Sticky pads are my friends.
I put out four of the “mice” sized ones Friday night. About 12:30, B and I awoke to a noise but we both went back to sleep. At 1:20 the sick chicken started making a huge racket. That’s a sound you have to pay attention to. I threw my boots on and was out the door. I expected to find a mouse, but instead three of the four sticky pads… were missing. I started to search the yard and found one close by, a second one further into the yard, and the third one on the other side of the yard.
None of them had mice attached.
What kind of mutant mice do we have? I mean come on, I understand getting stuck but dragging the trap across the yard and discarding it before you make a get away? Huh?
After sitting up and watching for a while I went back to bed and got up before the chickens, since I didn’t want my free range chickens to get into the traps. This time I inspected each trap. The first one had some hairs, but they weren’t little mice hairs, they were longer. The second one had… let’s just say mouse pieces on it. Pretty typical for a sticky trap but you normally find the rest of the mouse on it or very near by. I looked all around in the grass and… nothing. Third one, more mouse bits and again, no carcass or anything else around it. So, I was briefly very impressed at the bionic mice that scaled my six foot block wall on stubs. Then I thought about it for a while and came up with this scenario.
We caught a couple of mice about 12:30 who made a bit of noise when they got stuck.
Making noise was probably their mistake.
I figure about 1:15 or so the local feline gang that wanders the neighborhood probably found the sticky mouse buffet and… well, scattered the traps around the yard. That would explain the longer hairs in the first trap too.
Needless to say I put more traps out Saturday, this time the big rat ones that are about three times the size of the other ones. No big noises. I woke up early and went out and inspected. One was undisturbed and the other one was… well… full. Three buddies all congregated for a bit of evening string cheese and stayed for a while. 🙂
I took care of those and put my remaining traps out again last night. This morning they were both clean. 🙂 I’ll keep doing this for a week or so. As long as I don’t catch anything else I’ll stop putting them out every night and go to a once a week schedule.
But at the very least, our little rodent issue seems to be under control.
I also came home on Saturday night to find a box sitting on my porch. It was accompanied by a FB message on my phone telling me it was from my rabbit rescuing friend. An entire box of rabbit POO! Excellent!
I also reworked my seed starting set up, specifically the storage and lighting arrangement for my seedlings. I’m really excited about this and I think it’s going to help to get good plants established. I’ll do a separate post with some pictures for that one, just trust me when I say it’s NICE. It’s a mix of what I’ve picked up from other people so I really can’t take much credit.
We also had a great kick off to a two week marriage and family series with Ted Cunningham at Mission. The video podcast should be posted on the Mission webpage later this week.
Combine that with a much needed dinner date on Saturday night with my sweet wife and it was a really good weekend!
The Jones Garden Blog 
Congratulations on your big game hunting. We set some regular traps out and they picked them clean. I’d sure like to have a camera to see how they get that sunbutter out and the trap doesn’t snap. I may have to try your sticky ones. LOL
Haha! It is very impressive how they can clean that bait off without tripping. A camera would be very interesting.
I don’t know if I will ever get used to this “issue”….Thankfully, my dear husband takes care of these matters swiftly and discreetly. Snowing here in the Northeast. No outdoor work for awhile.
This is my life right now!! How to trap the rodents in the chicken coop that is eating me out of house and home without having the chickens into the traps! Glad you are rodent free (for a while!).
Yes, the chickens are definitely a concern, with any of the traps. Although the “gauranteed” one was fine to have with the chickens. It also didn’t catch ANYTHING but… This is what they were. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-Home-Defense-MAX-Kill-and-Contain-Mouse-Trap-0320110/202229592#.UoOqXXAqhwg
I hope you get ’em!
so don’t use those ones then? I haven’t seen that kind before. I was going to use disposable traps and put them out when the hens are roosting and get out there early in the morning or before bed to check them. There are holes coming up everywhere near my coop!! Hopefully it is just mice and not rats!!!!!
Holes coming up in the ground? Or in the coop. If you plan to put them out late and pick them up super early to avoid getting the chickens I highly recommend the sticky traps . You don’t have the sudden movement and sound to scare the chickens and they seem very effective . Just the unpleasant part afterward where you have to take care of the caught mouse. I just flipped it over and smacked it with a shovel since I wasn’t worried about reusing the sticky pad.
I have sticky traps in the shed, and didn’t get much. But i also put one of the sonar plug in sound maker things in there that’s supposed to scare the mice. I have holes in side my coop between the walls and floor and some outside in the ground between paving stones or just coming up outside their coop door.
Do mice do that? We had ground hogs that did that.
I’m not a big fan of them, but maybe it’s time to get a cat.
haha, i have one, and she is very busy killing stuff. I was thinking about locking her into the coop too. haha.
I used the rat sized one too in our barn. Impressed at how many mice I can catch on one trap.
I know, isn’t that crazy!
I can’t wait to see your seed-starting set up. I’ve got to get one ready for late winter!
Then stay tuned. Most of the post is finished and I just need to add some picks and build some more soil blocks, which of course is the best part.