Help - Mice!

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KellieH
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:26 pm
Location: Gold Coast, Australia

Help - Mice!

Post by KellieH »

Ok so as we all know our little feathered friends can be quite messy, and during the day i'm not home to clean it up... We also feed them loads of yummy things....

We have not long ago moved to the beach... With this move, and my little darlings diet/mess we have had a mouse problem.. Now I now they are not good for the bird, and I thought I had succeeded in erradicating them, one by one (caught 5), yay, I recently, very very early in the morning got up in the dark to go to work and when I went to do bird chores found 3 furry little critters in his cage!!! YUK YUK YUK!!!

Now, I know it is inhumane, but honestly, everyone does it, The little buggers have smartened up to traps, I find them empty and peanut butterless every time... I now really want to resort to bait blocks to rid the problem, because frankly, my bird is more important to me!! The problem is, i dont want them to be crawling around after eating the block, and going anywhere near the bird... And my neighbours have cats...

I cant get the cage off the stand and hang it because we rent.. So it has to stay on the stand... And the rest of the house is spotless, just his area when we are not home is not...

The horrible thing is that they really only started to pop up when the lady moved out next door!! I could only imagine what they had over there..... Anyhow, lets not think about that...

Can anyone please offer me some suggestions on how to deal with this... Other than move!! Its really starting to bother me.. I think the bird has given up on them!!
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ryelle
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Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:25 am
Location: N.E England

Post by ryelle »

maybe you should try HUMANE traps. not because you love them lol.. but if they are outwitting you with the ones that kill them then having them climb in to a box they cant get out of might work out better? also... peanut butter? pleh =P mice love chocolate.. better still.. chocolate covered raisins (my mams house backs on to a field and we used to get a lot in the garden and some decided our kitchen cupboards were better :x ).

hm i cant think of a way that you could stop your birds food getting to the floor unless you bought some new food dishes? like http://www.24parrot.com/Scatterless-Seed-Cup--3-Sizes-P37377a/


i'm a rat owner but i think id be horrified if i found wild mice in my birds cage!!
Fah
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Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:00 am
Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post by Fah »

Myself and a few others had this problem a long time ago. We gave up using traps and went to possibly the best ticket around.

Its a product by "tomcat". Green waxy all weather blocks, bitter for animals, heaven for mice and rats.

Effectively, its a food bait, which you place in mouse containers (even though its bitter for animals etc, accidents (animals thinking its a toy, or just stupid) do happen. They are just something (you can make them yourself) for small critters like mice to enter, access the bait.. and leave.

They will eat away at it and take the rest back to the nest. The compound humanely and quickly stops the respiratory system, so all that happens is they breath slower, then as it slows and slows they fall asleep and pass away once the lungs stop working.

Just because you run a clean ship... doesnt mean your neighbour does. So you have to keep it up on a limited basis once the main attack is over. Its cheap, effective as hell, and safe not to mention "nice" on the little fellas.

Have not seen a single mouse dropping in one year now.
Fah
Posts: 686
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:00 am
Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post by Fah »

Another reason I dont use traps is I cant see a more humane way of putting them out of their misery than the way the blocks do. It also means it stops the problem at the nest... not just a few wondering mice on food patrols.

A bucket of the stuff might set you back worst off maybe $50. But will last about two years. $25 a year is a cheap fix in anyones book.

Note: Bad neighbours! I found my backdoor neightbour is shocking on their upkeep on their lawns etc... so mice heaven behinds sheds etc. I made up a few disposable mice feed stations (from pvc pipe) and load up it up with food (if dry it lasts like 3 months in open air) and throw it into the sides of their shed, so covertly stopping them there, and I do that once every year for the hell of it.

***In regards to the cat problem, we have many around us as well, never once have we seen a dead mouse around, which means, as they start having the effect, they stay in the nest as if they would in rest.. and just never come out. We did find a very large nest once, with over 10 skeletal remains of mice, all in the two main chambers so im pretty sure it kicks in fast, and makes them too tired to leave again.

I have found dead mice in my aviary (back when it was a problem) as my conures had obviously seen them in the feed tray and "gone to work on them". The last thing you need is a fight between them and a nasty nip from a mouse on the birds foot etc, causing infection and god knows what else in your pet bird.
ryelle
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:25 am
Location: N.E England

Post by ryelle »

o.k... i wouldnt go as far as killing a mouse that lived in my neighbours shed or garden. thats shocking :shock:
Fah
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Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:00 am
Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post by Fah »

ryelle wrote:o.k... i wouldnt go as far as killing a mouse that lived in my neighbours shed or garden. thats shocking :shock:


So... you would rather your neighbour be refuge to diseased pests that are by more means responsible for having to take domestic pets to the vet due to illnes (from being eaten, played with, or being aroudn their droppings)?

