. When you block the hole (I
had to replace the wood door frame completely), make darn sure that they
can't chew through easily.


"Hound Dog" wrote in message
...
Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage. I
set
traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice leave.

I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a point,
they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those electronic pest
control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?

"Miki" wrote in message
ups.com...
About ten years ago I worked for a defense contractor that did
performance-based contracts. (The gov't says "we need a product than
can keep a dozen eggs fresh for a week," and you invent and provide the
product.)

One of the contracts we filled was to replace the electronic rodent
control devices with something else - something that worked. I was
assigned to "install" the new product - house cats! This was a large
military facility, so plenty of fields and such for the cats to go poo
and nobody around to be bothered by them, so it ended up working out
well.

When I arrived to install the product, the guy in charge said the
electronic devices not only didn't work, they gave some of his guys
headaches. (You could actually hear them.)


Cats. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Replace small nuisances with large
nuisances. Then his next post will be to rec.garden about 'how do I stop a
cat from crapping in my garden?'

"JerryMouse" wrote in message
...

3. Cats don't "stink up" the house.

Only cat owners think this. Those who visit cat owners know different. It's
like when I stopped smoking and suddenly realized how horrible I and my home
must have smelled to everyone else... but I didn't believe it. At an
organization I attend I sat beside someone with cats last Monday evening...
I finally had to move, the stink and dander were so bad. I live in the
country on a farm and the smell of cats still repulsed me. Unfortunately for
me, I moved next to a smoker.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Hound Dog wrote:
Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage.
I set traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice
leave.
I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a
point, they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those
electronic pest control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?

It appears you don't know cats well, but we won't hold your ignorance
against you. :-)

I suggest some of the poison bat. You don't even need to remove it
from
the package, just make sure you put it in the areas where they will be
traveling. Winter or not, they need food and water.

Down side is if they die in some enclosed area there may be a wee bit
of
odor while they rot away. I have never had this problem, but I would tend
to believe it is a weather related issue. If they desiccate there should
be
no problem.

Frankly not all cats are very good at this game. I once watched as a
mouse ran across 20 foot of kitchen counter to my cat's food bowl, removed
some food and returned. The cat was sitting on my lap about three foot
from
the food bowl and just watched the mouse all the time. I moved the frig
(the
mouse had returned by going between the frig and the counter) and replaced
it with a tall trash can. When the mouse next returned I chased it back,
it
jumped right into the can, which was about 8 inches taller than it could
jump. On less mouse. A few glue traps and a second mouse was caught.
That
one was cleaned up and became a pet from my daughter for the next couple
of
years. She is now grown and a zoo keeper.


Believe it or not... cats are not natural mousers. They learn this behavior,
or so I am told.
The most important thing to do to stop the little buggers is to remove food
(bait) and living conditions. Plug even the tiniest of holes and STOP
leaving food, especially PET food sit around. Rodents absolutely love pet
food. Why on earth would people get animals to keep out other animals and
then leave food sit around to feed the animals that invites even more of the
animals the other animals are there (stinking up the house) to catch? It's
probably not a good idea to leave a pan of feces and urine sit in the corner
either. Despite popular belief, animal waste in any form invites more animal
waste.
We live on a farm and every fall the ritual would start about the time the
plowing starts (right before the first predicted severe cold snap) the
little buggers start popping up. This year I told the Mrs that we were going
to start keeping the dog food (he lives outside where animals belong, too)
in a garbage can with a lid that seals TIGHT. It's only a little surprising
that we've lost even the last little bother by the rodents.
Last summer we sat out in the back yard watching a stray barn rat running
around the corner of the dog's house grabbing a chunk of his food and
scurrying away with it, then returning two minutes later for another and
another and another. Dammed dog gave cattle hell if they got loose and could
drag his house behind him if another dog came anywhere near the place, but
he just laid there and watched the rat. By the way, bird shot is a great way
to shoot rodents as they scurry away with dog food as the shells can't
ricochet and you don't have to be an expert marksman to nail the quick sob's
cause they spray the BB's.
Poisoning the little *******s is a good idea, but do it outdoors as the dead
ones turn up in the oddest places at the worst times indoors. If there isn't
anything for them to eat inside they will eat the stuff around the outside.
And do not spare dollars on the poison, the cheap stuff (and even the
expensive name brand stuff in the box) is actually making the situation
worse as they are becoming resistant to it. Look for one that says 'even
kills warfaran resistant ones' and then get the very strongest version of it
they have (get one that says dead appear in hours or a day NOT days plural).
Rodents can have babies so fast that if they eat the stuff that takes days
to kill they can have the babies first and the babies are now tolerant. Go
to somewhere like Tractor Supply Company (TSC) and get the stuff called
Rampage and tuck it in and under concealed areas around the home, garage,
sheds and outbuildings such as the ones rodents like to travel in. Rampage
is non resistance forming and kills in hours. The rodents will die outdoors
and if you're lucky a few cats will gnaw on the rodents just before they
die.
In short, get rid of entrances for animals, anything animals want to eat,
get all animals out of the house, poison them in a large way once they're
out there.

