Mice and Hay.

[Carly Rae]

Hi,

We have a bad mice problem here. We are constantly killing mice in our house and they aren't just in our house they are down the paddock and in our hay.

I have a section of our shelter blocked off with our hay in it to protect it from the weather. I am guessing with this cold weather, they are making nests in our hay and multiplying, when i open the gate to the hay all you can hear is scattering mice. I even found one in our grain tub, I must have left it slightly open.

Has anyone had this problem, if so how did you solve it? We have no hay at the moment, but we need to get more for Snickas. But I dont want to put more hay in there for the mice to live in. I'll take a photo of where the hay goes.

Thanks in advance

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Mice are a constant problem on most farms I think. I have tried everything I could think of from exterminators to cats and the only thing that has helped here is mouse bait. I don't worry about the ones outside, yes, they are a problem but so are lots of other things like wasps and hornets that build nests near things I have to get to and then sting me, or moose who break my fences in the winter. I poison the nasty little vermin that come into my home. My cat (bless his crazy cat self) will NOT kill mice in the house, he only hunts outside, and will not tolerate another cat in his house either. Traps are a loosing proposition because eventually the mice that are left are all the smart ones and they pass the trap avoidance smarts to the babies (plus its too dang slow) So I choose bait stations, I know that my dogs and my cat will not touch a dead mouse so for me that is not a concern. If you are being over run by mice, I'd suggest checking into various types of bait for use in barns and graineries. Your vet or feed store might be a good resourse for local information. Good luck, we've been fighting this battle for as long as I can remember and the mice are still here, fewer of them but still here.

 

[chandab]

We have barn cats, and my hay and grain are mouse free, the feed for the cattle is another story, the cats don't seem to visit those hay stacks and can't get into the granary for the cattle feed, but mice can (the cats when the door is open). [i might not have mice in my hay, but occasionally skunks under my stack and raccoons across the top.]

 

[amysue]

I had a mouse rat problem, I adopted a few cats, some generous neighbors "donated" (threw out their car window) more cats, then miraculously the mouse problem went away. As Chanda mentioned, skunks ans raccoons visit the cows often, the corn silage is like candy to coons. My husband tries to bale the hay and straw before it actually goes to seed, as that is what the mice go to the hay looking for, the food source. He also switched from natural sisal twine to plastic twine and wire, so the mice cannot chew it. They used to eat through every string on every bale! Now that the string isn't natural, it helps. Mice also hate moth balls (they really do stink), you could put a few on the ground in your hay barn to deter mice, as long as the hay doesn't pick up the smell of the moth balls (then the horse may not eat it).

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Thats a great idea Amysue, would never thought of moth balls. I throw some bait under my feed sheds every few months as I have the same problem. I noticed last night that they have started to eat through one of the plastic bins to get to the sweet feed.

The bait I use is one that is safe if one of your cats happened to eat a dead mouse that died from the poison. There is one that I would never use as its lethal to any animal and still poisonous if a dead rat is consumed that died from the bait.

I can take a pic of the one I use and text it to you if you want ?

Your other option would be a couple of trusty barn cats

 

[Carly Rae]

Thank you all

I agree with Ryan, Id never think of moth balls, might have to go in and get some. If you could that would be great Ryan

Id love to get cats, but as soon as I say the word to my parents its a 'No'. We actually have a cat now I have had her since my 5th birthday, she loves catching mice but if that means stepping foot on the horses property, shes out.

 

[Debbie Roberts]

Glad to hear the positive on the "barn cat" Just got my first barn cat and I hope she can help with our mice. We do set traps out and get some but they are moving from the hay/grain barn to the cows stall and the goat/ chicken house. So far she has been great, just a baby at 10 weeks old and has one mouse under her belt. Proud of her and hope she continues to help out. We to use the moth balls under a storage shed, never thought to use them in the barn.

 

[chandab]

Mice don't last long around chickens, yes, they will kill and eat them.

 

[paintponylvr]

At our other place, the chickens would have a great time running after and catching the mice and god forbid you stayed to watch the process. There is a reason we called them "Compies" and "...'raptors" (as in Velociraptors - dinosaurs, not as in the true meaning of Raptors - birds)... It would get quite gruesome as they fought over and pulled the mice apart - just like in some of the dinosaur movies!

Here - we don't free range our chickens (well, I did for 3 months until they all were killed by a wandering dog that dug under our fence) and now have to do more secure chicken house(s) - as the nite time predators seem to have figured out where we are. I have lost all of my laying pullets this past 2 weeks - even when moving the "tractor houses" they are in... They were dug under

Either we don't have a lot of mice here OR since we aren't feeding a lot of purchased cat food, they are hunting. I have noticed a correlation - fat cats = more mice (cats fat on purchased cat food - not catching their meals)...

TRULY - I LOVE my barn cats and will always have a few around (we do get them spayed/neutered and they get rabies vaccinations, too) and someday hope to be able to free range our chickens again. May have to invest in guardian livestock dogs (ewww - not my kind of dogs) to protect the chickens in the open while not chasing them themselves or leaving...

Squirrels chew thru Rubber Maid trashcans and plastic tubs! Had that happen on our front porch at the other place. We've used moth balls and sulpher for snakes - didn't occur to me that it worked for mice, too, but I've never seemed to have as much of a problem as what some of you are describing. I don't like to use bait - we've had too many cats die that ingested a dead mouse or ate the bait themselves... Dogs will dig under hay bales to get to the bait we've used, too.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

We get an occasional mouse here, but it's not a real issue. Our chickens are free range and they love hanging out under the lean to where we store the hay. We keep traps set in the big shop in strategic places, like under the drawers where we store car washing mitts! There is a trap called a Tin Cat you might try. Mice go in but they don't come out. You'd think it would be a smelly thing, but you don't even know it's there. I never look in it, but our rat terrier is frequently intrigued by it. We keep it under the workbench in the shop.

One thing we really hate is that they love to get up on the battery of vehicles parked outside and eat the insulation under the hood, and the wiring if left too long. I've seen our chickens hanging out under a parked vehicle, and now I'm thinking I know the reason! It isn't just for shade. If he has to park something for a while, he puts a Dcon package on the battery, or sometimes sets a trap there.

We've had some road runners come back this year and they are good for rodents. Also our large and colorful mountain boomer lizards probably get some. We have snakes. Gotta love all this natural mouse control!

 

[Carly Rae]

So guess what. You know how I said we weren't allowed cats? Well... Today my dad randomly said "I think we should get 3 or 4 cats here to try control the mice problem" WHAT?! I was wrong. I didnt even mention a cat ONCE. So I had no influence on the decision. Dad said I can have a look for a few young cats/kittens. Probably because they have started infesting my dad's shed, my dad's NEW shed and our caravan. and a few mice traps aren't good enough. This is exciting!! I haven't had a cat since 2012 when I lost my little kitten, Rascal.

Dad said as long as we get Lacey (my dog) to be friendly or at least not hassle them and chase them out. Which shouldn't be hard, she loved Rascal to pieces and you could just tell she knew he was gone when he died. Anyway, I've gone off topic again. If we get them Ill be sure to post a few pics

Hopefully the mice problem dies off a bit!