Damned rodents around here, war has been declared

[The Kid]

the old school Victor traps still work... the mice have not evolved fast enough.

JR

I'm not sure about that, mice evolving, the mice that live here seem to know how to take the bait and leave the trap set!  Maybe they googled how to do it?  Or they work in teams!  lol.  The victor traps do work, but I had to modify how I set them, after noticing they'd take the bait (peanut butter) and leave the trap intact.  I put more bait under the catch, in addition to on top.  That does the trick. 

The best trap I've used, at the last place I lived, caught 11 mice.  It's d-con's version of the victor.  See picture attached.  But, since I did the same thing with it as far as the bait, the victors should be just as effective.  I only got 2 mice so far, but that's because they were the only ones in here, so far, knock on wood! 

I like the round dcon traps, too; they work great, and you don't have to see the mouse.  But I always looked anyway, because I didn't trust the trap didn't go off by itself.  Every time I checked, though, the mouse was in there. 

That reminds me, once when I used the victor, the trap worked, but the mouse was fast, so it was more like a bear trap, the mouse was caught by the leg.  And, of course, it's freaking out.  So I ended up having to kill it to put it out of it's misery, which wasn't fun.  After that, I started using live traps for a while, when I caught them, I'd actually drive out to the country and let them go. 

Definitely not a fan of poison, though; too many negative sides to that. 

Expanding foam is great, and they also make a pest proof version, that has bitter taste added to it.  Don't know if it's better than regular, I've seen some reviews people said the mice chewed right through it.  I used some recently, time will tell.  So far, though, works great.

 

[Tubetec]

warm the peanut butter on a spoon and pour it into the hole for the bait ,theres no way Mr mouse can steal it then ,he has to learn to lick it out very gently if he doesnt want to be decapitated ,Alternatively cover the entire trap in a thin layer of tissue paper ,then add some oats mixed with star anise on top ,thats a real good one for rats who know how to cheat the traps ,the smell is brand new and they go crazy over it , screw two  traps to a slat of timber in such a way one sets the other off , theres nothing will escape that.

 

[The Kid]

Sounds like good ideas, I'll have to try that!  The multiple trap thing, though, reminds me of a scene from a really funny movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIalNHin5sg

That's the luck I'd have!  ;D

 

[Tubetec]

Ahahah funny clip ,a little creativity goes a long way , I caught about four of five females from the harem of one male with just regular snap traps ,he was a tough customer ,but the double whammy with funky smells n tissue paper got him in the end too .

 

[analag]

My yard is overrun by stray cats, no rodents dare approach, lol

 

[JohnRoberts]

My yard is overrun by stray cats, no rodents dare approach, lol

My neighbor has about 9 cats, and they have free run of my yard.

The squirrels still eat my pecans and apples.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

This year I got more proactive about stopping the squirrels from eating my pecans.

My first BB gun was a joke. Hitting them with a BB barely bothered them, but the upgrade pellet rifle is the real deal...  8)

This spring and summer I killed three squirrels with the pellet rifle in my side yard eating whatever off the ground, this was mainly practice, sighting in the scope, and warm up for the main event.

Monday night after dinner I decided to take a chance and went out to my main producing pecan tree in my front yard with rifle and only two pellets. The squirrels rarely give me a second shot anyhow.

I noticed a squirrel busily feeding high up in my tree and he pretty much ignored my first two misses. I went back inside for more pellets and carried a chair out to my yard and sat under the tree.  Shot #3 missed too, but he was clearly in a feeding frenzy, or really stupid. He would sit still for a couple minutes out of sight then start feeding again.

Shot #4 hit him center mass, and did the trick.  Give me 4 tries and even I can hit a squirrel, high up in a tree. :  It seemed to take a long time for him to drop to the ground from that height but he hit with a thump and stayed dead.  His mouth was all brown from chewing through pecan shells. Tues is garbage pickup so he didn't even have time to stink up my garbage.

===

This morning I saw two more squirrels up in the same pecan trees, or one squirrel in two nearby trees. This time he/they were  smarter and long gone when I returned with my pellet rifle. I wonder if the dead squirrels talk to the live ones? I don't see any more where I killed the first three. 

I will likely never run out of squirrels but hopefully a few less pecans will be lost to them this year.  8) The pecans are not even ripe yet, but Squirrel #4 was a pecan eating machine and couldn't wait.

JR

PS; I am not big on shooting birds, but one stole a fig off my fig tree that was perfectly ripe (I was watching it). Since then I pick them a little early, still sweet, but i don't trust the birds enough to leave them on the tree to fully ripen.

 

[Jarno]

Ahem, next gen BB gun:

I wonder if they have it in smaller caliber too, .45 seems "excessive" for a squirrel from what I hear it is pretty accurate though.

