Mice prevention
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: DonVathome
09-May-23
How do you keep mice away? Moth balls do not work, in the woods trapping/killing has minimal affects (to many). Cat is not an option.
What chemical deterrents have you used successfully?
From: Catscratch
09-May-23
I've used some rat poison blocks before that seemed to help.
The thing I like the most is a bucket trap. It's very effective and very low maintenance.
From: Ambush
09-May-23
In and around the wall tent, it's bucket traps and two regular mouse traps in each corner of the tent. Never heard of any chemical that works, but there are some sound generaters advertised.
From: Tracker
09-May-23
Peppermint Oil is what I use around my shed and outside furnace handlers.
From: Boatman71
09-May-23
Dryer sheets work well.
From: Lost Arra
09-May-23
Fresh Cab packets have worked well for me in a hunting camper and under the hood of an old truck. Available at Tractor Supply. You can't toss them in the garage and expect them to work, They keep mice out of enclosed spaces and from building nests.
I recently got complacent and had a nest on the radiator of my tractor along with a chewed overflow tube. The tractor stays in a shop with the hood up now and a Fresh Cab packet for added insurance.
From: Shiloh
09-May-23
Anyone tried Irish Spring soap?
From: Catscratch
09-May-23
A farmer friend swears by the rat repellent sold at Orschelns. Made to be placed in the engine compartment but probably can be put in a shed too.
From: x-man
09-May-23
Fresh Cab
From: Brotsky
09-May-23
I tried dryer sheets once...damn mice made nests out of them! Don't use Bounce if you try them:)
From: CBFROMND
09-May-23
I use those tamper proof housings with a block of poison in each one around the perimeter of my house.. they definitely chew on them and will leave in search of water when poison kicks in... I have an old camper that I intend to fix up one day... I have a 5 gallon bucket with a plastic ramp I got off of Amazon with a little dab of peanut butter... The end of the ramp collapses and into the bucket with some antifreeze they go.. antifreeze also acts as a type of preservative if you don't get to the bucket for a bit.. By far the best mouse trap I have found has a grey body and a red bar that you pull up and it's set.. very reusable and doesn't snap back at you!
From: RonP
09-May-23
around home in my crawlspace and under the hood of my vehicles, a bright LED worklight is best. they do not like bright light.
otherwise, i trap them.
imo, poison does not work long term. poison attracts them and dead rodents often attract other rodents.
when hunting, i just deal with it. it sucks at times.
From: GFL
09-May-23
A24 co2 traps in my shop. Google it and watch a video. Basically shoots them in the head.
From: B2K
09-May-23
I was plagued with them in my camper. I tried everything - fabric sheets, fresh cab, peppermint oil, mothballs and a electronic noise emitter. I tried to seal everything I possible could under and within the camper. Still had mice. My problem was that I had snap traps inside the camper with peanut butter on them and they continued to draw them in. Once I removed the traps and removed the jacks I had under the camper to stabilize it, my problems were gone. I also put a circle around the tongue jack of 12" tall stainless steel flashing to prevent them from climbing that. That left only the tires to climb up. I do put mothballs near them and under the entire camper, just in case. I also have a baitbox with mouse poison in it about 30' away from the camper. I feel it's better to have a little distance from it so that it occupies them away from the area you're trying to keep them out of. Lesson of the story is that nothing will keep them out if something is attracting them in.
From: DonVathome
09-May-23
I have had no noticeable luck with poison. This is a remote place I am at 1-2 times a month and it is surrounded by woods so I need a chemical, no way to kill them fast enough. I have seen the CO2 trap seems really really good for home use. Snap traps work good and so do bucket traps but again not what I need now.
From: Buckdeer
09-May-23
I put irish spring out and I quit catching them in my bucket traps.The block bait is liked by dogs and the only way to save them after they eat is to give tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide.And it is very expensive if you take to emergency vet.I was worried about them chewing wires on tractor.So what I found out was that some auto and vehicle wires insulation in made with vegetable oil and this is what gets them to eat insulation.I checked and the insulation on my JD tractor was made with petroleum
From: Mule Power
09-May-23
An old timer told me to put little bottles of peppermint oil in the garage and in my boat to keep mice out. Been doing it ever since. Sure smells better than moth balls.
From: Aspen Ghost
09-May-23
If it's a building then the most effective way is to seal it up . No holes/gaps = no mice.
From: Chandler Hobo
09-May-23
had excellent luck with my travel trailer using iris spring soap
From: Teeton
09-May-23
Bucket trap with anti freeze. Wooks for me. Like stated above, the anti freeze pickles them, so no smell. Works 365, won't freeze in winter. I cant see this not working anywhere. I can not be at camp for as long as 3 months, it works.
From: Woods Walker
09-May-23
X4 on the bucket traps. That's what I use in my barn and it does put a dent in them.
I don't like using poison because I don't want it in the food chain. We have a many hawks and owls around our place as well as feral cats, foxes and coyotes that I do not want to harm. When I see one drowned in a bucket, I just throw them over the back fence and let the critters eat!
From: creed
09-May-23
I have been fighting them for years. $1800 of damage to my wife's car, $3500 to a new boat that was in an enclosure and covered with a very good cover.
