Getting rid of mice/rats in barn - please help.

[hengal]

Outside of getting barn cats, I really need help with a major mouse problem we're having this year. THEN - last week I was out in one of the chicken coops at night closing them up and saw what I'm sure was a rat climbing up a wall. OMG - Now I'm not a weanie by any stretch, but I can assure you I ran screaming the entire way back up to the house. We have been at our property for 15 years and have only seen a rat one time several years ago. It was dead outside (at the time we had outdoor cats) I know my neighbors have had trouble in the past but she hasn't mentioned it in the last couple of years.

I don't even know where to begin - other than keeping the goat feed and chicken feed off the ground. Would rats burrow under the concrete of the barn? I'm beginning to feel like we have been overtaken by critters that are NOT supposed to live in the barn. I would greatly appreciate any and all suggestions. Thank you.

[MichaelK!]

The best mouse trap I ever used was a 5 gallon bucket with 4" of water in the bottum.

I poked holes up at the rim and shoved a stiff length of heavy wire through. I trimmed a rectangular peice of cardboard and shoved the wire through it such that one edge rested on the rim of the bucket. It hinges back and forth like a flap. The opposite edge was baited with peanut butter.

As mice scamper across the surface of the cardboard, their weigh causes them to tip the cardboard over, spilling them into the water. They then drown in 5 minutes or so.

I counter weight the rim edge of the cardboard so that once the mouse tips it over, it will return to it's original position, reseting itself for the next mouse. Caught 6 the first time I positioned it.

I suppose you can scale it up to become a rat trap, but I don't have a rat problem so I haven't tried.

[BigHenTinyBrain]

I've heard of success doing essentially the same thing that MichaelK suggested, only with a corncob or a piece of pipe on the wire- something that rolled when the rodent tried to balance.

You used to have outdoor cats- are they no longer an option?

[simi-steading]

I use the repeating mouse trap too... It's hard to beat them..

Instead of cardboard, I use a can with a coat hanger through the middle and then through the lip of the bucket..

I've caught several in one night... Have a friend that has one in his barn, he said in one week he had 30 some odd mice he caught...

Here's a simple basic idea for one... Bottle, can, paper plate, cardboard, what ever you want to use to put the peanut butter on should work for you.

YouTube

[hengal]

That is awesome!! Thank you all! We've got tons of 5 gallon buckets in the barn. Going to try this tonight! Hope it will work on rats as well!

[simi-steading]

Don't forget to lay a board against it they can climb up, and you'll want to empty it often.. it can get smelly fast if you don't.

[hengal]

Originally Posted by BigHenTinyBrain

I've heard of success doing essentially the same thing that MichaelK suggested, only with a corncob or a piece of pipe on the wire- something that rolled when the rodent tried to balance.

You used to have outdoor cats- are they no longer an option?

I don't have any more outside cats but I am seriously thinking of getting a few for the barn. The last time I had them I would leave the barn door open a bit for them to come in and out. Unfortunatly, so did a coon family and they made a nest in the rafters, right above where my goat pen is now. I guess if I got more and they wanted to ever go outside, they would learn how to get out through the goat pen eventually. Of course, what happens when we have to open the barn up to get the mower out, etc? Not sure how to keep them in there until they learn that's were they are supposed to be?

[watcher]

Originally Posted by hengal

I don't have any more outside cats but I am seriously thinking of getting a few for the barn. The last time I had them I would leave the barn door open a bit for them to come in and out. Unfortunatly, so did a coon family and they made a nest in the rafters, right above where my goat pen is now. I guess if I got more and they wanted to ever go outside, they would learn how to get out through the goat pen eventually. Of course, what happens when we have to open the barn up to get the mower out, etc? Not sure how to keep them in there until they learn that's were they are supposed to be?

Outside cats are a major killer of wildlife, go with the bucket trap instead.

[jennigrey]

We get feral cats from the trap-spay/neuter-release group. With unwanted ferals, you can't really tame them and make them pets. So, next best thing is to trap them in a live trap, put them under, alter them, then re-release them back to their familiar territory to live out the remainder of their (usually short) lives. Sometimes, however, that territory is no longer an option. Such as a warehouse that is slated to be demolished or a farm that is being turned into a subdivision. In those instances, the feral rescue group tries to find another barn or warehouse to place the ferals into.

We took in a family group of three young adult females that had been spayed. I made a sort of walk-in kennel in the barn and kept the cats there for three weeks, feeding them. They don't get tame at all but they do learn the smells and sounds of their new home. Then when you release them to live in the barn they are less likely to simply disappear.

Make a little cat-sized door in the side of your barn or in the bottom of the people-door. The ferals can come and go. I leave a bowl of dry kibble out for the ferals, but deep inside the barn. So far no coons have found it. I have to admit that coons can be an issue when you have barn cats.

