How to deal with mice in the country: useful tips

The animals endure the onset of cold weather and a long period of low temperatures in different ways: some prefer to arrange a warm dwelling in advance for the winter, in which you can spend several months in hibernation, others use the maximum created benefits by man, thus solving the problem of hibernation and the problem with food. The last group includes rodent mice, which differ little in terms of behavior and appearance from rats (in the latter animals there are several large sizes).

The arrival of these pests in country houses in the fall is due to the fact that even in the most severe winter the temperature in the room is unlikely to drop below -10-15o, and for rodents these are almost ideal conditions (especially when compared to cold mink under the snow and take into account the full lack of wind).Numerous stocks of cereals, seeds, and other stale foods, accidentally discovered by rodents, can become an additional incentive to find a way to get inside the dacha in order to create shelter for the winter.

Important: mice love to set up their temporary dwellings in old things (mostly silk), blankets and even soft toys. Understand that rodents spent the winter indoors can be due to the presence of litter, small characteristic marks of claws and quite a specific smell.

The main danger of a mouse invasion is not at all the damage to products, things and other such troubles. These rodents carry with them a colossal amount of various diseases that can be transmitted to humans by elementary contact with the thing on which the mouse just sat or lay. Such a “feature” of these animals comes from the fact that they feed on everything that they see, that is why, in search of food, they often stumble upon landfills and sewage. Here the mouse can become an unwitting carrier of any infection.

It is for this reason that it is important to protect your summer cottage from the possible arrival of rodents and take all necessary measures to get rid of them if there are signs of their long stay.

Measures to prevent the appearance of mice at their summer cottage

As you know, the best way to prevent the appearance of any animal on the site is to make the maximum amount of effort to make its presence uncomfortable in the physical sense, literally unbearable. In order for mice not to appear on the territory of the villa, it is enough:

1. When building a house and other adjacent constructions, use such warming materials that rodents cannot use as a building element of their own shelter (glass wool stands apart here).
2. All voids, cracks and other voids that during a detailed autumn inspection were discovered, firstly, to lay with broken glass or other cutting objects, and secondly, to repair with foam. Thus, two levels of protection of the room from unwanted penetration of animals are provided at once.
3. All pipelines (both plastic and metal) must be shut off for the winter with the help of a special fine mesh, which mice absolutely cannot gnaw through.
4. To follow the purity of the garden.Particular attention should be paid to the presence of various seeds, grains and some undisguised cereals. If it is necessary to plant a lawn in winter, do it better in August and early September.
5. Food that is contained in the packages, pour into sealed containers, for example, plastic containers.

If you adhere to the measures described, then the likelihood of the rodents settling their home indoors will be significantly less for two reasons: firstly, because of the absence of potential loopholes in a warm place, and secondly, due to the complete lack of food. The mouse will never be "populated" where there is no food at all.

Ways of extermination of rodents

If the measures listed above have no effect, and there are absolutely certain traces of the mice, then you can use various methods to eliminate them. They are classified depending on the nature of manifestation, duration of exposure, effectiveness, etc. To practice this or that method is possible both in summer and in transitional stages.

Classic method

The institution of the cat is the classic or "ancient" method of complete extermination of rodents. In many villages, villages and small towns, where the danger of the invasion of mice to private homes is large enough, many families have several cats at once, each of which keeps track of its territory. At the dacha same plot, one representative of the fourfolds will suffice, but here you should make a couple of reservations:

1. Firstly, not all cats want to catch mice: former hunters are already quite accustomed to the person to directly depend on him in terms of getting food.
2. Secondly, any cat gets used to a particular territory, and since summer cottages are actively used, on average, 5 months a year, it is more likely that in summer the cat will be a bit like the owner, lazily warming up in the sun.
3. Thirdly, even if the city cat adapts itself to keep up with the rodents, it is very likely that in the fall it will need serious support: it is during this period that the mice tend to find a mate for breeding, and their number will rapidly increase when a suitable home is found.

Based on this, a more reasonable solution would be bait for cats living in the immediate vicinity of the dacha. Making contact with a wild animal is, of course, somewhat more difficult, but you can definitely be sure that the cat will pay back for the obtained pieces of tasty sausage or, altogether, dry food.

Methods for the destruction of rodents without the use of chemicals

This set of methods has quite ancient roots: the founder of all modern devices is considered to be a classic mousetrap, enticing a rodent through the establishment on the one hand of either an edible bait, or a special means emitting a pleasant aroma. A mouse driven solely by its instincts needs only to touch the surface with one paw in order to trigger a special exciting device.
However, at present, another method for the destruction of these pests is rapidly gaining popularity: it is based on the use of a special adhesive composition, which tightly holds the mouse's foot, thus depriving it of its ability to move.Make a trap based on the use of such a composition, as follows:

1. A two-liter plastic bottle is taken, the upper part (the one with a smaller radius) is removed with scissors.
2. A bait (a piece of cheese, a handful of seeds, etc.) is attached to the bottom of the future trap with the help of a double-sided tape.
3. All the space from the delicacy is filled with glue.

