Locker neighhbor won't get rid of her cookies...

[kwpn_01]

@enjoytheride

If you tried to boss all the boarders around by buying them tins I wouldn’t be surprised to find the tin in the trash. You tried being bossy. Then you tried complaining to mgmt. Mgmt gave you their answer. So now you’re moving on to being passive aggressive.

Just ask to move away from this person or switch barns.

I agree that mice can cause a lot of damage, but you aren’t in charge.

If you would have read my original post thoroughly, I clearly state that I kindly asked my fellow boarders/locker room mates if they would consider purchasing a bin or move their treats elsewhere so we can minimize the impact of the mice. No one was bossed around or told what to do in this situation. This is a problem that affects all locker users and it would be in everyone’s best interest to eliminate their source of food.

Keep in mind that this locker mate was asked once, not twice, nor three times, once. So I find it very hard to believe I was being aggressive or bossy in this situation. Later on, when no change was noted, another boarder confronted her. I am not the sole “nagger”, so to speak.

[kwpn_01]

@trubandloki

I read it more that bossing around the other boarders is not within the rights of another boarder.
Nothing wrong with the OP having a discussion with their fellow boarders about some nifty ideas on how to better deal with the mice, etc.

Respecting the shared space has nothing to do with demanding the other boarders do something in their locker the way you want them to do it.

Helping a young person have appropriate storage for their treats is a nice thing. Demanding they must do something is not.

I also think this young person will appreciate the help to keep Dobbin’s treats safe. Being bossed around by another boarder, not so much.

Fortunately, no one was bossed around in this whole predicament, I’m actually trying to avoid a second confrontation and just remedy the problem.

[Calvincrowe]

OP- You are not doing anything wrong here. I would have done the same thing, in your shoes. I like your plan!

[Gainer]

Get some of these to put in your locker…smell better than moth balls and very effective. And it won’t hurt cats/dogs.

https://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Cab-Botanical-Control-Repellent/dp/B0119AY5FU/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Fresh+cab&qid=1581375670&sr=8-5

[Twisting]

I would be more upset about the unwillingness of management to do something about the mice. There are other options than cats, or poison. Snap traps, or bucket traps (google will show how to make one). Not the best way to die, but neither is being killed by a cat or bleeding out from poison. I mean, is there really a good way for a mouse to die? Those options do take a little more effort than letting the cats handle it.

https://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/direct.html

Many of these can be transmitted to horses too.

[JustTheTicket]

If you keep asking her to do something she can’t or won’t do, yeah, you are approaching “bossy” territory. You asked, she’s not doing what you want, so move on.

And please, don’t put any sort of poison out unless you are the barn owner. Honestly, I’d kick you out if it were my barn and I found out you were doing something like that.

[Equisis]

I won’t touch the locker neighbor issue, but please don’t use mothballs. They are toxic to humans and animals (including dogs and cats), terrible for the environment, and illegal to use off-label. They work by releasing toxic fumes that are inhaled, so anyone sharing airspace can be impacted. Not to mention, they really don’t repel mice. I have had success using peppermint oil. Using poisons in semi-outdoor areas is irresponsible and should be avoided at all costs, especially on someone else’s property.

[kwpn_01]

@JustTheTicket

If you keep asking her to do something she can’t or won’t do, yeah, you are approaching “bossy” territory. You asked, she’s not doing what you want, so move on.

And please, don’t put any sort of poison out unless you are the barn owner. Honestly, I’d kick you out if it were my barn and I found out you were doing something like that.

As stated in many of my previous posts, I’ve actually only confronted the person in question once, hence this thread. Upon confrontation, I asked if it was possible to put her treats in another container/location. I’m trying to avoid a second confrontation, or looking for an alternate approach to avoid being bossy, aggressive, bold, etc.

Claiming that I’m being bossy or aggressive in this scenario does not help the purpose of this post, nor is it relevant.

I do not plan on utilizing any sort of rat poison, as I’d be afraid of any ill effects on the other animals around. I also would never consider doing this without permission from BO.

[kwpn_01]

@Equisis

I won’t touch the locker neighbor issue, but please don’t use mothballs. They are toxic to humans and animals (including dogs and cats), terrible for the environment, and illegal to use off-label. They work by releasing toxic fumes that are inhaled, so anyone sharing airspace can be impacted. Not to mention, they really don’t repel mice. I have had success using peppermint oil. Using poisons in semi-outdoor areas is irresponsible and should be avoided at all costs, especially on someone else’s property.

