mice problem in a tipi

[shutupthepunx]

hey, as the title suggests i have mice in the tipi im living in. they are eating the fat from the undersides of the reindeer/moose skins im sleepin on. its quite annoying as it continues all night. im quite strict on food crumbs so i duno if that will be much of a problem. i was wondering if anyone has advice for keepin them away?

i heard put used ´snus´ around where they are, i also heard put down juniper branches and burn juniper and the smoke spreads and they dont like it. i was thinkn of maybe smoking the skins a bit with the smokefrom burning juniper. i duno if any of thsi will work.

was wondering if anyone has any ideas. all food is kept in a cooler box.

 

[Tony]

mouse traps?

 

[Toddy]

Wee jack russell or a moggie.

Smoking the skins might help, but once the little blighters have found a source of food, they'll keep coming back.

There's another point; mice are horrendously incontinent, they despoil more than they eat because they piddle all the time. That's why we really notice that mice have been in a home; you can smell them.

Wood mice, or house mice ? I reckon it won't really matter if you're living in a tepee. Is it floored ? or packed earth floor ?
You need to get off the floor with your bed, and if you put the legs into tubes of some kind that the mice can't get a grip on, you might get peace from them.

Traps are effective, but like rats, in the wild like that if you take some out then others will just take their place.

Best of luck with it.

Toddy

 

[rik_uk3]

Put some traps down, use peanut butter for bait, if you have mice in the camp rats won't be far behind so personally I'd put poison down too. Have you seen them, are they definitely mice? Camp buddy Nigel woke up on one Brecon camp to see rats getting at a packet of biscuits.

 

[woodstock]

Im afraid poison is not the answer, what happened in the valley first they used traps to no avail, then they used poison that ended with a loss of most of the cats which resulted in more rats. The thing is if you are living in a tipi long term as I did you need to expect it, we have had fox,rat,mice,voles,cats you name it its been in our tipi my solution is to keep food in jars and tin trunks this proved a effective method of keeping the blighters and food separate, can I ask whats on your floor? we used reeds and found most things would just route about under the reeds for something to eat.

 

[ammo]

Take your dog, if they smell him, they should stay clear. If not the dog gets a free lunch.

 

[xylaria]

Your skins might be the problem. Modern chemically cured skins shouldn't be too edible even to rodents. You aren't up for changing them paint something awful on the underside like alum.

Exercise Extreme care with food even compost waste. I went over to sealed bins to do anaerbic compost to prevent the rats feeding.

 

[Harvestman]

For those recommending using family pets to eat mice, just be aware that's a good way of giving your animal a dose of tapeworm, which standard worming treatments won't touch. You need to dose with a treatment specifically for tapeworm. Tapeworm is a health hazard, especially where there are pregnant women in the family.

 

[Toddy]

Better dealing sensibly with your pet though than having mice (and probably rats) piddling and nibbling in his home however.
My cats all spent quality time outdoors, I live next to a nature walk and a burn and a woodland....they caught mice and rats. I routinely wormed the cats with stuff the vet was happy to provide.

M

 

[Harvestman]

Better dealing sensibly with your pet though than having mice (and probably rats) piddling and nibbling in his home however.
My cats all spent quality time outdoors, I live next to a nature walk and a burn and a woodland....they caught mice and rats. I routinely wormed the cats with stuff the vet was happy to provide.

M

Yep, that's all fine, so long as the vet knows they are outdoor animals who may eat mice and birds, they will recommend an appropriate wormer. I'm not saying people can't use animals for mouse control, just to be aware of the follow up steps that are needed.

 

[Steve27752]

Move the tipi.

 

[xylaria]

Hunting cats should be wormed at least every three months. The treatment from the vets (drontel milbemax) are broad spectrum, the cheap ones from supermarkets aren't. Toxoplasmosis is not prevented by worming, but by good heigine. This is most serious infection for pregnant women in which cats are a vector. You are more likely to pick up from soil though. 1 in 10 people already have it but our immune system keeps it in check. It does raise the chance getting mental health and neurological problems. At least one of the types of roumd worm can blind children, even the cheap tablets treat this cats, but it is much better for cats health to use a full spectrum wor
Cats still vector less diseases than rodents.

Moving regularly sounds good.

 

[mrcharly]

I had friends who lived in yurts for years. Rats (and to a lesser extent) mice were a constant problem.

They were very very careful with food. Not even a crumb allowed on the floor.

Cats to keep the rat numbers down - but rats will burrow underneath where the cats can't catch them.

Borrowing a jack russell seemed to help. Even where the dog couldn't get at the rats, he peed and this seemed to be a deterrent.

 

[789987]

i would go with a flock of owls or a bag of large snakes

 

[Kong]

Make me wonder how cats have lived all the years with out worming tablets
Mice are not only look ing for food they are all so looking for shelter

 

[Toddy]

In the wild cats don't live long. If they reach three years they're doing very well indeed. Parasite burden is a hugely debilitating thing to carry for any length of time.
Pet cats happily live an average of over ten years, some nearly twice that.

Personally I like cats, but if it were me living in a tipi all year round, I'd keep a wee Jack Russell dog too. Between them they'd be on top of most pests. The dog will take insects too, and the cat takes down moths.
Between them, and keeping the place swept and clean of food scraps with decent jars for food storage, I think it should be very liveable, even for a fussy besom like me

M

 

[rik_uk3]

Looking at replies then my suggestion of traps and poison seems the logical step. If you have dogs or cats they more than likely will not eat the poison and you can lay it and the traps in places they can't get to.

 

[Harvestman]

Make me wonder how cats have lived all the years with out worming tablets

Less healthily, and for less time, than they do now as domesticated animals.

 

[Shewie]

When we camped at Comrie a couple of years ago, a mouse came in under the storm flap and made a beeline for the food bags. Bypassing Carols chunk of cheddar it scoffed a whole pack of sausages which I was looking forward to for breakfast.

Just thought I'd throw that one in

 

[woodstock]

Im afraid poison is not the answer, what happened in the valley first they used traps to no avail, then they used poison that ended with a loss of most of the cats which resulted in more rats. The thing is if you are living in a tipi long term as I did you need to expect it, we have had fox,rat,mice,voles,cats you name it its been in our tipi my solution is to keep food in jars and tin trunks this proved a effective method of keeping the blighters and food separate, can I ask whats on your floor? we used reeds and found most things would just route about under the reeds for something to eat.

Traps and poison do not work the cats ate the rats which in turn killed the cats, and I can tell you that from first hand experience, look at my address.