"JerryMouse" wrote in message
...
Hound Dog wrote:

I am very aware that cats are great for catching mice outside and my
neighborhood is loaded with them. However, I am not overly fond of
cats and would almost prefer the mice as to having cats tearing up
and stinking up my house.

1. Towser, the mouser at the Glennfiddich brewery, caught 28,899 mice
during her career.

2. You can borrow a cat for a month.

3. Cats don't "stink up" the house. Cats are the "self-cleaning" model of
pets. Untrained, they will shred your furniture, drapes, and carpets. But,
so what? It's just furniture.

4. Cats will generally stay out of your way: For example, they sleep every
chance they get.

The question was not about cats!

"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Hound Dog wrote:
Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage.
I set traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice
leave.
I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a
point, they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those
electronic pest control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?

It appears you don't know cats well, but we won't hold your ignorance
against you. :-)

I suggest some of the poison bat. You don't even need to remove it
from the package, just make sure you put it in the areas where they will
be traveling. Winter or not, they need food and water.

Down side is if they die in some enclosed area there may be a wee bit
of odor while they rot away. I have never had this problem, but I would
tend to believe it is a weather related issue. If they desiccate there
should be no problem.

Frankly not all cats are very good at this game. I once watched as a
mouse ran across 20 foot of kitchen counter to my cat's food bowl, removed
some food and returned. The cat was sitting on my lap about three foot
from the food bowl and just watched the mouse all the time. I moved the
frig (the mouse had returned by going between the frig and the counter)
and replaced it with a tall trash can. When the mouse next returned I
chased it back, it jumped right into the can, which was about 8 inches
taller than it could jump. On less mouse. A few glue traps and a second
mouse was caught. That one was cleaned up and became a pet from my
daughter for the next couple of years. She is now grown and a zoo keeper.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

The question was not about cats nor your lid.

1. Towser, the mouser at the Glennfiddich brewery, caught 28,899 mice during
her career.

They don't mention that the brewery had 200,000 mice during that period.

Your problem rest in small openings.

Most rodents that can put there head through an opening can also put
their whole body through... I'm talking about small mice here...not
giraffe, cats, or tiny buffaloes. :-)

What Andrew Neilson said is right... fix the "small hole" problem and
the mice will vanish.

Good luck,
Dave

Greg wrote:
1. Towser, the mouser at the Glennfiddich brewery, caught 28,899
mice during her career.

They don't mention that the brewery had 200,000 mice during that
period.

The beer used to have an unusually pleasing shade of yellow, too.

I've recently had my mouse battle, and it looks like round II is about
to begin.

Found mouse droppings in the kitchen, could hear them in the wall at
night.

Found their food source: Grass seed in the garage. In fact, one of the
little *******s ran out of the grass seed bag when I grabbed it.

So first, I got rid of all the seed.

Then I bought some of the electronic gizmos, as well as some catch and
release traps.

(Yeah, I'm a pussy, I know - but even though I hate rodents, I don't
see any reason to make them suffer - that is - AT THAT TIME I didn't.)

Electronic gizmos didnt work.
Catch and release traps didnt work. In fact, the mice decided to make a
game of it, and would crawl to the back of the trap, eat all the bait
(peanut butter) and move on.

Finally went with the standard old traps. Set up 4 traps in the
kitchen, coated the paddles with PB.

Little *******s were VERY good at licking the PB off without setting
the trap off..... found this every morning for a week.

So I would laugh, and proclaim loudly: "HA! So, you want to play games,
do you, my little mousey friends!!! Very well then, lets play - I've
got the time!"

And each day I would rebait the traps.

Over time, the luck ran out for each mouse (2).

But yesterday I saw another mouse outside my house, on my patio.

And as I watched it scurry around - I rubbed my hands together, and
laughed: MUAAHHHAHHAHAAHH.

ioc wrote:
"JerryMouse" wrote in message
...

3. Cats don't "stink up" the house.

Only cat owners think this. Those who visit cat owners know
different.

You may be right. I only have visitors who a) own cats, or b) don't mention
it.

It's like when I stopped smoking and suddenly realized how
horrible I and my home must have smelled to everyone else... but I
didn't believe it.

If you don't smoke, what do you use to cover the smell?

At an organization I attend I sat beside someone
with cats last Monday evening... I finally had to move, the stink and
dander were so bad. I live in the country on a farm and the smell of
cats still repulsed me. Unfortunately for me, I moved next to a
smoker.

It must be hell to be you.

Hound Dog wrote:

The question was not about cats!

Well, it should have been. And my answer definitely was. Heck, man, the
Egyptians thought cats were gods because the cats kept the granary mice
under control. Without cats, the Egyptians would have starved! Although some
believe Joseph may have had something to do with avoiding famine.

