When Mice Attack!

LOL! I know just what you mean. Each year I might as well stand on the back porch and hold up a "Welcome" sign for the mice.
The corn came down last week, but we have had two great mousers outside now for the last few years and I haven't seen any mice in the house for a long time. They do their job well. (Although on occasion I do see one scurrying into the pump house under the door!)

FYI - our cats eat very well also (cat food) and it doesn't affect their desire to hunt at all.

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I almost had a stroke yesterday morning; I was getting a glass of milk out of the fridge and turned towards the stove as I was turning on the light. The little bugger ran straight for the stove and almost knocked himself out trying to get under it-- I heard the "bang" as his head connected. Glad to know that Deputyhound will respond to my scream (NOT...)

I hope the cat I installed in the barn yesterday will catch them before I have a cardiac issue.

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If anyone's in Yamhill County area of Oregon, I have a really, really good mouser (also one of the sweetest, cuddliest cats I've ever met) that is looking for a home. :-)

Marcy

PS~So, according to the name, (American Pitbull Terrier) I'm assuming that a pitbull would be a good mouser? How do I train him to do that?! Or is it only a certain breed of terrier?

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Laci
a smaller terrier would be more efficient (therefore more effective) but an APBT should be at least as good as a good mousing cat. a cat that is a dedicated mouser will knock of 10 or more a day. a single terrier descent terrier during an all day outing in the barn & outbuildings will take out 5-10X that number. plus it'll take out other predators like raccon, weasels & mink. i know in oregon they are being used to take out nutria.
to start a terrier, a rat or 3 is probably best as their biting is usually what turns the terrier on. if you can borrow a repeating live trap or multiple squirrel/rabbit size cage traps. show the dog the caged rats and see if they show any interest. if the dog get excited & aggressive thats a good sign. if not don't worry too much. put the dog into an empty EXTRA large trash can (bigger than a 55gal drum) or similar container w/ a good sealing lid. then quickly dump the rats in and put on the lid. the close proximity should cause the rats to bite in defense. the dog should then bite back and hopefully turn on to killing all the rats. if this doesn't work, use a fresh trapped deat rat for a toy especially a substitute tug. get the dog excited about crunching the rats. then try the trash can thing again.

Corn was picked in the neighbor's fields this week, so expect the crowd anytime. We do all we can to keep the mice out, but a few always get through. All the house vents are closed. Every hole is stuffed with stainless steel scrubbing pad stuff and the cat is outside and hungry. For the few mice that do come inside, we use spring traps with peanut butter or cheese.