The idea of having mice running wild in a suburban environment is alone shocking, in modern day Australian standard of living anyway so dont take the high road and gasp at such a simple situation of the erradication of a pest. You make it sound like im targeting their singlular pet or something.... not a nest of mice a few meters from MY property. Believe it or not, but here in Australia... mice are a serious issue in every regard and not to be taken lightly.

I guess you would use harsh language or click your teeth at them so they dont come to your side of the fence eh?
TD
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Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2008 10:54 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by TD »

I'm with Fah on this one, I have zero tolerance when it comes to mice. The guy who lives up the back is a collector of junk, and mice have been attracted in plague proportions to the point where I had to stop breeding birds, sell them, knock the aviary down and build new mouse proof ones. Once mice come, you get rats, and about a year ago I caught 20 rats on the space of 2 weeks. They are pests and unfortunately if they threaten the wellbeing of my birds, they have to be eradicated.
julie
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Post by julie »

Are you able to get one of those stands that the cage hangs from (not sure what type of cage you have) they hang the cage out further from the stand and then you could put some stuff on the bottom of the stand so the mice don't climb up.
KellieH
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:26 pm
Location: Gold Coast, Australia

Post by KellieH »

Wow guys, thank you so much for all your replys!! I actually have the TomCat stuff on my window sil ready for use but i didnt wanna put it out before reading some replys!! Think i'll start this afternoon,,, they are really bugging me... Give thi birds cage a real good scrub down and go from there...

I've caught two in boxes and taken them up to the sand dunes and let them go.. But they only young ones, the older ones too smart!!

His cage is a large one, almost 1m high by .6m wide, so I thinkits gonna have to stay on the frame it is...

Thanks again... keep the ideas comin!! :D :D
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Fah
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Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post by Fah »

As TD said, its a scarey and fast progression. Two years ago we had to help remove nearly a tonne of concrete, as a combination of mice and rats had eaten though the underpart of the concrete base... yes.. they actually knaw through concrete to get at what they need if nothing stops them.

We have many cats around, and get along with many of the neighbours who have them.. never once have they had a problem with poisoning in the time we have used them.
bastard_x5
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Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:31 am
Location: Canada

Post by bastard_x5 »

i agree with Fah , mice are pests no matter how you look at it, wether you have birds or not they can be a real problem if not dealt with quickly i had the same problem 3 years ago with my ringneck but it wasnt mice IT WAS RATS! one smart one to be exact and since the house was spot less and we werent sure how it kept getting in i decided to leave my a camcorder by the cage...we concluded that it came outside from our chicken pen, climbed our wires to the roof got in from there as we have cables for the satalite, the door is not always closed properly and it got in from there, not only that it was a mother who was nesting, now i agree theres humane ways to go one about this..and no i dont hate mice and rats, my friend keeps one as a pet and its the smartest thing ever and so clean...im talking about the ones you get from fields or streets, they can carry diseases, ruin wiring, walls carpets, and one actually went as far as to kill a chicken we had...anyways the faster its taken care of the better. ...on the other hand having a cat might help :P bubbles catches one every month or so and brings it to me :S :shock: lol we dont have any in our house...but i suspect he wonders far at night to get them for me..something i dont understand lol
bastard_x5
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:31 am
Location: Canada

Post by bastard_x5 »

i also wanted to add i know this is offtopic but this year we decided to build a pond, cute little thing in our back yard not to big, we ''had'' 10 goldfish fish growing in it..even went to the lake and picked some water lilies and theyve grown fine....we even put chicken wire on it

but guess what we have to also worry about here in north america lol those bloody raccoons! ate every thing in the pond DESTROYED all our water lillys and dragged the chicken wire to tease us! urrrgah i dont know to be honest how you go about and deal with those...i wonder what breeders do here to take care of them
Raja's_mom
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Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:47 pm

Post by Raja's_mom »

I bought this thing called a rodent repeller and I plug it in and haven't seen a mouse or a dropping since it lets off a high frequwncy sound that we can't hear but they can and they hate it and run as far away from it as they can go I live in the middle of nowhere and all around me are farms and forests and lots of mice and other rodents this little thing that plugs into the wall is a miricle worker it doesn't effect anything except rodents and they are fairly resonable concedering you'll never have to worry about another rodent
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Bella
Posts: 502
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:21 pm
Location: Staffordshire, England

Post by Bella »

Fah wrote:
ryelle wrote:o.k... i wouldnt go as far as killing a mouse that lived in my neighbours shed or garden. thats shocking :shock:


So... you would rather your neighbour be refuge to diseased pests that are by more means responsible for having to take domestic pets to the vet due to illnes (from being eaten, played with, or being aroudn their droppings)?

