# Stored food and mice



## Asatrur (Dec 17, 2008)

We have been storing our food i.e. pasta, salt, canned stuff, etc. in a pantry under our stairs and noticed now we have mice:gaah:. We tried traps, but nothing yet, so I am wondering the best way to prevent these varmints. We have cats, but nothing there either. 

One question I have is about buckets. We have several plastic buckets from a local bakery and I are thinking of putting things like salt, beans, flour, etc. in them, but I am wondering if we should bag the food first. Cost is an issue, so ordering mylar bags, etc. is not really in the cards right now.
Thanks,
Asatrur


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

bagging with O2 absorbers pays for itself in loss prevention

as they say, "pay me now... or lose it later" :gaah:

don't feed your cat(s) for a couple days... soon you'll have no mice

you could poison them (the mice)... cats WON'T eat De-Con in my experience

ultrasonic pest expellers work... sometimes


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## boomer (Jul 13, 2011)

Best we have found in the food storage and mice area is old fashioned spring traps baited with salted peanut butter, and no other additives. I do not like the cats in the food storage area they knock stuff over and make as much mess as the mice.

A burnt earth policy around the house helps as well. Foliage free and dry back a few feet from the foundation, The cats will use this space as a kill zone without making a mess. And then check for spaces the mice can get in. They only need 3/8" square to invade. These small spaces get filled with coarse steel wool because the mice cannot chew through it.

We also try to have all mice friendly food stored in metal, heavy wood or thick plastic containers and then check the wood and plastic for the beginnings of a hole regularly. Tin can lids are the traditional answer to mouse holes in cabinets, walls etc.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

40 mm grenade cans stop ANY rodent.

would you believe I have Possum problems?:surrender:


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Possum problems?


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## mpguy18 (Sep 7, 2011)

We had the same problem with our buckets stored under the house. Talked to a neighbor who stores a years worth of food at a time, and has been doing it since the 69's. he told us to make sure after we filled the buckets, sealed the lids to clean the entire outside of the buckets with a 20% bleach solution. Rinse and wipe clean. Have not had a problem since.

Also, the not feeding the cat for a few days will definately help!


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

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Magus said:


> would you believe I have Possum problems?:surrender:


I have caught 6 racoons, 5 possums, 2 groundhogs and 4 cats in my live traps this summer. I caught a possum last night. I turned the cats loose and dispatched the rest. Last night's bait was an apple core and a couple of spoons of soggy corn flakes the Rooster didn't eat. Varmints almost decimated my garden this year and I have declared war!

I have mice problems too! I keep sticky traps in likely spots all the time. Slap traps sometimes work, sometimes the mice just get the bait. The new slap traps are so sorry that over half will not even set. I don't like using poison because they die where I cannot find them and smell so awful I can hardly stand it. I have a cat camped out under my house and I still have mice. (I don't feed the cat, either). I have stopped up all the holes in the house I can find, but in a few months, I will find more. The mice nearly drive me crazy. They get worse in the fall & winter as they are looking for a warm place to live.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Do not poison your mice if you have cats.. Trust me on this.. I almost lost my best mouser do to secondary poisoning from me putting poison down to get a rat(nothing else was working) the mice found it after the rat bit the big one and since my baby loves to eat mice she got super sick and it cost me about $300 to pull her thru.. No poison for me ever again. and dogs will also eat animals that are loopy from the poison and can become super sick. 
I have about 10 really old but in good shape snap traps that get a sunflower seed wedged under the little tab and peanut butter smeared all around.
Some of the newer traps can be "bent" a bit so that they work.. I bought some for DD and we had to "tweak" them a bit to get them to set.

Okay and if you must use poison put a dish of clear water here and there around as the poison will cause them to seek out water and most times they will die near the water and not in your walls.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Emerald said:


> Do not poison your mice if you have cats.. Trust me on this.. I almost lost my best mouser do to secondary poisoning from me putting poison down to get a rat(nothing else was working) the mice found it after the rat bit the big one and since my baby loves to eat mice she got super sick and it cost me about $300 to pull her thru.. No poison for me ever again. and dogs will also eat animals that are loopy from the poison and can become super sick.
> I have about 10 really old but in good shape snap traps that get a sunflower seed wedged under the little tab and peanut butter smeared all around.
> Some of the newer traps can be "bent" a bit so that they work.. I bought some for DD and we had to "tweak" them a bit to get them to set.
> 
> Okay and if you must use poison put a dish of clear water here and there around as the poison will cause them to seek out water and most times they will die near the water and not in your walls.


wow, that sucks; my cats won't touch a poisoned mouse... I guess I assumed all cats could detect the poison and would avoid it, my bad


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Put out potato flakes for the little vermin and make sure to put water out too,they swell up and die.the cats seem to like potato stuffing.LOL


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Magus said:


> Put out potato flakes for the little vermin and make sure to put water out too,they swell up and die.the cats seem to like potato stuffing.LOL


put little paper cups on the mice' feet & it's Thanksgiving year-round for the cat


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