Mouse holes...

[EminentArabians]

For the past two weeks or so, since the weather has gotten colder, every morning I go into my mares stall, and they have dug between 4-8 holes. I fill them in when I see them...the next morning they are dug up again, and often times LARGER than the hole was previously. I've tried filling it in with horse poop...and then dirt, didn't work. Don't want to put sticks in the holes because they'll end up back in the stall when they dig the hole again. The more I fill in these holes, the more the holes keep popping up elsewhere in the stall. So far, they have only dug holes in the corners and along the walls. I'm not worried about my mare's foot getting through one of them (they arent big enough for her big hooves yet)...BUT...she will be having a foal as early as Jan. 30th....and the foal's feet will be small enough to fit through the holes.

My barn floor is dirt....short of putting mats in the stall, what can I do to get these darn things to stop digging up holes in her stall?! Thanks for any input.

 

[SILVER]

I hope you get the problem solved before the foal arrives, BUT

if you don't I would be more than happy to send you a barn cat

We have an

abundance of these. Even the sought after B/W pinto colour

 

[beaminewbie]

I can also send a pretty pinto colored barn cat, I have "sorrel" and black and white ones!!!

Seriously I have had that problem and cats have been the only success I have had!!

 

[Black Magic]

Here's my two cents... steel wool. Mices HATE stell wool. When we purchased the home we live in, we had to leave it vacant for a year, awaiting hubby's military orders to get to Florida. So when we arrived here, we found a few mouse holes. Hubby patched it, and well, the holes were back in no time. I told my MIL (mother in law) and she said there was an article in Mother Earth News that suggested filling the holes with Brillo soap pads and then putting patches over the holes. Sure enough... the mousey never used that area again..

Of course, last week, when it got cold... our tortie point American Bobtail kitty... caught a mouse, wrapped it in a towel she took out of the laundry.... and then sat guard... If you get a cat..... make sure... it doesn't like to keep a pet mouse. Also, cat feces works when horse feces won't.

God Bless,

Hope it helps..

Lynn W

I'd get a kitty too!

 

[liltnt]

From what I have heard oil of pepperment is supposed to help. Mice ad rats always travel the same paths. the ones they used before, so if you spray the area with oil of pepperment it is supposed to keep them away. And the steel wool in their little holes does stop them from coming back .

 

[Bess Kelly]

My cat sometimes takes a mouse outside to play

nice kitty

It's usually when she's full and bored. Yep, cats will do the job!

Mine sleeps right in the stalls -- sometimes in the feed pan (they are mounted in the corner) -- and sometimes just curls up next to her favorite guy. But she does her job and is very serious about i!

Yeah.....get a cat!

 

[EminentArabians]

I'll have to try to find some steel wool....where might I find this? A hardware store...or...a place like Lowes or Home Depot? I rescued a kitten earlier this year to eventually be my barn cat...but, he's only a few months old...and not much of a winter coat...so I'm not sure I feel comfortable putting him out there yet. I thought about concreting all of the holes, LOL....but I know they are destined to dig new holes everywhere in my stall. I think thy're cute..but...I want the lil beggers out of my stall...LOL.

 

[Joyce]

A good barn cat should do the trick !!

Joyce

 

[Hosscrazy]

I had also heard of using steel wool - couldn't you use Brillo pads or SOS pads?

Liz R.

 

[Marion]

I had chickens that use to catch the mice and kill them. I have cats that do the job now or my dog.

 

[virginia]

Go to your nearest shelter and adopt a cat. This way you save a life and get a mouser. I got 3 kittens 4 years ago and haven't seen a mouse since.

 

[Loess Hills]

I hate to mention this, but you may not have mice digging holes in the stalls, it could be a rat.

UGGGH! We had the same thing happening earlier this fall. Holes appearing in certain areas of the barn............never saw any activity or any critters but the critter was working at night, and each morning there were fresh holes opened in the dirt. We didn't have a barn cat either, but have since gotten one. We set a rat trap baited with peanut butter in an area that was closed off from the horses. Next morning there was a dead rat in the trap. Since then we haven't seen any signs of dirt holes appearing, or even any mice since the barn cat now resides in the hay loft!

By the way, I really, really, really, really, don't like mice..........much less a rat !

 

[journey]

Funny this was brought up. As I was going to the barn to feed yesterday afternoon, My dog was laying funny and had his paw on top of something... I walked over to him and he was holding a little field mouse under his paw. He didn't hurt it, but I made him turn it loose. Dogs are funny little creatures. We have had some problems in the barn and since we only use this barn for holding feed because it is so small I put some mousey poison in the back corner shelf. I know you can't put it in the stalls. I wish you good luck. I would also get a grown kitty. They loves the mice.

 

[HGFarm]

Get a really BIIIIIIIG CAT

 

[ibquackers20]

I have mice that visit inside my home all the time in winter - and do have a good mouser but sometimes the mice get lucky and escape from the cat - and I bought a thing called sticky pads mind you I have had to peal it off my cat a few times and once with a mouse in it as well - I always have to patch a hole or 2 in my sons closet and yes the next day or even before the patch dries they make a bigger hole - so I use steel wool from a hardware store and it worked great - but buy a big supply of steal wool because if the mice are inside your walls and you block one hole they will make another some where else - just funny though they always make a hole in the corner someplace - makes it harder to fix ----------- gee I hate mice period and really love to throw a sticky pad with one in an old coffee tin then chuck it outside to freeze --- may sound crule but they have pestered me and do damage to my walls every year - must say once I did catch a rat and hubby got rid of it far far away and even cought a farret/weazle one year on a sticky rat pad and used cooking oil to get it unstuck and into a large container with a lid - then drove 1/2 hour away in the country and let it go , have never seen another so far.

 

[PaintsRule]

One year we had a bad rat problem. I went in the barn once and saw one. Then the next day I forgot to close the barn door, and walked in on at least 10 or 12. rats!!! yikes!!! I started putting Warfarin inside the walls, etc, and they carried away 4 boxes of that (its in bags and they grab the bags and go) so then tried the blue pellets and they were not very long before they were not taking that, so I knew they were all dead!!! Never had much of a problem since.

 

[Marty]

Our mouse holes turned out to be SNAKES