As soon as the mouse enters the bottle of food, the mouse will sign the death sentence: wanting to get out of strange space and at the same time take some food with it, it will unconsciously use its paws to achieve any goal, thus rotating the cylindrical vessel. As a result, it will stick to the glue not only with its paws, but also with the whole carcass.

Less popular are the container traps, about the use of which there are active disputes on the Runet forums. This type of self-made traps is practically no different from the one described above: the bait is also used, and the surface is also filled with an adhesive. However, the appearance of the trap is completely different: it is a regular cage in which up to 7 mice can fit simultaneously.

Usually in such a construction there are several entrances for rodents, so that they, seeing the opportunity to profit from the bait and their relative who is in trouble, would strive to get into the trap as soon as possible. As the bait can act as the mentioned products, and others that are not so expensive (even an ordinary piece of bread dipped in butter or sweet juice) will do.

The disadvantages of this design include:

1. Poor value for money. Many gardeners do not recommend using the same cage to catch mice more than 5 times. Again, this is due to the number of diseases transmitted by rodents and microorganisms harmful to humans, domestic animals and livestock.
2. The apparent inconvenience of use. First, removing rodents carcasses from such a cage is a rather unpleasant task, and secondly, after each cleaning, the traps should be disinfected. In addition, a loud squeak will emanate from a design that has hit more than two mice.

Finally, in order to catch a rodent who has fallen into the habit of stealing food, you can use an ordinary metal bucket. To catch a mouse, you should build a small bridge from the side of the light materials at hand, in the center of which there will be a lure.The idea is that barely the mouse will be on the platform with all its weight - it will immediately collapse and the pest will simply not be able to get out of such a tall cylindrical vessel devoid of irregularities that cannot be caught by claws.

Important: using a plastic bucket is not recommended. A mouse especially eager to survive for a relatively short period of time will be able to unknowingly make itself a few ledges for claws to hold on. If there is no other bucket available, grease the bottom of the walls with plenty of oil.

The platform must be a figure of unequal thickness uneven in shape; According to the plan, the mouse must first climb a larger area and see the bait on the opposite side of the stand. After she notices the delicacy, she will immediately run to the place where the slightest exertion of pressure will provoke the collapse of the whole structure.

Use of chemicals

It is recommended to resort to the use of chemical reagents only if, for any reason, the previous measures did not have the desired effect or simply do not cope with the number of rodents.The essence of the method is quite simple: in the room, pre-made baits are left, which inside contain a poison, from which the internal organs of the mouse become paralyzed, and she, as a result, almost immediately dies.

Tip: the bait can be made in the form of small lozenges, in the center of which a small amount of poison is placed.

In most cases, the basis of poisons is brodifacoum, which is the most popular means of baiting rodents at the moment. Especially many gardeners emit two drugs: "Rat death" and "Cyclone". There are several requirements for their use:

1. The traps with dissolved poisons should be laid out only in those places where both children and animals are closed (for example, pipes).
2. It is recommended to place traps in a uniform grid, which is able to “cause” the appearance of the entire colony of rodents living on the site.
3. Traps should be set for a week and a half. If the rodents for some reason did not eat the bait, it should be replaced and the mass content of the natural component should be changed.

Rodent Repel

Scientific progress has not bypassed the problem of the appearance of mice in the dacha plots. One of the most advanced methods of eliminating them is the use of ultrasound, which plunges absolutely all rodents into a panic state and literally makes them hastily leave the territory.

Sound is propagated using a special device (the most popular ones are Chiston and Grad), and its effect extends exclusively to pests, it is harmless to pets, livestock and people. The only drawback is that if a large number of toys are installed on the site, several large trees grow with powerful crowns, or there are other physical obstacles, the area of ​​action is significantly reduced. However, it is very simple to ensure that rodents do not enter the premises exclusively using the device.

You can also scare away mice from the plot with the help of folk remedies. To do this, you need to collect some especially fragrant leaves of mint, chamomile, wormwood and elderberry, pour boiling water over them, then pour water over it and allow the solution to infuse.After it should be poured into a spray bottle and evenly distributed throughout the room, inside which the presence of mice is assumed. Sensing smells with which they cannot get along, the colonies will immediately leave and are unlikely to return within a few months.

Advice: it is recommended to carry out such prophylaxis once a month, especially intensively - before closing the summer cottage for the winter.

It is even easier to protect a planted lawn: it is sufficient to lay the leaves of the above-mentioned plants and flowers tightly on its surface in order to form a peculiar layer that mice cannot overcome.

Video: how to protect the garden from mice