Harvest mouse. Signs of appearance and methods of control

• Posted by Liliya Terekhova
• Date: December 2, 2018

Almost all summer residents are faced with the problem of mice. And if in the summer rodents find food in the garden or vegetable garden, then with the onset of cold weather they move to country houses. It is easier to prevent their appearance than to deal with an ever-increasing family. Of course, they are excellent conspirators, but an attentive owner will immediately notice the appearance of uninvited guests.

• 2 Ways to control mice in the countryside in winter
• 3 Folk methods of fighting in the country

  3.1 Homemade traps

  3.1.1 Live trap

• 3.1.2 Homemade trap “Water Captivity”

Signs of mice

If mice have just appeared and have not yet become insolent enough to move calmly around the territory, their appearance can be determined by the following signs:

• bark on trees is damaged;
• fruits on the branches, vegetables and seedlings in the beds were gnawed;
• Minks appeared near the walls of outbuildings and a country house;
• the presence of droppings with a characteristic odor along the foundation outside and baseboards inside the building;
• cats and dogs behave strangely, as if they are tracking someone;
• eggs disappear from the chicken coop;
• paths or marks along the walls;
• holes in boxes and bags of grain products;
• holes in insulation and wall sheathing;
• damaged clothing, blankets and other textiles;
• At night you can hear rustling and squeaking.

If at least one of the above signs is present, you need to urgently take measures to destroy the uninvited guests. Mice reproduce very quickly, so delay will lead to a rapid increase in the population. It’s even better to take preventive measures before rodents appear.

Ways to deal with mice in the country in winter

In order not to fight rodents all winter, you need to follow some simple recommendations that will prevent mice from appearing in the house in winter:

• Carefully inspect the base of the building and caulk all the holes, after putting a rag moistened with vinegar or ammonia into them.
• Ventilation holes must be covered with metal grilles with fine mesh.
• In the summer season, it is recommended to plant mint and lemon balm around the perimeter of the house. Even in winter, the smell from these plants remains on the walls and scares away animals.
• Before the start of the winter season, carefully remove all debris, cut branches, especially the remains of grains and vegetables.
• There is no need to leave the harvested crop at the dacha, it will attract rodents.
• All edible products (especially grains) should be stored in glass, iron or plastic containers, but not in canvas bags. If there is no other option and you need to leave a large volume of grain for storage, the bag should be tied to the ceiling in the middle of the room. This is not a panacea, but it will help preserve the harvest for some time.

There are many methods of controlling rodents, but most of them are not suitable for a country house that is empty in winter.

Mice have an excellent sense of smell, so strong odors in the house can repel them. To do this, you can use pharmaceutical oils, colognes and dry herbs:

1. Peppermint oil is the best option. It can be purchased at any pharmacy for a nominal price. Pieces of cotton wool or rags must be moistened with the solution and placed in secluded corners of the house. If there are holes in the walls, the fragrant pieces should be pushed into the hole and sealed with foam on top.
2. Ledum branches with leaves need to be pushed into the hole.
3. Elderberry is tied around tree seedlings to protect the bark from pests. It is also planted near compost pits.
4. Chamomile should be scattered on the floor throughout the house. Place bunches of this aromatic plant near food supplies.
5. Wormwood, thanks to its pungent and persistent odor, drives away rodents both from the site in the summer and from the house in the winter.
6. Tomato tops placed around seedlings and shrubs will protect them well from rodents.
7. Bunches of garlic or blackcurrant branches with leaves hung around the house will scare them away.

   The plant is moderately poisonous to mammals, so small rodents will not settle where elderberry grows

Electronic repellers

These are small devices that connect to the network. They emit ultrasonic waves. Some repellers can automatically change the frequency, which will not allow rodents to adapt to uncomfortable conditions. Ultrasound has a negative effect on rats and mice, causing anxiety and panic. Radiation provokes nervous overexcitation. As a result, rodents rush out of the house.

To clean all rooms at the same time, it is recommended to purchase several devices and install them in different rooms. Considering that country houses are usually small in size, 1-2 repellers are enough. This technique gives results in the fight against rodents if there are no obstacles nearby: ultrasonic waves are absorbed by soft materials and do not pass through walls or furniture.

The repeller will not be able to destroy rodents. It only helps to drive small animals away from the country house. After getting rid of the mice, the device is turned off. To prevent the appearance of rodents, it is recommended to turn on repellers from time to time. If, along with this measure, you put your house and garden in order (clean it of trash and debris), the likelihood of mice appearing will noticeably decrease.

Folk methods of fighting in the country

The first thing that comes to mind in this situation is to get a cat. This method is suitable for the summer season, when someone constantly lives at the dacha. The cat is not always a good mouser and can cope with the problem. However, even the presence of a kitten in the house can frighten the mouse and form a blood clot in its stomach, which leads to the death of the individual.

A mixture of a tablespoon of melted fat with four tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of barium carbonate, rolled into balls and placed near the burrows, leads to the death of rodents. This mixture will not harm people or pets.

The ashes of trees contain alkali, which corrodes the paws and stomachs of mice, and they leave their homes.

Homemade traps

If all methods do not give the desired result and you have enough time, you can try to catch the rodents using homemade traps.

live trap

It’s not difficult to make a live trap with your own hands:

1. You need to take a glass bottle with a narrow neck (a beer bottle works well).
2. Add a few drops of sunflower oil (unrefined) and swirl thoroughly around its axis. The walls should be well lubricated.
3. After this, you need to fix the bottle at an angle, with the neck up, and build a platform to access the neck.

The fragrant oil lures the mouse and it climbs into the bottle, but can no longer get out along the slippery walls.