From: DonVathome
10-May-23
creed WOW, and suspect you hate mice more then me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes
Very very very good idea about antifreeze! Smell gets REALLY bad fast in summer.
A guy storing a boat in my barn mention Granda gus peppermint repellent sand said it worked really good.
I am building a gravel parking area for RV's in woods at a property I own, and I am hoping for ideas to help with mice, a place I visit once a month.
Bucket traps, I have them for chipmunks and catch a few mice.
Everyone please detail your bucket trap layout.
From: Jebediah
10-May-23
Fresh cab has worked well for us, for enclosed spaces/compartments, and it smells good in my opinion.
From: TK
10-May-23
Have been using this setup for at least 10 yrs around my camp. I put “Just One Bite” bait in them. Have 5 of them I keep baited. I never kill them off but it does keep them in check.
From: TK
10-May-23
Have been using this setup for at least 10 yrs around my camp. I put “Just One Bite” bait in them. Have 5 of them I keep baited. I never kill them off but it does keep them in check.
From: TK
10-May-23
Have been using this setup for at least 10 yrs around my camp. I put “Just One Bite” bait in them. Have 5 of them I keep baited. I never kill them off but it does keep them in check.
From: BTM
10-May-23
I believe what some of you call a bucket trap is known as a "Tin Cat" in Canada. My guide used one to great effectiveness on a moose hunt until the mounties arrived and charged him with numerous violations: 1. Baiting. 2. Killing before legal hunting hours. 3. Illegal weaponry. 4. Killing inside an enclosure. 5. No tags. 6. Didn’t salvage the meat. (:
From: Hank_S
10-May-23
I use a potato peeler and Irish Spring soap (original)...use the peeler to spread the soap all around the edges of my wall tent (inside and out).
Doing this, I've had no problems with mice the last 4 years!
From: Catscratch
10-May-23
This is the bucket trap I'm referring to. I keep it in my shop and use water instead of antifreeze. I think mice are attracted to the smell of dead mice. It may go a week or two without catching one, then once I've got one I've got 10. Either they are attracted to the death smell, or they come in waves. Either way I catch a ton more with the bucket then I did running spring traps. Plus it's a lot easier.
From: Inshart
10-May-23
Had a skunk that was living under a dock. I used ammonia, the skunk left and never returned. Never tried it for mice........(really cheap at the local grocery store)......... might work?
From: Ambush
10-May-23
I tried all the drier sheets and scents to keep mice out of my travel trailer with no luck. I finally spent two days sealing up every possible entrance and have had no mice inside after three years stored in the same place as before. I found what I believe was the preferred entrance, which was the cable rod on the slide out. A buddy that has the exact same trailer was getting mice at his cabin lot and he sealed the cable rod on his and no more mice.
I think things like soap and scent oils may be a very short term solution for a truck in camp but it definitely wears off. And yes, I've had mice make nests with dryer sheets and pick insulation. If that's working for you, then it's likely because there are no mice there. But it does work for tigers. Never had a problem tiger around the tent when using dryer sheets, just mice.
From: BTM
10-May-23
This is the "Tin Cat" my guide rigged up on a BC moose hunt. (The shiny thing in the middle is a plastic water bottle set to spin on a piece of coat hanger wire.) Smear on a bit of peanut butter and listen to the splashing during the night. He also told me that if you don't put in enough water to drown the mice, you'll end up with only one mouse in the bucket--a very FAT one. Survival of the fittest!
From: LKH
10-May-23
I trap around the house since we live surrounded by alfalfa on 3 sides and brush/swamp on the forth. What I do is glue two yellow pad mouse traps to a short (15") piece of 1x2. Be sure to put the pads facing out on each end.
Place against the foundation with a larger piece of wood/brick outside that. You don't even need bait. Got one last night and 2 the night before.
This only works if you are around.
From: deerhunter72
10-May-23
Irish Spring soap, as others have mentioned, really helps for some reason.
From: Groundhunter
10-May-23
I run pvc pipe pieces about 3 feet long around house and cabin. Baited ... Fox killed my killer cat Got to get another one from the farm.
From: Woods Walker
10-May-23
If you use peanut butter as bait, try mixing it with bacon grease. It lasts a lot longer, the scent lingers better, and you have to make/eat BACON to get the grease!
From: cnelk
10-May-23
I’ve seen this online. Supposed to work pretty good
Baking soda, Cornbread mix, and Tupperware Once you’ve got your cornbread mix (Jerry suggests Jiffy brand with real honey), baking soda, and Tupperware, you’ll want to cut a small hole in the side of the container for the mice/rats to go in.
Mix and place Just mix cornbread mix and baking soda in equal parts, put it in the container with the hole, and watch your mice/rat problem vanish.
So why does this work so well? The answer is quite brilliant; it has to do with the rat’s anatomy and is also the reason this trick won’t harm any other animals.
Rats can’t fart or burp. So when the baking soda expands, the gas has nowhere to go and kills the mice/rat.
From: Woods Walker
10-May-23
Cornbread with real honey, and I have to give it to mice and rats? YIKES!!! Maybe I'll just make a double batch...or triple....