Tommorrow we will learn new things about cats.

For homework, study how the superstious killing of cats in the middle ages
caused rats to multiply and with them, the fleas that carried Bubonic
Plague.

Greg wrote:
1. Towser, the mouser at the Glennfiddich brewery, caught 28,899
mice during her career.

They don't mention that the brewery had 200,000 mice during that
period.

Yeah, what I don't understand is, at an average of four mice per day, why
the hell didn't the brewery get Towser an assistant mouser?

The best way to get rid of mice is to plug up the holes they are coming in.
Everything else is just controlling the population. A cat is smart enough, (or
genetically evolved) not to kill the last mating pair.

Hound Dog wrote:

Every winter the field mice take up residence in my house and garage. I set
traps and eventually, when warm weather arrives again, the mice leave.

I am tired of setting traps, and even though they do work, up to a point,
they leave a lot to be desired. I was wondering if those electronic pest
control machines they have on the market work on mice?

Anyone ever have any good results using these electronic pest control
machines?




No info on the electronics but a couple of posters suggested poison.
Your neighbors will really appreciate it should you do so, especially
outside, so when the critter wanders over to their yard before expiring,
their pets can find and eat the toxic corpse.

In article ,
says...
No info on the electronics but a couple of posters suggested poison.
Your neighbors will really appreciate it should you do so, especially
outside, so when the critter wanders over to their yard before expiring,
their pets can find and eat the toxic corpse.


Before treatment is considered advisable by a vet, the pet would have to
consume 5%-10% of it's body weight with the toxin. Worse case scenario,
if the rodents fed on nothing but the rodent bait and the pet found the
rodents just after stuffing themselves and before relieving the bowels a
10 pound animal would have to totally consume 9-18 rats or 22-44 mice. A
25 pound dog would have to consume 22-45 rats or 56-112 mice. You should
have more of a problem with the neighbor not feeding their pets.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

"Lar" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
No info on the electronics but a couple of posters suggested poison.
Your neighbors will really appreciate it should you do so, especially
outside, so when the critter wanders over to their yard before
expiring,
their pets can find and eat the toxic corpse.


Before treatment is considered advisable by a vet, the pet would have to
consume 5%-10% of it's body weight with the toxin. Worse case scenario,
if the rodents fed on nothing but the rodent bait and the pet found the
rodents just after stuffing themselves and before relieving the bowels a
10 pound animal would have to totally consume 9-18 rats or 22-44 mice. A
25 pound dog would have to consume 22-45 rats or 56-112 mice. You should
have more of a problem with the neighbor not feeding their pets.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

or a 1-2 lb hawk or owl could expire from a single mouse.

In article ,
says...

"Lar" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

No info on the electronics but a couple of posters suggested poison.
Your neighbors will really appreciate it should you do so, especially
outside, so when the critter wanders over to their yard before
expiring,
their pets can find and eat the toxic corpse.


Before treatment is considered advisable by a vet, the pet would have to
consume 5%-10% of it's body weight with the toxin. Worse case scenario,
if the rodents fed on nothing but the rodent bait and the pet found the
rodents just after stuffing themselves and before relieving the bowels a
10 pound animal would have to totally consume 9-18 rats or 22-44 mice. A
25 pound dog would have to consume 22-45 rats or 56-112 mice. You should
have more of a problem with the neighbor not feeding their pets.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

or a 1-2 lb hawk or owl could expire from a single mouse.



I don't have a breakdown on what the secondary poisoning possibilities
to raptors may be, so to be safe I would make your neighbor aware you
are baiting and they should keep their pet hawk or owl indoors a few
days.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

"Lar" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...

"Lar" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

No info on the electronics but a couple of posters suggested
poison.
Your neighbors will really appreciate it should you do so,
especially
outside, so when the critter wanders over to their yard before
expiring,
their pets can find and eat the toxic corpse.


Before treatment is considered advisable by a vet, the pet would
have to
consume 5%-10% of it's body weight with the toxin. Worse case
scenario,
if the rodents fed on nothing but the rodent bait and the pet found
the
rodents just after stuffing themselves and before relieving the
bowels a
10 pound animal would have to totally consume 9-18 rats or 22-44
mice. A
25 pound dog would have to consume 22-45 rats or 56-112 mice. You
should
have more of a problem with the neighbor not feeding their pets.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

or a 1-2 lb hawk or owl could expire from a single mouse.



I don't have a breakdown on what the secondary poisoning possibilities
to raptors may be, so to be safe I would make your neighbor aware you
are baiting and they should keep their pet hawk or owl indoors a few
days.
--
Lar

to email....get rid of the BUGS

the internet is a big place. the OP doesn't specify where they are. in my
neighborhood, there are at least 3 nesting eagles, a lot of hawks, and too
many owls to count. many large cities have nesting falcons and hawks in and
around tall buildings.