How To Get Rid Of A Mouse Problem With Out Affecting The Dogs

[persephone]

You can put them in the freezer and they go to sleep

I think that method is reserved for cold blooded animals. It is not a 'kind' or quick way for a mammal to die ;)

[Wazzat Xolo]

I've never had a dog get sick from eating a poisoned rodent....and they have managed to snaffle a few before I could get to them.

My vet nurse sister assured me at the time that once it is digested the poison wont hurt the dogs. So either she was wrong, or telling me porkies, or not? I dont know.

The roof residents tend to live and die up there. The house ones, well the just disappear.

When my girl caught a rat I called the Animal Hospital to check if she would be okay if the rat had been poisoned. They said that if she had ingested it, I wouldn't know within the first day or so. It can cause hemmoeraging (sp all wrong I know...) and if she showed signs of this (which could include blood coming out of her nose or eyes) to get her to emergency ASAP. She would need shots and then a 6 week course of meds.

ETA: She said if they had eaten snail pellets they would be violently ill and possibly dead by the time I saw the rat and called :-(

I was told once the animal had ingested a poisened rat/mouse it was too late after 12 hours once the warfarin had started to act.

I would rather be safe than sorry and risk waiting.

[Little Gifts]

I am an ex farm girl who has experienced a mouse plague but still can't use the kill traps because it seems an awful way to go - half the time they just snap down on a leg or something. I release mine in a park near a big industrial bin containing what I hope are yummy mouse type snacks. I know that means they end up at someone else's place eventually but the buddhist in me thinks everything has a place in this world (except cane toads). Maybe there are stray and hungry cats out there thanking me right now!

As for baits and dogs or cats - I would never ever even take the risk. Even if it didn't kill them it could hardly be good for their long term health.

[_PL_]

Foster care a terrier ;)

[stormie]

Those Rat Zappers look awesome and much more humane that the slap or claw traps!

[BustaGirl]

Thanks for every ones input, I have taken a few good idea's & will try some out

[GoldenGirl85]

I've never had a dog get sick from eating a poisoned rodent....and they have managed to snaffle a few before I could get to them.

My vet nurse sister assured me at the time that once it is digested the poison wont hurt the dogs. So either she was wrong, or telling me porkies, or not? I dont know.

The roof residents tend to live and die up there. The house ones, well the just disappear.

She may have been right - but wrong to assure you it wont hurt the dogs. Not ALL the poison is necessarily digested by the mouse when it dies. Eaten is not the same as digested. Poisoned mice etc have been known to kill wildlife, particularly predatory birds.

I worked at a produce store many years ago, we often had stray cats move in, unfortunately they would eat the poisoned mice and rats and eventually the cats died. I think but I may be wrong, that the poison built up in the cats bodies eventually killing them.

Its not poison that kills them, its an anticoagulant which stops the blood clotting causing internal haemorrhaging, they bleed to death on the inside

Its the same stuff used to treat blood clots in people (warfarin is one of the most common) the difference being is that Warfarin is a controlled medication and people taking the medication have regular blood tests to make sure their blood is clotting just the right amount, if their level is too high they are at risk of haemorrhaging and a vitamin K shot might be required, if its too low they run the risk of a clot developing and are at risk of a stroke. Ratsac isnt controlled, there is no way of knowing how much the mouse or rat has ingested, if the mouse had only ingested a small amount it would be enough to kill them eventually, if it was eaten by another animal it may have an effect, but likely the ratsac would wear off and the animals blood would go back to clotting like normal, but if the mouse had gorged on the ratsac and was eaten then there is a much greater chance that it will kill the animal eating it

[spottychick]

I am an ex farm girl who has experienced a mouse plague but still can't use the kill traps because it seems an awful way to go - half the time they just snap down on a leg or something. I release mine in a park near a big industrial bin containing what I hope are yummy mouse type snacks. I know that means they end up at someone else's place eventually but the buddhist in me thinks everything has a place in this world (except cane toads). Maybe there are stray and hungry cats out there thanking me right now!

As for baits and dogs or cats - I would never ever even take the risk. Even if it didn't kill them it could hardly be good for their long term health.

LOL PuppySniffer - the Bhuddist way is the middle path - this aint no middle path my young grasshopper hee hee

video

This is the middle path

ratzapper

[Kempe]

As coincidence would have it I caught 8 mice in traps in a few days and met the pest exterminator that comes round our work, his professional advice was to buy the sticky boards you get.

Put some peanut butter in the middle and they get stuck crossing the board, 100% guaranteed they wont get away and no secondary poisoning to pets.

You have to then release them somewhere well away from your house (if you can get them off the board although I believe pouring vegetable oil will work) or whack them with a piece of wood

[PRADA68]

That mouse plague is nightmarish stuff. Have a terrier or two and you will not have mice mine make short work of them. They would have a ball in that mouse plague they would know where to start but perhaps never stop.

[Christina]

Its a nightmare at the moment. I always used ratsack under the house & in the roof & have never had a mouse inside but since my cats caught one in the run I was so scared of them being harmed I stopped using it. Never seen anything like it I used to see an odd one in the garden at dusk occasionally. Now they are running along my fence line in daylight, in the garage & in one day my cat caught 5 of them & put them all in her bed out in the run

There doesn't seem any way to stop them, only catch or kill them & more just replace them. I am so worried that they may get inside although its never happened before.