I’m not a fan of moth balls either, and I wouldn’t fathom touching poison. I’m leaning more towards bounce sheets, peppermint oil, and buying this locker neighbour a treat tin!

[Pennywell_Bay]

Buy a tin. Buy the whole dang barn matching tins . You can’t install flashing in your locker without permission, can’t poison etc.

I think it’s a decent plan to pick her up a tin. Put a horse treat of choice in it to soften any perception of being a busy body.

I am not a treat person (the horror)- but I’d definitely go the Dollar Store tin route.

[SuzieQNutter]

Put up something that stops the mice physically going from her locker to yours. If you have no food and clean it with stuff as said in this thread I can’t see them actually wanting to go in your locker.

My friend had a mouse chew through a metal cabinet and then a metal tin to get to shoe polish.

[carman_liz]

I know glass isn’t looked upon fondly, but what if you got those hard plastic tins from walmart or a glass one from a crafts store? Michaels always has coupons online, and you could put a few peppermints in a freezer ziploc bag inside it to ease the blow?

OR you could be a brat and leave the pile of mouse droppings in the bin… put a lock on your locker first though!! 😂😂😂

I would just chock it up to her being young and dumb and buy a bin for her though, she may change her whole attitude towards you which would help you even more in the long run.

[gottagrey]

Agree, management needs to do something about the mouse problem and putting treats in plastic containers isn’t the answer as they can chew right threw it -I’ve had treats mice have gotten to at my barn, they made a nest in my helmet - very gross. But once I complained to management - we’ve not had the mouse issue since - I’m sure there are mice still as it goes with the territory. We have more barn cats and everyone pays attention to what they keep.

[Guilherme]

@kwpn_01

Unfortunately, she is part of “management”. She’s young, but she’s been working at the barn to pay for her lease for quite some time, longer than a lot of the other handlers/staff. We DO have a barn manager that I’m sure would be happy to confront the issue, but I figure she has bigger problems to solve and don’t want to pester her about a bag of treats, especially when she’ll likely just get the same excuses as I did.

Actually, this IS a big problem. Rodents carry diseases. They chew on tack. They chew on electrical wiring. They will foul helmets. Come spring when the snakes come out of hibernation they’ll be plenty hungry and where do you think they might go for dinner?

Yes, this IS an issue for management.

G.

[alibi_18]

@Guilherme

Actually, this IS a big problem. Rodents carry diseases. They chew on tack. They chew on electrical wiring. They will foul helmets. Come spring when the snakes come out of hibernation they’ll be plenty hungry and where do you think they might go for dinner?

Yes, this IS an issue for management.

G.

Not only that but I wouldn’t feed my horses treats that’s been touched/eaten/pissed on by mice!
Yuck and dangerous.

At all the barns I have stayed at, because I left boarding places that had poor management, treats and food were kept away or in proper container.

It’s always a bit more complex in the hay loft, but still, the rodent population was at least taken care of and kept at a minimum.

[kwpn_01]

@gottagrey

Agree, management needs to do something about the mouse problem and putting treats in plastic containers isn’t the answer as they can chew right threw it -I’ve had treats mice have gotten to at my barn, they made a nest in my helmet - very gross. But once I complained to management - we’ve not had the mouse issue since - I’m sure there are mice still as it goes with the territory. We have more barn cats and everyone pays attention to what they keep.

I agree that more steps need to be taken by management but in this case, they don’t seem overly concerned. The mice problem seems to settle in the spring/summer, but right now, in the dead of our crazy winter, I suppose the only option would be to install traps/poison (inhumane) or to discourage their presence by keeping food/treats out of their reach and using bounce sheets or another form of deterrent.

If that’s what’s allowed and recommended, that’s what I’ll pursue. I’d have a hard time justifying changing barns since every other aspect of this place is wonderful, and I don’t believe the grass is greener on the other side with some facilities in my area.

[endlessclimb]

I’ve dealt with this with the infamous ding-dong trio at my barn. They have a gigantic portable “closet” that everything got ruined in because they left treats out. Their answer? Leave the treats out of their “closet”, but still out in the wide open, so EVERYone’s tack can get ruined!