Ah yes, the "Condor" model is available in a few smaller bore sizes, seems a pretty adequate tool for the job.

 

[JohnRoberts]

my .177 is completely adequate. I have several dead squirrels you can ask... so far zero walked away (if I hit them).

I wouldn't mind a semi-auto... since reloading the pump action one shot at a time pellet rifle gives the smart squirrels enough time to get away, but that's life in Hickory. 

They make semi-auto pellet guns but did I mention, that I'm also cheap...?

JR

 

[PRR]

> my .177 is completely adequate

Stuff like that is under $100, under $0.07 per shot, self-contained, and is weak at a few hundred feet.

That monster uses a super-pressure (3000psi, 200 bar) pump, $0.69 ammo, a blem kit costs >$1000, and will shoot a MILE.
Maine teen recovers from pellet gun shot to head moments after priest reads last rites
And that was surely a $69 airgun.
I once shot a 22 high over the Delaware River into North Philly. I feared for the headline "child hit in top of head".

 

[JohnRoberts]

> my .177 is completely adequate

Stuff like that is under $100, under $0.07 per shot, self-contained, and is weak at a few hundred feet.

Gamo was around $80 and pellets I use are around $5 for 250 so more like  $0.02 per shot... The BB gun was weak, but I wouldn't want to be hit by the Gamo at any distance that can reach me. I dropped one squirrel at 40-50 yards and he is still very dead.

IIRC 22 longs were supposed to carry a mile, but I don't work at that distance.  My most recent kill was maybe 50 feet straight up in the tree but pellet had more than enough force to stop that pecan feast.

Maine teen recovers from pellet gun shot to head moments after priest reads last rites
And that was surely a $69 airgun.

My first BB gun might not even break the skin. The squirrels just shrugged off hits.  People have survived 22 shorts in the head. I am satisfied that the Gamo is the right tool for my present task. I put a $3 sight on my first BB gun but that was a total joke... it was a random shot generator, I gave up trying to sight it in. The Gamo has a rifled barrel so is reasonably accurate with a tight shot group (limited by my accuracy), and powerful enough for dropping small game.

JR

 

[iturnknobs]

My gamo "big cat" literally DISEMBOWELS the chipmunks who burrow under my concrete and brink sidewalks causing them to sink. Tried traps and poisons but inadvertently got other critters. This is the only way to avoid harming innocent species. They have a vocalization for me.  A bit strange to hear your name from another species. Hitting a 5 inch critter from 50-70 feet away almost feels like a fair hunt. I'm guessing a well placed shot from this "springer" rifle could take down a racoon.

 

[JohnRoberts]

My gamo "big cat" literally DISEMBOWELS the chipmunks who burrow under my concrete and brink sidewalks causing them to sink. Tried traps and poisons but inadvertently got other critters. This is the only way to avoid harming innocent species. They have a vocalization for me.  A bit strange to hear your name from another species. Hitting a 5 inch critter from 50-70 feet away almost feels like a fair hunt. I'm guessing a well placed shot from this "springer" rifle could take down a racoon.

They're cute disney animals until they tear up something... I've inadvertently caught chipmunks in my laundry room rat trap, but if they don't pay rent they don't deserve to be in there.

JR

 

[Whoops]

You can always call the Mink Man, his mink and his dog.

It's one of my favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcxBoCyYbOc&t=5s

 

[cyrano]

I've just started chemical warfare. Chloralose. Caught 20 mice in the 2 hours after placing 4 boxes. Pretty efficient. 

Chloralose is made from coumarine. It was once used as a sedative. The advantage is it doesn't make the mice go into hiding. The disadvantage is it also kills birds, hence the boxes. Only mice can enter.

 

[Jarno]

You can always call the Mink Man, his mink and his dog.

It's one of my favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcxBoCyYbOc&t=5s

Peculiar fella, but god, those mink are fierce hunters!

 

[JohnRoberts]

Chased two more squirrels out of my pecan tree this morning, didn't get a good shot as they were leaving the area.

JR

[edit- found squirrel #5 laying dead on the ground under my pecan tree... I thought I hit one last night.  8)  Saw him drop about 10 feet but didn't see him hit the ground so figured he might have survived to eat another day. Apparently not.  Got this one with first shot (my ups driver was teasing me for needing 4 shots on monday).

Still no shortage of squirrels. Pecans won't be ripe for another couple weeks so this is still a competition. [/edit]

 

[PRR]

Ever see a squirrel swim?

 

[JohnRoberts]

Ever see a squirrel swim?

I've made a few fly, but generally straight down...

JR

 

[cyrano]

Ever see a squirrel swim?

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