From: Cheesehead Mike
11-May-23
My bucket trap, I call it "The Repeater"
My bucket trap, I call it "The Repeater"
I've tried dryer sheets and had mice make nests out of them. I've tried Irish Spring soap and had mice chew the soap. I now use a combination of a bucket trap with antifreeze, Tomcat poison blocks that I throw around along the walls in my garage and pure peppermint oil. I use 35mm film canisters or other small plastic containers, drill a hole in the lid, stuff with cotton balls, pull some of the cotton out of the hole like a wick and fill container with peppermint oil. You have to replenish the peppermint oil occasionally. It has worked very well to keep mice out of my 66 Chevelle Super Sport and camper and it smells good. In the past I had mice get into the headliner in my Chevelle, chew holes in it and they had nests with dryer sheets they had actually moved into the headliner. In the past I had a lot of mice getting into my camper and the peppermint oil has been effective. I've also put the peppermint oil under the hood of a snowmobile that is stored outside under a lean-to and it kept the mice out. I'm also a member of some classic car forums where this is a common topic of conversation and a lot of people have had good luck with peppermint oil. Just my two cents worth...
From: WV Mountaineer
11-May-23
I love it!!!!!!
From: Woods Walker
11-May-23
Mike: That's exactly how I make mine. Only I got a bit fancier with the ramp. I cut a piece of 1X3 to run at about a 60 degree angle up to the rim, and then I cut a notch in the bottom of the board so it fits on the edge of the bucket.
From: TK
16-Mar-24
Have been using this setup for at least 10 yrs around my camp. I put “Just One Bite” bait in them. Have 5 of them I keep baited. I never kill them off but it does keep them in check.
From: Jebediah
16-Mar-24
Used Fresh Cab in a boat I once had. In the compartments. Seemed to work well, and in my opinion the smell was great. Cedar or something?
From: steve
16-Mar-24
I tried everything!. bucket trap with peanut butter for bait! I use the pink antifreeze in it and catch them all winter.
From: fdp
16-Mar-24
We use Tom Cat from Tractor Supply.
From: drycreek
16-Mar-24
I don’t have a problem at home, I have two killer Tom cats and a Jack Russell. Rats and mice don’t stand a chance. In the woods (permanent bow blinds) I have always used the insect preventive cattle ear tags to keep wasps out, it seems they may keep mice out too.
From: TonyBear
16-Mar-24
Per our exterminator sealing all entry points is about the only way to address. Traps, poison, repellants just address it temporarily.
We were re-fletching some arrows inside on a cold day earlier this year and my son saw a mouse scurry across the floor into a corner. After a few missed stomps I told him just to use the arrow, that worked.
From: Beendare
16-Mar-24
Let a bunch of Rattlesnakes go inside your tent at night….just watch where you step when you go out to take a pee
From: Fisher
20-Mar-24
We live in a rural wooded area. To prevent mice from damaging stored vehicles and equipment we put out mouse poison all year. Our new tractor was having electrical problems - they chewed wires and made a nest inside the dash cowling - $500 damage.
From: Catscratch
20-Mar-24
Ugggg Fisher! That makes me cringe! Have had to deal with the same scenario a hundred times. I feel for ya!
From: Buckdeer
20-Mar-24
I made sure JD used petroleum products to make their wiring insulation alot of vehicles use vegetable oil and I wonder if this is what makes them eat it. I use the bucket traps,if you have animals don't use the rat blocks or bar bait,they like to eat it and it cost 1000.00 at emergency vet to save them.
From: APauls
20-Mar-24
Tin Cat is definitely always working in the garage. They eat each other in there too. So it's really limitless. It just gets disgusting to clean out every now and then. I also have a few of the plastic mouse traps set up that are amazing. They'll sit there for 12 months and just don't miss.
From: Fisher
20-Mar-24
Catscratch - Wow, why so many times? What have you done to prevent it? We had only one other instance of chewed wires. Many years ago on an ATV. That is why I am diligent about the mouse poison. Buckdeer - I met a local guy who had wiring in his new truck chewed by a groundhog. How did he know? The truck was parked outside at his weekend lake house. When the truck would not start he opened the hood. The groundhog was chewing and was reluctant to leave the engine compartment. He showed me a photo of the groundhog in the engine compartment. $2,500 damage. I told him that i have read that some wiring insulation contains vegetable oil and that mice and other critters chew the wire because they smell the vegetable oil. Coincidentally, the guy told me that he owns a company that makes plastic for wire insulation. He uses soybean oil as a plasticizer. Honestly, he did not make the connection until i explained it to him.
From: DP
21-Mar-24
I also use the pvc feeders use 3or4''for red squirrel and chipmunks. bar bait only. change up on mode of chemical I buy an 8lb box at Farm n Fleet after that is gone I buy a different brand. peanut butter bucket works well in side.. use rv antifreeze if you have pets
From: Zlatagor
18-Apr-24
Just hopping in here like a jackrabbit to chime in on the topic. When it comes to "pest control," we all know that every nook and cranny of the outdoors comes with its own fair share of challenges. That said, it’s part of the adventure, right?
