Mice

Tips on keeping mice out of my boat this winter? Keep sticky traps around inside perimeter of my garage. Have caught a few mice but not lately. Keep garage pretty clean but we do live in the sticks. Question is can I do anything further to repel them in case? Heard things about Irish spring soap and peppermint. What works?

I load mine up with Bounce Dryer sheets each fall when I put mine into storage. Put a sheet in each compartment, every space you can stick one, Lay them loose everywhere inside the boat. I normally go thru a box of 25. Never had a mice issue in all the years I’ve done this. Boat smells really good when the cover comes off in the spring as well.

I’m not discounting Bounce. Possibly I was using generics?

But back with one of my campers I had mousy poop on the dryer sheets.
Stay away from glue boards in cold weather. Glue doesn’t hold them very well below 50 degrees.

Never had good luck with mothballs either.

The cheap black snap traps have worked for me.
The tin cat mouse trap is good too for multiple catches.

Or a cat at last resort.

I’ll second the bounce dryer sheets. Never had an issue while stored in a rural garage.

I have used all the “repellents”. My advice is to run a trap line if you have easy and frequent access to the area. If they aint hitting a peanut butter baited trap, they aint wandering around in your foodless boat.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

I’m not discounting Bounce. Possibly I was using generics?

But back with one of my campers I had mousy poop on the dryer sheets.
Stay away from glue boards in cold weather. Glue doesn’t hold them very well below 50 degrees.

Never had good luck with mothballs either.

The cheap black snap traps have worked for me.
The tin cat mouse trap is good too for multiple catches.

Or a cat at last resort.
I didn’t have very good luck with Moth Balls either. To hard to get their little legs apart.

suzuki wrote:

I have used all the “repellents”. My advice is to run a trap line if you have easy and frequent access to the area. If they aint hitting a peanut butter baited trap, they aint wandering around in your foodless boat.

X2

Also I always have poison out in my garage. I put the blocks of poison not pellets in a metal cookie tin with a small hole in it. That way the dogs can’t get at the poison and the mice still can.
I’ve cleaned many mouse nests out of cars that were made entirely out of dryer sheets. In my opinion that is not a good solution.

I use the Tomcat place packs in my two garages and my pole building. I just toss them in the corners of the buildings. The mice chew through the package, and if you get the red package it has Bromethalin which is supposed to make them thirsty so they go outside looking for water and die outside, not in you building. I’ve used these for years and have very good luck and absolutely no damage and never have a mouse in my house.

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Has anyone tried the electric repellent devices?

ya know cooperman……..that dog looks oddly and strangley similiar to a nother one?????????? know anything about it with a red hat???????

i simply use mouse traps with peanut butter……….i’m at 30 and counting at the cabin up north. i’ve had traps set at home for a month now and nuttin.

You know you arent done trapping or checking them enough when they start eating their buddy caught in one of your traps…..

I’ve got 80 bounce sheets in my boat right now(2 packages). Was almost crying from the odor when I got done putting tarp on.

Will see how it goes this winter.

SuperDave1959 wrote:

Has anyone tried the electric repellent devices?

If you’re talking about the high frequency repellent devices. I haven’t but my brother in law has one in his pole barn. No. He has mice all over.

Keep in mind when using poison and the mouse goes outside looking for moisture, they become prey for other animals that you might not want to kill. In fact it was brought to my attention that barn owls will take a poisoned mouse back to it’s next and the poison will wipe out all of them. If you happen to care. Some people don’t.

I use cheap snap traps with peanut butter too. I do throw moth balls and bounce dryer sheets in all the compartments too. Haven’t even had a mouse in a trap in the garage since 2015. Maybe the neighbors got better stuff in their garage?

this thread reminds me of the decon commercial on da toobe!!!!!!!!

Peppermint works well, Ive used dryer sheets without any issues.
Does your storage area have power? Plug in a radio and leave it on ALL THE TIME!
The constant sound will keep them away.
My dad has done this for years and never has any mice in his detached garage. The garage on the house he doesnt and he has had mice in there.

glenn57 wrote:

ya know cooperman……..that dog looks oddly and strangley similiar to a nother one?????????? know anything about it with a red hat???????

i simply use mouse traps with peanut butter……….i’m at 30 and counting at the cabin up north. i’ve had traps set at home for a month now and nuttin.

Yes Glenn, one in the same.

Thanks for all the help. Great replies thanks

I use bounce sheets since I’ve been storing mine in a pole barn for the past 3 winters and no mice. I’ve heard plenty of people say they get mice with them too so I have a feeling getting your storage location mice free or as close to it as you can is really the only safe bet.

I have seen mice make nest out of Bonce sheets and eat Irish Spring soap for dinner so for what its worth. Traps, poison and a farm cat. LOL

I swear by this method. I started using this a year ago in my garage and shed. Killed numerous mice last winter. My garage is heated so I put water in the bucket to drowned them. In the shed I put antifreeze in the bucket. For example I went to get my duck decoys out of the shed in September and the mice came back thick. I put the bucket back in. The next morning I checked it and I had 13 mice in the bucket.
Won’t use anything else. Really give this a try.

Been doing the anti freeze thing for years. They’re not running back into the walls and dying with this method.

The drowning bucket trap worked fantastic when I used it outside my garage at the old place too. Put peanut butter and bird seed on the can and I caught so many mice I lost count.

Drowning bucket. I just smear peanut butter on the can then mash in some bird seed. No need to bait the trap like the video. PB/seed bait will last weeks.

-J.

X3 on drowning bucket. They can’t resist the PB. We have on in the basement all year round but use RV antifreeze so they don’t stink if not checked as often as they should be.

I also use the drowning bucket with a little RV antifreeze. I also use Cab Fresh in the vehicles I have stored. On my cars I put an oil soaked rag in the exhaust pipe, it blows out when starting them in the spring.

The 5 gallon bucket has been my go to for years in spots where it doesn’t freeze. That is a great idea on the antifreeze. This year I will be storing my boat at my house outside since I just received a call saying that the guy in my normal heated storage area has extended his lease of the building. I will be filling the boat with bounce sheets and putting moth balls around the wheels. My neighbor’s house is such a dump I get loads of mice coming in in the fall.

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Keep Tom Cat mouse killing blocks on floor in garage too.

Jeff mattingly wrote:

I swear by this method. I started using this a year ago in my garage and shed. Killed numerous mice last winter.

Totally agree re the bucket trap. Smear some peanut oil on the “ramp” that leads up to the bucket so there is scent on the ramp to lead the mice to the trap, but nothing they can eat until they get to the bucket.

I’ve had mice make a nest out of dryer sheets. No confidence in this method at all.

Grouse