|
Cats and traps, I like traps the best, but hungry cats will do some damage, we have one at the farm who is incessant on the mice, I've seen a stack of 9 or better on some occasions. At home, every year, in just a little while they come out of the fields to find warm places to winter, vehicles, the house, whatever. I set traps in the engine compartments and the cabs of my trucks, I set traps in the cellar, lots of traps out of the way, mark down where they are and check them frequently. What I have found is that the D-Con (someone must have used it quite often here before me) does is torture them with poison, a slow death and they don't always die where you can find them, then they reek something terrible. They take the D-Con and store it, in places I have no idea where, for years after, I still find half dead ones roaming around, or ones that are hidden and reeking to high he!! not good, and no matter what creature it is, either kill it quick humanely or not, I kind of play by the rules, although they can cause some damage to things and I don't like them, I have raised and studied the local species to learn things about them. They are amusing pets, especially voles, but nonethless pests too. Dead ones from the traps are hors devours for the crows, if poisoned, you cannot feed them to anything. I also find that eliminating the sources of where they live outside, it's best to keep a place neat, it eliminates their places to live. Had a pile of concrete block nearby for years and high amount of mice traffic, moved that pile, it was loaded with nests, like a mouse high rise apartment building, also sealed up the exterior of the house, they will climb right up the brick to a hole in the soffit, then get in the attic. years ago, I watched during the evening, a hole where the electric service comes in, a dozen or so would come through each night, and at that time the place was infested, the field next to the house was overgrown, so many combinations of things, they just get out of control. I keep the surrouding area mowed, including the field, trimmed, perimeter of the house clean and accessible etc. and just with traps I can break the cycle, last year I killed 36 outside, then the traps went clean, nothing, spring, summer, to the current time, takes persistence, stay on them no matter what you use, sooner or later you will break the cycle, just keeping that field mowed, makes such a difference, they don't like the open space. Once I stop finding them in the vehicles, I don't find them in the house and so on.
|
