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The Farmers Daughter

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Lets face it. If you have an period Inn, there are many ways the uninvited can gain access. Especially this time of year. I'm talking about mice, and I'm sure I am not the only one. I loathe the idea of poison. I have some 'humane' traps that snap their necks instantly, still not a pretty picture but I would prefer it over a guest seeing a mouse and screaming their head off. Does anyone have any suggestions for natural deterrents (cats aside) ?
 
you don't want to know what i do to them, already have done this fall so far
 
Mice can get in so many different places it is tough to seal everything up. If you are pretty certain you DO know where they're getting in, or at least where it is that you have seen them, set those dang traps. Gang them up in rows of 2-3. (Mice jump over the first one. SNAP!) Lay them lengthwise along edges of walls as mice don't like open spaces. They will continue to follow the scent of another mouse, so once you figure out the trail, you can whack their little heads off pretty quickly. (Yeah, I know you're the Farmer's Daughter and not the Farmer's Wife, but it works for everyone in the family!)
Peanut butter is good, bacon fat is good, anything that consistency that is protein seems to work well on the traps. I HATE dumping them out, so just buy a bunch of traps and throw them out with the mouse. Gomez used to keep a plastic bag in the basement (not here!) and would dump their little carcasses in there. I found the bag one day, picked it up and knew immediately what I was holding. NOT a pleasant sight...
I don't like poisons because you don't know where the mouse will keel over. Traps in the basement/attic/under the kitchen sink are pretty effective. This inward migration is usually only a couple of weeks. If you can block off the holes to the outside, so much the better. Steel wool around pipes into bathrooms & kitchens is pretty good, the mice eat thru almost everything else including that expandable foam.
Cats aren't always effective, some just don't care.
 
Our youngest daughter was a jock (also a bully with sibs). Youngest son was designated "rodent control officer". One day he emptied a trap into a ziploc bag and waited in the hall with the light off. When she came out of her room he tossed the bag saying catch. She screamed bloody murder. I am sure she extracted a penance - I do not know what, but he enjoyed it so much! (No parental interference occurred.)
 
It was SO bad in my NEW house in VT that one night Gomez just sat up in the dark and emptied the trap every 5 minutes. 7 or so caught that night. Finally fell asleep and the last caught mouse was canabalized by morning. Ewww. Maybe self-inflicted trying to get out, I don't know, didn't do a necropsy...
 
i'd call a professional. pricey maybe. but if guests see mice? not good! and they can get into such tiny little places. i think holes as small as a dime.
i can't deal with them. atallatall
 
The Farmers Daughter said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for natural deterrents (cats aside) ?
Of course, cats are the best deterrent. But mice (and their bigger cousins who will remain nameless) hate, hate, hate peppermint. Apparently, it burns their eyes and nose so they avoid it altogether if they can.
What I do is take a spray bottle and fill with vinegar and add a few drops of both peppermint oil and oil of lavender. Both are expensive oils, but a little goes a long way.
Then spray profusely wherever they have an entrance. If someone is going under the house, give them the spray bottle to use on the pipes and any crevices.
The lavender keeps spiders away, too, although I usually keep a separate sprayer (with vinegar and lavender) to spray where their cobwebs have been.
Really, really makes a big difference, especially if you're diligent and spray whenever the opportunity presents itself.
 
I live in a large old rambeling home.I use some plug in the socket devices, (upstairs only)sticky mouse pads and Pumkin. Pumkin is the best so far. He's a reformed feral cat with one eye
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.He is very educated as he was born and raised for one year at Bridgewater College..I heard his major was dumpster diving.Mary in Bridgewater
 
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