Yeah, not happening.

I put 5 snap traps out near my stuff, and another 5 glue traps in and around their wide-open treat buckets (don’t worry, I check them daily and dispatch via shovel what is caught - I really don’t like glue traps, but don’t want the liability if someone else sticks their hand in a snap one). Lady squeals every time something is caught “Gosh I HATE seeing dead mice!” and moans and groans about “the person putting traps out”.

Seriously? What is wrong with some people? How can someone be so dumb that they don’t understand the cause and effect of this?

OP: I’d buy a tin for her. In addition, I would put steel wool in any opening in my locker to stop them coming in. Finally, I would put a single snap trap (get one of those newer black ones, they don’t hurt if you biff and it gets your hand or a cat paw) in my locker on the “mouse highway” so the first thing they see is yummy PB in the trap and WHACK no chance to go through my stuff - that’s if they can get past the steel wool you jam in the openings.

Also, your BO is not thinking. Lockers make it where the mice can do what they want, regardless of if the cats can get in the tack room. That is why I really don’t like lockers. If I were the BO, yall would have a little cat door cut in ASAP just to keep the pressure on in the area.

Totally unrelated aside - mice are cannibals and will often eat their comrade who met an untimely demise in the trap, leaving just the head for me to empty. G.R.O.S.S.

[Curly_Feather]

@2DogsFarm

There are rodent poisons that do not have secondary effects on animals that eat poisoned vermin.
They act as anti-coagulants on the target, that animal dies from hemmorhaging.
Anything that eats the poisoned body does not suffer the same effect.

I don’t mean to be contrarian, but this is not actually as true as the manufacturers would like people to believe. Owls, specifically, die very regularly from secondary poisoning due to these supposed “friendly” poisons. Our avian and wildlife vets are vehemently against these types of poisons because they do so much secondary harm.

[trubandloki]

@Pennywell Bay

I think it’s a decent plan to pick her up a tin. Put a horse treat of choice in it to soften any perception of being a busy body.

I like this. Buy her a small package of whatever treats she likes to use and put it in the tin. This way she can toss out the mouse contaminated treats to keep Dobbin safe.

Maybe the barn owner could install a cat door into the heated tack room so the barn cats can get in there this time of year to work on the mouse problem?

[kwpn_01]

@endlessclimb

I’ve dealt with this with the infamous ding-dong trio at my barn. They have a gigantic portable “closet” that everything got ruined in because they left treats out. Their answer? Leave the treats out of their “closet”, but still out in the wide open, so EVERYone’s tack can get ruined!

Yeah, not happening.

I put 5 snap traps out near my stuff, and another 5 glue traps in and around their wide-open treat buckets (don’t worry, I check them daily and dispatch via shovel what is caught - I really don’t like glue traps, but don’t want the liability if someone else sticks their hand in a snap one). Lady squeals every time something is caught “Gosh I HATE seeing dead mice!” and moans and groans about “the person putting traps out”.

Seriously? What is wrong with some people? How can someone be so dumb that they don’t understand the cause and effect of this?

OP: I’d buy a tin for her. In addition, I would put steel wool in any opening in my locker to stop them coming in. Finally, I would put a single snap trap (get one of those newer black ones, they don’t hurt if you biff and it gets your hand or a cat paw) in my locker on the “mouse highway” so the first thing they see is yummy PB in the trap and WHACK no chance to go through my stuff - that’s if they can get past the steel wool you jam in the openings.

Also, your BO is not thinking. Lockers make it where the mice can do what they want, regardless of if the cats can get in the tack room. That is why I really don’t like lockers. If I were the BO, yall would have a little cat door cut in ASAP just to keep the pressure on in the area.

Totally unrelated aside - mice are cannibals and will often eat their comrade who met an untimely demise in the trap, leaving just the head for me to empty. G.R.O.S.S.

I feel your pain, @endlessclimb! I’m definitely in pursuit of purchasing her a tin from the buck store, there’s no question about that. In addition to your mouse trap suggestion though, would you ask BO’s permission before setting them?

I’m not a fan of the sticky traps since I haven’t been going to the barn every day, typically every second day while my horse is young and on turnout. But I’m interested in the snapper traps, would these typically be allowed in a barn setting?