mice problem in a tipi

[Kong]

Hunting mice with dogs is illegal under the hunting with dogs act.

Hahahaha that is funny

 

[mrcharly]

So the summary of the advice is:
Jack Russels are good but you have to let them pee around outside of residence.
An alternative is to pee around the outside yourself.

Whatever you do, keep foodstuffs stored in sealed jars.

shutupthepunx, how long have you lived in your tipi? I'm surprised you haven't had problems with damp.

 

[Huon]

thanks for the many suggestions. the floor is just ground, nothing down. the sheepskin is naturally tanned, the reindeer isnt tanned, just scrapped.

so i burnt juniper branches, i really smoked the place out with them, having my skins and sleeping bag hangin above the fire. everything smells so smokey now. i also spread juniper branches around where they hang out ( mainly between the outer and inner layers) as i heard that might work, and i also spread some dry peppermint leaves around where they be.

its deffo mice, i seen em before. little brown uns. yesterday i tried the old cat in the tipi method. it sniffed around for maybe 30second and then seemed WAY more interested in gettin outta there than participating in the great moucehunt of `14.

so,.... last night i had no problems. heard some breaking of sticks (im 95% sure it was them gnawwing on the juniper branches so i guess they arnt must of a deterrant). but between the smoking and the peppermint and the scent of the cat being there, something worked!!!

gona try pissin round the outside too for goodluck!

tipi from the outside:http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2co55d5&s=8
from the inside:http://s8.postimg.org/6yqov7hb8/IMG_9858.jpg

thanks again all.

I'm glad you've had a result with the mice. Out of curiosity, how does your fire draw? With no real liner or smoke flaps I'd have thought you'd get a fair amount of smoke.

Cheers!

Huon

 

[woodstock]

I'm glad you've had a result with the mice. Out of curiosity, how does your fire draw? With no real liner or smoke flaps I'd have thought you'd get a fair amount of smoke.

Cheers!

Huon

I was wondering the same thing, without liner or smoke flaps it is not going to do his lungs any favours,I have seen us laying on the floor to escape the smoke before we get the chance to adjust the flaps, I also noticed you appear to be burning green birch which if it is will give out lots of smoke and burns cold.
In the wet weather like what we've had recently its hard to find good dead standing that has,nt been saturated so we keep stored seasoned wood for this type of weather inside the tipi.I don't have a photo B account otherwise I would show the inside of the one I lived in originally 18ft with 22ft poles

 

[woodstock]

Oi! Take that back.

M

I'll apologize for him, I don't think he really meant it, as the wealth of knowledge on this site is astounding and he's not been around long enough to appreciate how much info is on here, the other option is to skelp his ar%e when you see him.
forgot to mention the rule is No dogs in the valley.

 

[forestwalker]

My bother, in the army, in Kenya...he and his mates put the legs of their beds into tins with some petrol in them to stop the insects climbing up.
In comes NCO who turned into a screaming dervish....young squaddies sprawled out on beds with petrol fumes all around and they're having a smoke break

Petrol seems a good idea too, but mebbe no'

I was under the impression kerosene was the standard for that, not petrol.

 

[Bowlander]

Hahahaha that is funny

Funny but true.

I forgot that I'd cleared an infestation of woodmice in my shed using a multi catch live trap. I had 5 one night. I took them over the river and loosed them into a stonewall with some big tree stumps in.

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[mountainm]

Funny but true.

I forgot that I'd cleared an infestation of woodmice in my shed using a multi catch live trap. I had 5 one night. I took them over the river and loosed them into a stonewall with some big tree stumps in.

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Catch and release whilst legal for resident species is not advised

http://www.ufaw.org.uk/documents/GuidanceonhumanecontrolofrodentsFeb2509V19.pdf

Bearing in mind the exceptions above, although the law does not prevent the release of captured target animals (brown rats or mice), it is often likely to be an unwise thing to do either because it is counterproductive to control and/or because it may have adverse welfare consequences for the animal (see text). Release near the point of capture is unlikely to solve the problem as the animals are likely to return unless the premises have been effectively proofed. Release in an unfamiliar environment may have adverse welfare consequences as animals may have trouble finding food and shelter. Also if the area contains suitable habitat it is likely to already be occupied by other members of their species and may not support additional animals.

 

[Bowlander]

I released them 20m away from my shed. As they were wood mice I didn't want to set kill traps. What would ufaw recommend?

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[789987]

 

[British Red]

Release in an unfamiliar environment may have adverse welfare consequences

More adverse than death presumably?

 

[mountainm]

More adverse than death presumably?

Prolonged suffering followed by death instead of quick death I assume.

 

[mountainm]

I released them 20m away from my shed. As they were wood mice I didn't want to set kill traps. What would ufaw recommend?

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I think the point of the guidance is 20m is no real distance. They'll just return. Putting them further away is effectively a death sentence anyway.

 

[British Red]

But there is of course no guarantee that they would fail to thrive in a new location. Additionally, don't think that "kill traps" kill quickly. Sticky traps are hideously painful, poison makes animals bleed out over days, even Spring traps don't always kill (particularly the "Big Cheese" brand - ever heard a mouse screaming? Not nice).

Yes of course they might die from lack of food or shelter or disease - the same as most other wild creatures do.

 

[Toddy]

Live trap, empty into a big jar with straw and some grain. Seal the lid. They just burrow in, go to sleep, and don't waken up. Empty remains into the compost heap.

Me ? I kept a cat, but I hated the way that the moggy seems hardwired to play with it's catch before killing it. Domesticated cats are emotionally kitten'd and all too often they still pretend hunt.

Wee Jack Russell is a much more effective vermin control, or a ferret

M

 

[sandbender]

"...Me ? I kept a cat, but I hated the way that the moggy seems hardwired to play with it's catch before killing it. Domesticated cats are emotionally kitten'd and all too often they still pretend hunt..."

Sometimes, not so much playing but a raging battle at three in the morning...

 

[Toddy]

I had a Tom cat like that
I loved that moggie; he was my big soft pet, and a fiend from hell to everyone else
He had some battles royal with rats over the hayfield; he could wake the street with his yowling

Mary

 

[sandbender]

"...he could wake the street with his yowling..."

I watched mine chase a fox out of the paddock

Back on topic, I'd suggest that the op finds a new flooring material, when I lived in a tipi I had a tentipi floor, manmade and very tough, occasionally I'd see mice moving around beneath it but they never tried to eat through it. You could probably pick up some form of heavy duty plastic sheeting at a garden centre that would do a similar job.

The biggest problem I found was with damp, if I'd had some fleeces or reindeer skins I'd have been hanging them up every morning, they'd only be on the cold ground when I needed to sit or sleep. As it was I had some very thick woollen blankets instead, they were out hanging on a line every sunny morning I had.

 

[rik_uk3]

I released them 20m away from my shed. As they were wood mice I didn't want to set kill traps. What would ufaw recommend?

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20m is a waste of time, you need to kill them to be honest, poison and traps all the way chap, either that or learn to live with them and the associated health risks the mice and rats will drop on your doorstep.

 

[Bowlander]

They were only wood mice in a shed. The 20m was over a small river. The problem stopped after I shifted them.

I wouldn't tolerate house mice or rats.

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