The weather had been horrible for the best part of 6 weeks
(you may have seen Somerset on the news), with absolutely no fishing! So mid
week, when I noticed that Sunday’s forecast wasn’t going to be as awful as it
had been recently, I started getting excited. I was finally going to get out there
and try some new venues! Fishing new venues is a great experience and I was
always told that fishing a multitude of different venues helped you becoming a
well rounded angler. With the weekend approaching I decided to go and have a
look at how many rigs I had, and what I would need to buy on my next visit to
the tackle shop.
I should have realised when I saw a few (lots of) small brown
pellets on top of my carryall. Checking it over and seeing no glaringly obvious
holes, I had a quick look inside to find that everything was how I had left it.
It was the same for the rod bag and Boss box. Phew!
As a last minute precaution “just in case it rains” I
decided to dig out the waterproofs and check them over. The first thing that
hit me was the smell. Poop in that quantity sure does stink. They had nibbled
through the plastic bag and straight through the coat lining into the fleece.
From the smell I can only assume this is where the little buggers snuggled down
for the winter. From wearing that coat several times I can attest to the
quality of the fleece, it’s mighty warm.
For whatever reason, they gave up on the trousers, and
although I have 2 holes on the legs and 1 on the bum, they are salvageable. Then
I thought, “hmmm... what else have I got in here that mice would eat???” Bye
bye groundbait. They had eaten their way through half a bag of VDE Secret, half
a bag of Maize and countless micro pellets. They did at least leave all the
halibut and krill pellets. Just so you know, all the groundbait was in sealed
bags, in stacked buckets.
So I came to the conclusion not only did I provide them with
bedding but I also gave them an obstacle course for an all you can eat buffet!
Having lived in what I thought was the Welsh countryside for the best of 17
years and never really had any trouble with mice, I made the terrible assumption
that the mice from the fields of Somerset would follow suit and not ... eat my waterproof
suit!
On further inspection they had also munched their way
straight through one of my silver fish keepnets. I don’t usually use keepnets, but
I’ll certainly need to buy another one before I consider entering any matches.
I have now bought a large sealed, lockable plastic chest in
which I have placed my thermal wellingtons and the remainder of my uneaten
groundbait. I have also started hanging things from the ceiling, although I’m
not sure that is much of a deterrent, but more of a challenge to these mice
ninjas! I have been told that the fields around here are rife with mice, and
they unfortunately frequent everyone’s sheds. It’s possible the floods had left
them fleeing for a dry refuge. With the number of cats (including our own) I
thought there would be less of a mice issue. Sadly not.
If anyone could please advise me on how to rid myself of
this mouse problem without using inhumane traps, it would be greatly
appreciated, as I can’t afford the buy several sets of replacement waterproofs!
The best advice I’ve had from my Biologist other half is “Just
don’t offer up a warm bed and a easy buffet”.
Please leave a comment below or contact me here.
9 comments:
No easy way to rid them, even traps and poisons can take time. Clearing clutter and food is the first thing as you already know. If you don't want to kill them then you need to trap them, the old way was a glass milk bottle on a slight angle. Put food in the bottom and if you get the angle right the mouse gets in but can't get out. It'll take time though. Other solutions are fire and flood though not sure you'd be keen on either.
Another modern version of the milk bottle is a two litre pop bottle. Cut the top off to make a funnel then flip it and stick it back on the bottle. Mouse goes in struggles to get out, though this version needs to be checked often as they'll nibble their way out.
Just had a quick look. Check out the bucket mouse trap on Youtube which looks even better to me.
There is a knarled old tree outside the shed with holes every where. I wondered if they were all held up in there. It's dead so I may fill it full of expanding foam, as well as any gaps under the shed, but I would be worried what that might do to the environment. Will try the milk bottle trap though. See how that gets on. Thanks for the message.
Will try this too!
My shed is laid on concrete (like many) and the little buggers had dug a whole right underneath the concrete. I hatched a plan (not a humane one though) and made a funnel out of a 2 litre pop bottle and shoved it in the hole. Then I filled a bucket of water and flooded the hole. Within seconds the mice had made their way up the tunnels and into the funnel bottle. They were still alive, so it was over to my little terrier to finish the job.
Hi Paul,
I've had issues with mice for the last 6 months or so, tried traps, humane traps, poison traps etc.... No good, in the end I used this stuff, it's basically poisoned grain.
http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/garden-care-watering/pest-weed-control/animal_control/-specificproducttype-rat___mouse_control/Rentokil-Mouse-Killer-150g-11327722
Just put some down everyday, eventually you will notice less and less grain gone and after a week or so it will no longer be touched as the mice will be dead. I now keep a small pile near the garage door incase anymore decide to visit.
Best £4 I've spent in a long time.
Hi Darren, thanks for your reply. I've been told about sonic mouse repellent alarms. Trust me, if there weren't so many cats near here I would put this poison grain stuff out. Just don't want to be responsible for dying pets...
I'm the pest control guy at work and the poison grain is what we use. As you say though Paul, not good for anywhere near pets. The recommendation is to not use near pets but that said, the theory and usual case is that the mice eat the stuff and then die later in their nest. This can be good but also a problem if you have a nest full of decaying mice stinking out your premises.
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