The idea of having mice running wild in a suburban environment is alone shocking, in modern day Australian standard of living anyway so dont take the high road and gasp at such a simple situation of the erradication of a pest. You make it sound like im targeting their singlular pet or something.... not a nest of mice a few meters from MY property. Believe it or not, but here in Australia... mice are a serious issue in every regard and not to be taken lightly.

I guess you would use harsh language or click your teeth at them so they dont come to your side of the fence eh?


I dont think this was called for. Ryelle wasnt rude to you there was no need to be rude to her like this she is just simply shocked as am i. I think the harsh details should of been sent in a private message because it is quite horrible to read. Ryelle was simply trying to help by suggesting HUMANE ways.
My advice would be the same as Raja's_mom. With the rodent repeller you wont be searching for dead rats or mice and it also keeps flies and ants away :D
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Mum to Harvey(little boy) Satan RIP, Missy moos(Staffy bull) Billy(green irn) Sir didymus(grey irn) and Isis(cockatiel), Lucy (caique)
Patrick
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:37 pm

Post by Patrick »

As long as there is food available and even the smallest access mice and rats are going to be a problem. With a bird there will always be food available :lol:. Can you try to locate and block or screen the locations where the rodents are entering you apartment? I had my house replumbed last year and the drywallers left a 1" hole surrounding a single water pipe which allowed a huge 13" rat to enter my kitchen and take up residence. (I've seen bigger rats in Beverly Hills than I ever saw living in New York or Boston--California has the big Norway rats, although they are generally comfortable living outside or up in the palm trees so they don't get the press that the smaller brown rats get back East.) Mice are even tougher to keep out, as they can enter through the smallest cracks surrounding plumbing, gas lines, air ducts, etc. I'm not sure what the legal situation is where you live, but here a rental landlord is legally responsible for providing a safe and sanitary living situation, and would be responsible for the expenses incurred in blocking access to rodents. As for the immediate problem of mice in your bird's cage, try wrapping the legs with duct tape with the sticky side out to discourage them from climbing up into the cage. It isn't the most attractive solution, but might protect your bird until a more permanent solution is reached. Rats and mice are a lot like parrots--very smart, very messy, and very destructive. Some people love them as pets but they can be a really hard to eliminate nuisance if they are unwanted.
Patrick
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:37 pm

Post by Patrick »

And I'm right there with you on the reccoons, bastard_x5. They nest up in the attic, swim and wash their paws and food in the pool, and they love nothing better than feasting on every goldfish they can get their little paws on in the koi pond. But they sure are cute when they take their little babies out for a nighttime romp on the pool deck :lol: .
bastard_x5
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Jul 12, 2008 1:31 am
Location: Canada

Post by bastard_x5 »

lol they are cheeky little devils eh?
SkyBaby
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Post by SkyBaby »

The only mice i see are in the pet store i work at. I'm lucky I don't have that problem. I live in the sticks, too. Of course there are tons of mice around. We happen to have clean neighbors. :D And live in a 2nd story apartment. My Sky is safe.

Those rodent repellers sound cool. I'll have to remember that if i ever have a problem.
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Raja's_mom
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Post by Raja's_mom »

You think you got problems as of the last three day's we have a black bear roming around the neighbourhood I can handle racoons but bears are another story I'm afraid to leave the house for fear I'm going to run into it. apparntly the wildlife people are on it but It keeps avoiding them some how I hope they get it out of here soon. I'm not big on having black bears wondering through my property it kind of unnerveng
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Patrick
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Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:37 pm

Post by Patrick »

That is something to worry about. Last winter we had a tiger on the loose here in Los Angeles--yes, a tiger. Some idiot's illegal 'pet' had escaped and kept being spotted out in the suburbs until it was tranquilized and captured by the authorities. Two years ago a local lake was fenced off for six months due to alligator sightings, which finally turned out to be not one but two alligators--one almost 7' long, both illegal pets which were dumped by their owner when they became too big to handle...
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