However, if you have chickens, you have vermin. And I'd rather have cats and the occasional coon than vermin. I usually have coon problems in the winter, when food is harder to come by. I usually have to put out a live trap a few times each winter, when the cat food starts disappearing too rapidly (usually accompanied by muddy footprints all over the food bowl). Sometimes I catch a barn kitty and just let her go again. But more often I catch the coon. The cats learn not to enter the trap. If you do catch a barn kitty, you can take that opportunity to give her a small bowl of tuna with deworming powder mixed into it, before re-releasing her.

[am1too]

Originally Posted by simi-steading

I use the repeating mouse trap too... It's hard to beat them..

Instead of cardboard, I use a can with a coat hanger through the middle and then through the lip of the bucket..

I've caught several in one night... Have a friend that has one in his barn, he said in one week he had 30 some odd mice he caught...

Here's a simple basic idea for one... Bottle, can, paper plate, cardboard, what ever you want to use to put the peanut butter on should work for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_pzhzVaJX4

Clever!!! I have heard of putting the peanut butter just out of reach on the inside of the container. I would use metal instead of plastic.

[am1too]

The best thing to do is keep things clean. My feed is in metal containers. No food source no critters. Also keep the weeds and grass short, especially around buildings. Cover is also and issue.

[Tabitha]

Some semi feral cats moved into our barn, DH feeds them some, we have not seen a mouse since.

[Ernie]

I would be an advocate of a few barn cats, but ultimately if you don't want cats ... you HAVE to take away the food supply of the rats.

What we did on our previous homestead (don't have the problem now) was to put all the grain in sealed metal barrels. With lids that clamped down. All spills were promptly cleaned up.

If there's no food for the rats and mice, there will be no rats and mice.

[Bearsfan]

Hav-a-hart cages will catch rats, five gallon buckets will get mice as long as the inside walls aren't all scratched up. I throw some seeds in the bottom to attract them and set it against a wall, they climb in and can't climb out.

[watcher]

Originally Posted by jennigrey

We get feral cats from the trap-spay/neuter-release group. With unwanted ferals, you can't really tame them and make them pets. So, next best thing is to trap them in a live trap, put them under, alter them, then re-release them back to their familiar territory to live out the remainder of their (usually short) lives. Sometimes, however, that territory is no longer an option. Such as a warehouse that is slated to be demolished or a farm that is being turned into a subdivision. In those instances, the feral rescue group tries to find another barn or warehouse to place the ferals into.

Actually the best thing to do is trap them and euthanize them. Not only are their lives short its pathetic and causes the deaths of thousands of song birds, snakes, frogs and other wildlife.

I used to have 'barn cats' until I read up on the feral cat problem and started noticing around my place the populations of rabbits and quail were way down and I still had plenty of mice and rats. IMO, trapping, poison or a good terrier left in the barn for a day is a better option than a cat.

[simi-steading]

Originally Posted by Bearsfan

Hav-a-hart cages will catch rats, five gallon buckets will get mice as long as the inside walls aren't all scratched up. I throw some seeds in the bottom to attract them and set it against a wall, they climb in and can't climb out.

This is why you put about 6" of water in the bottom of the bucket.. they drown and can't climb back out..

[Maura]

When we had chickens we kept all of the grain in metal garbage cans. Since the ducks and chickens all free ranged, we did not leave food out all the time, just put it out once or twice a day. If you don't stop feeding them you will never get rid of them.

[Chad.C]

Originally Posted by MichaelK!

The best mouse trap I ever used was a 5 gallon bucket with 4" of water in the bottum.

I poked holes up at the rim and shoved a stiff length of heavy wire through. I trimmed a rectangular peice of cardboard and shoved the wire through it such that one edge rested on the rim of the bucket. It hinges back and forth like a flap. The opposite edge was baited with peanut butter.

As mice scamper across the surface of the cardboard, their weigh causes them to tip the cardboard over, spilling them into the water. They then drown in 5 minutes or so.

I counter weight the rim edge of the cardboard so that once the mouse tips it over, it will return to it's original position, reseting itself for the next mouse. Caught 6 the first time I positioned it.

I suppose you can scale it up to become a rat trap, but I don't have a rat problem so I haven't tried.

My dad used this method it works great

[motdaugrnds]

Simple really. Just keep all your food in metal cans with tight-fitting lids and get a few "black rat" snakes to live on your place.

[hengal]

Originally Posted by am1too

Also keep the weeds and grass short, especially around buildings. Cover is also and issue.

This is a VERY good point! There is a lot of overgrowth on the east side (back) of the barn this year - lots of hiding spaces I imagine. Thanks for that reminder