This post is the formal declaration of war against the rodents that have invaded our space. Mice that remain in the wild and do not attract attention by living where they do not belong will be left in peace. Mice that try to live in our buildings, our equipment or anywhere that they do not belong will be treated with lethal force. The same applies to moles. So begins the “Rodent War” series.
Yesterday I was exploring the sport court, looking for worms that hide in the leaves along the wall. I noticed a rectangular piece of plastic that I did not recognize. Then I saw a pile of wires that I had never seen before. Upon closer examination, I realized that one or both of the dogs had ripped off an end cap from my utility trailer and then yanked out the wires. I thought here comes another “dog damage” post plus a couple hours repairing the wires. Upon closer inspection, the trailer tube that held the wires was full of grass and nut fragments. One or more mice had taken up residence inside the trailer. That is what the dogs were after.
Later in the day I got the mower out. Willow immediately went into the shed and started sniffing around. The shed floor was covered by evidence that mice had been bringing in stuff to eat. I got her out and shut the door so she could not do any damage. While mowing the lawn I to got thinking about all of the damage the dogs have done and in most cases, it was because of mice. So, I have been looking at this all wrong. The problem is not the dogs, it is the mice.
Background
The back of our yard butts up against a city park which gives us a nice view. The downside is that we are also butted up against a wild area inhabited by mice. Mice are a fact of life and something we will have to deal with forever. Where I draw the line is when they get into our buildings and either cause damage or attract the dogs who in turn, cause damage.
Mouse Invasion
We have had mice in the garage, in both sheds, in boat trailer, in my utility trailer and in our drain tiles. Two years ago they got into a new bag of grass seed in our big shed and destroyed it, making a huge mess in the process. Recently, I discovered that they have starting using the new shed for shelter and as a place to eat. They drag in food, have a party and leave a mess. The following pictures show the results.
So my challenge is how to keep them away from where they do not belong.
Mouse Damage
They also cause damage directly. This last winter, they chewed the plastic of my ATV handlebars. They made a nest under the ATV seat. As mentioned above, they eat seed and make a mess. I find nests just about anywhere they can get to, which is almost everywhere.
Over the years I have had to clean up after them, replace wires and fix holes. I have better things to do so it is time to take a more proactive approach.
Mouse Induced Dog Damage
This has been by far the worst. The dogs aggressively pursue mice, as I have documented before.
One of the earliest example is the saga of my firewood storage challenges as explained in the “Do Proof Firewood Storage” post.
The “Little Bad Dog and Friends” post includes pictures of the damage Stella did to my ATV trying to get to a mouse nest.
There are two posts about the dogs pursuing mice in drain tiles and drain lines. The first was the “Dogs and Drainpipe” post followed this year by the “Dog Damage Repair” post.
The latest mouse induced dog damage was on my utility trailer, as mentioned in the introduction. Mice had taken up residence inside the trailer and the dogs attempted to get them out. The wires were just in the way.
There are more examples but I think you can get the drift.
Deterrence
My preference is to prevent mice from getting where they do not belong. Where possible, I seal up entry points or otherwise make it hard for them.
One other method that has worked well is mothballs. I put them in my boat over the winter and it seems like they stay away. I am going to put mothballs into my utility trailer and the sheds. I may even put some into the drain tiles.
When Deterrence Fails
When they get in despite my efforts to keep them out then the only option is to eliminate them. I can do this via trapping or bait stations.
I recently purchased a trap door device that fits on the top of a 5 gallon bucket. The mouse walk up the stairs, walk out on the top to get to the peanut butter, the top tilts and dumps them into the bucket. I caught 4 mice the first 2 days that the trap was in place.
The other option is using a bait station. I do not want to use poison, as the dogs might get into it. I saw a video that recommends using a bait made with cornbread muffin mix and baking soda. The theory is that rodents cannot burp or fart. So the gas builds up and kills them. Dogs and other larger mammals have no issue with gas, as Willow proves on a regular basis. So, I made up a container of bait and left small cups of it around the sheds.
Summary
Due to recent events, I have now re-evaluated what I previously characterized as dog damage to recognize that the dogs were trying to protect our property from mice. This post lays out the case for that conclusion and announces the beginning of the “rodent war”.
