UKC

We have mice in the garage. I'm catching a couple a day at the moment.

The problem is the main garage door has a gap at the bottom and the side. Now I'm sure this isn't the only way in but is an obvious 'main entrance'.

We don't use this door much (No one uses their garage to keep their car in!) but we don't want to put in totally out of action as it is used occasionally.

What can I use to fill the gaps (except a line of mouse traps) which will not be tasty or easily holed by mice but also won't be a massive pain in the arse if I want to open the door once in a blue moon (don't mind having to do a bit of work to open and resecure the door but within reason).

Any suggestions?

Thanks

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Wire wool.

or a cat

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

A piece of wood cut the the right length?

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Hi there, I Don’t like doing this stuff, but round where I live if we don’t do something about rodents, they massively infest and chew through cables and just about anything else they can get to.
My experience over the last 3 years since we moved out to the Peak is that trying to physically keep them out is a waste of time unless you station a terrier in the vicinity full time
We’re on top of the rats and mice now, with a perimeter of bait stations. The trick is to rotate the bait so you don’t build up resistance, and also to bait until it’s not being taken then leaving the population to rise again with incomers over a month or so then start again,
Pretty brutal but it works. I picked this up from the local pest guy who covers all the big estates and farms round here. The local owl and hawk population seems healthy so it doesn’t affect the food chain.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Put cheese and other tasty food in your neighbours garage and outbuildings.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

An unfortunate rat-based incident led me to fill holes in the wall with wire wool, covered in expanding foam. Apparently they try to eat through the foam but cannot get through the wire wool. It’s worked, but may be overkill for mice.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Why do you think they' re going in there? Presumably you don't store any food in there?

Probably best to ignore them unless they are starting to cause damage like chewing cables etc. If they aren't causing damage leave them alone.

In reply to Trangia:

The only food in there is in the freezer... So far they have destroyed 2 foam balls, the foam from a cycle helmet and the eaten a massive hole through a Northface bag to get at a dentastik (for dogs) that had been accidentally left in there.

The problem is there is a LOAD of stuff from a voluntary kids club I'm involved in stored in there and just worried they have damaged or will some of that too

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Oh, I see!

How about putting a cat flap in the door? The neighbourhood moggies will soon learn that they are in there and enjoy some happy hunting.

In reply to Trangia:


Because they piss and shit everywhere they go ...

"It’s been said that mice are incontinent, but the truth is much more sinister. Mice constantly urinate, on purpose, to mark out their territory. They also leave about 80 faecal pellets behind them as they travel."
[ http://www.merlinenvironmental.co.uk/10-myths-about-mice/ ]

Ever since we had a problem with mice attacking the foam lagging on the water pipes in the garage I've had an ultrasonic deterrent device in there, plugged in and switched on all the time. We've never had problems with mice in there since.

Something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheese-Repeller-Humane-Ultrasonic-Deterrent/dp/B00...

Power consumption is 1.2W - less than an LED lightbulb.

I'd put them in the sheds as well but we don't have power in there.

And Lusk is right: they are a serious hygiene issue as well as being destructive.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

My family had a few rats invade their garage, the freezer and fridge were in there. Rats chewed through the foam insulation, and plastic lining and helped themselves to the food inside.
Mice like cover, if everything is off the floor..... not easy to do tho.
As others have said, it's the time of year for mice to find a cosy place to hole up for the winter. I suspect you get it every year. Good luck, you'll never stop them, so best find a way to keep the level and damage small enough to endure.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Wood along the bottom of the garage door and some insulation foam in the gaps up the sides?

Cats are good tho.

In reply to Martin W:

Had success with the plug in deterrents too. Not expensive from B&Q although it's reliant on you having power in the garage.

In reply to Lusk:

You can always bag up the shit and put it in your neighbour's rubbish bin (when they are not looking)........

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):
I'd rather have mice than all the cats that visit our garden, I used to enjoy seeing wildlife there's not much about now..

In reply to Jenny C:

Might give one a try... couldn't decide if they were a con that didn't work or would drive my dog loopy

In reply to bouldery bits:



Remembering that the gaps, you think they can't get through, are probably quite easy for them.
youtube.com/watch?v=HFk2jsGyysM&

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

You do actually have a trap that kills the ones you catch ? I find that after a few weeks of the 'little nipper' mice cease to be a problem.

In reply to Lusk:


A cat won't necessarily keep out mice, it will just convert the live mice to dead, or dismembered, ones.

In reply to planetmarshall:


and poo!

In reply to krikoman:


Well, if your cat shits in the house, yes. Personally I train mine to shit in my neighbours' gardens.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Certainly didn't bother our dogs.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):
I find our cats bring mice in to house. I couldn't understand why the cat kept trying to get in a bin bag full of stripped wall paper, I found a live mouse in it.
Over the years we have had live mice, voles and on one occasion a rabbit as well as bits of them.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Living in the country-side, we have to accept rats, mice and all sorts of other pests as the norm. We have a trap for the rats and regularly catch them, but we have to keep moving it around as the rats are clever little buggers and would soon fathom things out ! We have also caught skunks and weasels in this trap ! Mice are kept at bay by the cat, who is pretty good at catching them and -most of the time- eating them ! The difficult ones are the dormice that find their way into the house ( under the roof ) by way of the electricity supply cable. I'm up and out early in the morning and often see the little sods skipping over the wire to the house. The neighbours cat is often to be found under the cable hoping one will fall off. Fat chance !

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

Stuffing tinfoil into cracks and holes has worked for me in the past.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

After so far catching 10 mice in a week using only 2 traps... ive just ordered a sonic deterer, lets see if that works.

In reply to jonny.greenwood:


Aye, but the problem is, you have to catch the bloody mice first...

(get coat...)

JW

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

What about fitting a brush-type draft excluder? You can get lengths to fit a garage door from b&q. No idea how effective they are for stopping mice though.

In reply to idiotproof (Buxton MC):

You are catching a couple a day, I presume they are killed and you're not live catching and then releasing them down the bottom of the garden?
I would keep trapping and add some additional poison baits around the garage, there's also probably a nest somewhere, so have a good root about in all drawers, boxes etc. and you may find a big load of chewed "stuff". Making an area mouse proof is very hard, they will go through any tiny gap that looks impossible.

In reply to Moley:


What you say about live trapping is so true. Worth spreading traps around a bit too.

In reply to Moley:
No they are traps that dispatch them with a quick SNAP. I've not had time to do a thorough search for their home.... but it will have to be done.

Garage smells less 'mousey' so hoping I'm decreasing the population.

In reply to GrahamD:

Made that mistake with live traps and releasing them into the garden. Ended up collecting the little fury ones and mouse tipping (as opposed to fly tipping) them in the local woods, where hopefully they made a new and happy home away from all the trappings of suburbia.

Far to squeemish to deal with dead mice so couldn't cope with pain or break back traps.