Mouse trap made from improvised means

It is necessary to release the mouse from the trap at a distance of several kilometers from the house, otherwise it will return.

Homemade trap “Water captivity”

Another option for a homemade trap:

1. Fill half a 10-liter bucket with water and place it in a place where rodents most often appear.
2. Take a thick wire or a round stick and put a tin can on it so that it rotates freely.
3. Attach a few pieces of cheese or sausage to the jar.
4. Place the structure on a bucket of water.
5. Build a platform for easy access to the top of the bucket.

The mouse will easily walk along the platform, but when it steps on the jar, it will turn and the lover of delicious food will end up in the water

In this way, you can collect up to a dozen mice per night.

Physical methods of killing mice

There are physical methods for killing mice:

1. The most common method of catching rodents is a mousetrap. But it is not always effective. It happens that a mouse may eat the bait, but the trap will not work.
2. A live trap differs from a mouse trap in that the animal remains alive and simply cannot escape into the wild. It is a container with a trigger mechanism, which is activated by a hook with bait. When the mouse pulls the bait, the mechanism is triggered and the exits are closed.
3. An electronic trap is a container that runs on batteries or mains. The animal comes to the smell of the treat placed inside. A special indicator detects when a rodent enters the container. At the same time, all exits are closed and a fatal discharge of current strikes the pest. This device is safe for children and animals, as it has very small cone-shaped holes. If the device is poorly closed, it immediately turns off.
4. You can buy a glue trap ready-made or buy special glue and make it yourself. The glue is non-toxic and does not have a pronounced odor. The only inconvenience of use is the possibility of getting dirty. To apply the product you can use tiles, plastic, thick plywood, cardboard, glass. Apply glue to the surface in strips at a distance of 1–2 cm from each other. You need to put a treat in the center of the trap. The best option is to use cardboard or plywood, which can then be thrown away.

Photo gallery: physical methods of killing mice

The mechanical mousetrap needs to be recharged and cleaned

It is better to choose bait for a live trap with a strong aroma to attract a rodent

It's easy to make your own glue trap

Electric shock instantly strikes the rodent

Prevention of invasion

How to deal with pests in a country house, private house or utility room? For prevention you should:

• eliminate all cracks and cracks on the floor and walls, cover the ventilation with special grilles;
• install screens on windows;
• reliably protect food products in sealed containers made of plastic, glass or metal;
• Maintain cleanliness in all areas.

When performing all this work, you should be very careful, since even a small gap in the wall, on the floor or at the junction of the screens and windows is enough for the animals to get inside your home. An important point is maintaining cleanliness in the premises. These animals have an excellent sense of smell, so if there is edible food in accessible places, it will be immediately destroyed by representatives of the mouse family.

In order to quickly eliminate rodents from your home, you can use mint. They cannot stand the aroma of this plant, so all places that smell of mint are unsuitable for them to live. You can use not only the leaves, but also peppermint oil. At the same time, you need to change the grass quite often. This is due to the fact that as soon as the premises stop smelling of mint, animals will immediately get inside. This method is effective not only for preventing an invasion, but will also help if you are tormented by pests.

Chemicals for eliminating mice

And yet, chemical agents (poisons) are considered the most effective. They differ in speed of action and release forms. There are fast-acting drugs and means of cumulative action . Poison for rodents is available in the form of powder, gel, tablets or solution with which the grain is soaked.

Video: using a chemical rodent repellent

Poisons such as “Rat Death”, “Zookoumarin”, “Hunter Anti-Rodent”, “Nutcracker” cause signs of suffocation and force the individual to go outside, which in the future will eliminate the need to search for the source of the unpleasant odor.

The poison causes suffocation and subsequent death of mice

There are also drugs with a mummifying effect, such as “OtRats”, “Ratsid”, “Storm”, “Goliath”; when such poison is used, animal corpses dry out and do not decompose.

Rat Poison has mummifying properties

The drug “Baktorodencid” is also popular, which through several representatives infects the entire population with murine typhus. The disadvantage of this product is the presence of decomposing corpses with a characteristic odor.

Bactorodencid infects the entire population with murine typhus

Chemical control agents are the best option, but are not suitable in the presence of animals and small children. Because they can lead to poisoning, including death.

A sulfur smoke bomb will quickly rid you of mice and rats

An effective and quick means of getting rid of not only mice and rats, but also moles and insects.

The method is more suitable for a cellar or garage, since the sulfur dioxide gas released when using a sulfur smoke bomb is dangerous to humans. However, sulfur bombs can also be used in residential areas. Of course, household members will have to change their habitat for several days and remove all edible products from the house, as well as clothes, bed linen, towels and personal hygiene items, but after ventilation, everyone will be able to safely return to their home, already free of mice.

Sulfur smoke bomb - instructions for use in the cellar and greenhouse We tell you how to use a sulfur bomb when treating the cellar and other buildings on the site.

The method is effective, first of all, because when treated with a saber, the poisonous gas released fills the entire space, and therefore mice and rats simply cannot hide from it and will die.

Ultrasound devices

The operating principle of the devices is based on the release of ultrasonic waves, which are not perceived by the human ear. However, in mice the waves cause a feeling of severe discomfort. After a month, the rodents will leave the area.

The only drawback of such devices is that the presence of furniture interferes with the passage of waves and efficiency decreases.

Ultrasound devices can be powered by a power outlet or batteries.

There are many devices on the market designed for different areas and operating conditions: “Electrocat”, “Grad”, “Typhoon”, “Tornado”. When purchasing, you must carefully study the instructions and choose the best option.

Ultrasonic devices can be used outdoors.