Sorry if this isn’t the right category for this topic. Lately there’s been a mouse/rat problem in our little hay shed. There’s two cats that roam the barn area but the shed is more on the perimeter. I’m trying to find ways to get rid of them because it’s not healthy at all. They don’t seem to be living in my hay but theres stacks of alfalfa on the right side where I see them and catch them most. I don’t want to use bait poison in case it gets into the hay through droppings or something. I am currently using large sticky traps and catch the smaller mice with them, and I have a snap trap or two that gets some bigger ones. I’m thinking those might be rats. Does anybody have any tried and true ways of getting rid of them? I’d prefer a live catch method so the shed doesn’t smell foul but am open to suggestions. If there’s any suggestions on keeping them away as well (I’ve seen some speaker things that supposedly work) that’d be awesome too. Thank you!
I went through the rat thing in the barn in the spring–and had to use poison. Terad 3 has no secondary risk. Set it up in locked bait boxes. I tried all of the traps and they are just SMART suckers. Too smart for my traps.
Glue boards are so terribly inhumane. How are you killing the mice you catch on those?
What the heck woukd you do with a live mouse/rat out of a trap? Collect them in a cage then drive out to the country and dump them to invade somebody else’s barn, shed or house? Turn it back out on your own property? It’s going right back to that shed.
Most states have have made catching and releasing nuisance animals in rural areas or county or state parks illegal. It’s just kicking the can down the road for somebody else to deal with.
With the sticky traps and stuff I honestly just give them one lethal shot to the brain with a pellet gun, it’s more humane than letting them starve on or in the traps and still gets my end goal completed. The snap traps I have seem to work extremely well for the larger ones, haven’t had it set off without a victim yet. @Simkie where do you get the Terad 3? I was afraid of any kind of poison but if it poses to risk to contaminating the hay I’ll try it. My other fear was a mouse or two dying somewhere I can’t reach it
Please don’t use those glue traps- they are very inhumane and cause the animals to suffer for a long time. They also tend to catch bird and kill them slowly. Just really a horrible idea. I also advise against poison because it kills many raptors when they eat poisoned mice. I prefer old fashion mouse traps that kill instantly- use peanut butter smeared on it.
My plug is to get more barn cats. There are so many cats needing homes and you can give them a good home plus solve your problem. Many rescues and shelters will give you vaccinated, tested, neutered cats for free if you will give them a barn home.
Another vote for more kittehs
I also prefer the old fashion snap traps but the mice become smart enough to take the bait without setting it off, at least the little mice do. We would definitely get a barn cat but we’re in a situation where the barn renters (just us and them) have continued to complain about our horse on stall rest constantly about dumb things and we know if we were to get a cat there’d be many complaints about the cats as well and we’re honestly not ready to hear it. An example would be “hey your cat scratched my daughter” (constantly) even though we would have explained it’s not exactly a tamed cat and they probably shouldn’t have been touching it. Before the renters moved in there were around 6 barn cats at any given time but they would disappear and never be found again, we’re thinking coyotes. Since the BO moved to TX we haven’t had any other cats than the one the renters brought and one the BO left behind
@TooMuchRebel I buy Terad 3 here. I use these bait stations.
@NC001 there is no secondary poisoning risk to raptors with Terad 3.
The glue traps are awful you have to knock mice over head to kill them once stuck. I have a live trap I use and throw trap in a five gallon bucket of water to drown mice caught.
Barn cats are great have 8 currently and they keep mice population way down. I haven’t had to use live trap for 3 years.
Thank you! Do the mice die on the spot like with some poisons? Or would I need to move hay and check it for any dead pests?
I haven’t thought about the drowning solution, I know there’s a bunch of 5 gallon bucket roller traps you can make that drown them. Would you reccomend one of those or is that a bit much? I hear they catch a lot…
The bucket traps are absolutely worth a shot. If they work–awesome. They’re cheap and easy and you know where the rodents are dying. My rats were too smart for that, though. I did catch a few mice in them. Others have better luck…
Terad 3 kills over a few days. I only found one rat, who had died behind a dutch door that was latched against the barn. I think they generally go down their holes to die. Now I keep the boxes baited around the barn and see very little evidence of any rodent activity, and no evidence at all of dead ones. There are always nibbles on the blocks every time I check the bait boxes, though. I think it’s working well to keep them in check before they have a chance to move in.
Alright I’ll give them a shot, I’ve got a few buckets I could use. Well with the dying in their holes, I have some great suspicions they’re actually living in the alfalfa stacks because there’s really no where else for them to go within the tiny shed. I’d hate for them to die in there. I’ll give the bucket trap a shot and try the poison if it doesn’t work. Thanks!
The company tells you Terad 3 doesnt kill raptors but wild life rehabers will tell you differently. Raptors will eat many of the poisoned mice and have problems.
A nice big harmless black snake. We see them in the road all the time and carry buckets to pick them up and bring them home because some people purposely run over them :mad:
This, I would rather have a snake anyday vs a rat or mouse.
Could you start feeding the cats out in the shed to attract them out there for a while and hopefully the problem goes away or get an adult experienced mouser that you feed out there to help manage the problem. You can get fixed feral barn cats (some quite beautiful to look at) for free in most areas.
The cats at the barn aren’t ours and for some reason the owner is very particular with the one cat they brought. She wants her in the barn “in a bubble” as they put it. The other cat used to be a housecat and apparently was a good nouser but is declawed sadly. If it weren’t for this odd renter situation (we board for free because we were friends with the owner of the property) I’d have a whole herd of cats working out there haha!
There actually used to be a massive snake in there, I’ve found his shedding. Not sure what happened to him or what kind he was but he doesn’t seem to be around anymore. As much as I hate snakes I’d like him to come back!
Audubon recommends Terad3: https://diabloaudubon.org/conservation.php
Paper that discusses secondary risk to dogs and LD50 required for various species, including birds: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi…&context=vpc11
I can’t find a SINGLE paper describing any secondary poisoning in birds or other animals with Terad3 or other cholecalciferol products. You want to link me?
I’m highly sensitive to this as we have a whopping population of red shouldered hawks here–which have not declined with the use of Terad 3.