Block all holes, check behind cooker, under sink etc for gaps, use stick on draught excluder round any loose doors, if you have those air grid things low down on the outside of a brick house take them off & put metal fly screen wire under them & fix the grid back on. Funny thing is the gadgets that kill them are heaps cheaper than the no kill traps. Someone told me a cheap way to rig up a thing to drown them but its too horrid for me to do, would make me sick.

Hope the plague ends soon, its so gross.

[piperspal]

I use trapw when I can, but have also had great success with a bait called 'pestmaster'. It does not ahrm the dogs in any way, my poodle has been the culprit in eating the bait straight from the box (who knew she could get under the fridge, go figure) with no side effects. I have them set out all the time near the dog food etc. We have a plague in Alice at the moment, and this weekend the war will begin, not happy at having mice in my cupboards.....

[persephone]

his professional advice was to buy the sticky boards you get

.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

I will happily trap mice in the grey-onesnapand you'redead-traps. I will never use those sticky things again, I did, ONCE.

Can you imagine... having glue stuff all on your feet..then your skin..then most of your body.. hours spent wriggleing and screaming and trying to get free- all the while getting more stuck?

They are one of the cruellest thingsI have seen

(and if you haven't seen/heard the mice caught in these things- don't go out of your way to.)

I am NOT a softy ... I will shoot rabbits, trap and shoot cats/foxes.. but a quick and humane death is all I will countenace these days. Stickytraps, and 'humane' traps are NOT either. :D

[persephone]

a bait called 'pestmaster'. It does not ahrm the dogs in any way,

Well, I think your dog is very lucky!!!

have a read HERE

an extract or two...

FOR DOMESTIC ANIMALS:

• Severe signs of poisoning - Immediately transport to vetinarian.

• Early signs of poisoning - Transport to vetinarian.

• No signs, but suspected bait consumption - Induce vomiting only if ingestion is recent ( less than six

hours). Make up a solution of salty water (2-3 tablespoons of salt per cup of water), place in a soft drink

bottle and squirt down animals throat. Vomiting should take place in approximately 10 minutes. Seek

vetinarian advice. Brodifacoum is a coumarin anticoagulant. Like warfarin it interferes with the synthesis

of prothrombin, disturbing the normal clotting mechanisms and causing an increased tendency to bleed. As

a result the effect may be delayed. (1)

DOMESTIC ANIMALS SUSPECTED OF CONSUMING BAIT:

1. Test prothrombin time daily for up to three days after suspected date of ingestion.

2. Treat with Vitamin K1 if signs of poisoning appear or if prothrombin time increases.

3. Prophylactic oral Vitamin K1 treatment could be carried out.

Edited May 27, 2010 by persephone

[mjk05]

I will happily trap mice in the grey-onesnapand you'redead-traps. I will never use those sticky things again, I did, ONCE.

They're a nightmare to get off dogs' muzzles and legs, too.

[persephone]

They're a nightmare to get off dogs' muzzles and legs, too.

I bet!

[spottychick]

I use trapw when I can, but have also had great success with a bait called 'pestmaster'. It does not ahrm the dogs in any way, my poodle has been the culprit in eating the bait straight from the box (who knew she could get under the fridge, go figure) with no side effects. I have them set out all the time near the dog food etc. We have a plague in Alice at the moment, and this weekend the war will begin, not happy at having mice in my cupboards.....

Pestmaster uses brodifacoum, a warfarin-based poison which is more toxic to dogs than any other rat poison.

From Liphatec Vet Guide:

Unfortunately, these three toxicants and diphacinone, mentioned above, are much more acutely toxic to non-target species like dogs and cats than the older anticoagulants such as warfarin. Of these, brodifacoum has appeared to be the most toxic to dogs and swine

Link with more info and case studies.

[megan_]

That mouse plague is nightmarish stuff. Have a terrier or two and you will not have mice mine make short work of them. They would have a ball in that mouse plague they would know where to start but perhaps never stop.

The best thing is that they will let you know when a mousey is around. My girl starts whining if she even senses a mouse - she will not settle down. She doesn't need to see it to know where it is. Fortunately, after the rat incident there have been no more!

[spottychick]

Tango lets me know when there's a mouse in one of the traps (even tho he cant see them - eg the trap is in a cupboard - he still knows they're there). I havent had the opportunity to see if he could catch them but I suspect he used to do exactly that to try and get food when he was starving hungry. So I'd love to see if he'll do it but I'm not prepared to have little mices or big rats frollicking around the house just to see that LOL

I've seen him catch and kill birds including a lark and a pigeon. Not sure I should get chooks

[CBL]

We have had a few recently in the house - they are getting in the bird cages and drive the dogs crazy. I have had a few nights when the dogs continually want to get up and go out to the back room to stalk them (they are blocked off from there of a night).

We have caught a couple in the round traps (the mortein ones) and have them scattered around the place but Patch the greyhound has become the mouse-killer After numerous nights of trying to catch them he has honed his technique and has caught 2 in the last week or so. He waits for them to pop out of the bird cage and anticipates which way they will run. I hate it but the mice are dead with one snap - and he gobbles them up too. Not bad for a one-eyed dog! Though after he catches one he is up and down for the rest of the night wanting to go after the others.

I'd never use sticky traps or poisons - and I hate that I do kill them but at least so far they have gone very quickly.