freddie Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 No, it's not a DS game, but a gadget! Having had every night broken up by the sound of a troupe of little feet, practising for Strictly across the ceiling joists, DH got a gadget, and it appears to be working, and Bonus, none of the other animals appear to be bothered! Dont know where the mice are going to go, but actually, I dont care either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Wow - I'm sceptical about these things, but if it works ... My parents had something similar, many years ago. The instructions were all in German, so my sister translated it - apparently it deterred mice, rats and pine martens. As we never saw a pine marten creeping round their house, we concluded that it must work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We back onto woodland, and have a rather impressive mouse population.... Several years ago (before chickens) my next door neighbour bought one of these things, it was indeed successful.... Sent the mice from his house to our house However, since having chickens (she says touching wood) the only mice in the house have been dead ones brought in by the cat. However, we have witnessed on several occasions the hens enjoying a rodent feast in the garden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 I have one plugged in under my kitchen sink as get mice in my kitchen drawers during the winter months. We have only had 1 in the year since it has been plugged it. I am a sceptic too, maybe it is coincidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We have a JML Pest Shield. One of the best gadgets we have bought. When we first moved to the cottage we would be sitting in the living room listening to mice behind the walls and up in the attics. The JML pest shield works by sending sonic currents (I think) through the electrical wiring throughout the cottage, this sends the critters mad and they have to leave or die. OH found dozens of dead mice under the flooring in the attics when he was doing the loft conversions. Also works on crawling insects and Rats The pest shield cannot be used though if you have pet rodents or Guinea Pigs in the house. We tried other devices but they only worked in the room they were plugged into and any furniture, walls etc blocked the current. Best £20 we have ever spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Ooooo I might have to get one of these. We have a visitor or visitors in our loft. Mr Griffin is being despatched up there to investigate at the weekend. He's all for trapping and poisoning whatever it is but I am not! The electrics to our shower are up there so I assume there'll be a power point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 The pest shield can be plugged into an upstairs socket and it should still work up in the attic. Our cottage is quite small and single storey until we converted 2 of the attics so our pest shield is plugged into a downstairs socket and protects the whole place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 i will stick with 2 cats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 i will stick with 2 cats We know our visitor gets in through the garage so a few weeks ago I did shut two of my cats in there overnight in the hope they'd catch him/her. It did go quiet for a week or so but he/she is back. I don't know if it's the original or a friend or two. Anyway, two sonic whatsits should be arriving in the morning. We'll start off by just using one in the loft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I've just been poisoning the mice in my garage ... eating the tent and the picnic chairs was bad enough, but I got very cross when they ate some spare wax combs for the beehive that were stored in there I've had to be very careful however not to allow the cats (or hens) into the garage during this time, in case they came across a mouse that had eaten the stuff, so the idea of a sonic preventer is a great one. I might look into this. You would think that having two cats who roam in and out of the garage when the door is open, would be enough to deter mice, but apparently not. PS: Griffin, one thing I do know is that mice rarely live alone. If they don't have a family when they move in, they soon will have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 This is timely for us too - the night before last I bent down to pick something up off the kitchen floor only to come face to shriek with a large eared mousey which was in the small gap between the dishwasher and the oven I have no idea where it might have come in and have come to the conclusion it is probably a cat gift which managed to escape. Bearing in mind what you've said about they never come in one's, and I don't want poison in the kitchen or 2 cats, I will investigate these, so thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 The only mice we have are the ones that the cats bring home. Can't have a cat flap as they do bring them home and let them loose so they can catch them!! Must admit am still tempted to get one just to make sure that nothing lives in roof spaces or wall cavities as I can never guarantee that the cats don't let something go and DON'T get it!! Hmmmmmm off to the JML website me thinks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I'm sorry to admit it, but when the mice came into the house it was war I bought traps you could bait (with peanut butter they love it) and put them in my cupboards.... I have a house rule... You poo in my kitchen cupboards, you die Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubababe Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 LOL. I felt sorry for the mouse that the cats left in my kitchen. I actually left a trail of cheese to the back door to try and get him/her out before the cats got him! Figured he had a better survival rate outside However when the rats in the shed started to chew their way through my Scuba Diving equipment... WAR WAS DECLARED in the shape of my husband and a shovel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 traps never worked for us - cats cleared the rodents in a day - they packed their bags and went - I also let the cats into the garage - I often accidently leave them in there overnight - and Honey poohed in there once Space chick - had to laugh at the bit about poohing in your cupboards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 We once had a couple of mice at work, they were getting in through a tiny gap in a wall next to a pipe. I shall never forget turning up to work one morning and finding a dead mouse in a mouse trap on the draining board next to the sink I asked my boss why on earth he'd left it there and not disposed of the mouse and he said he didn't know where to put it So obviously the clean draining board next to where we make tea was the perfect place Men! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Mmmm health and safety would not be pleased - this guy needs introducing to a receptacle such as a bin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 I have three cats, all useless, and now the rodents seem to have plugged their ears with the insulkation from said loft, and resumed their rendition of Riverdance, the sequel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Pity you live so far away - my lads a brillaint mouser - 3 cats all useless - freeloaders - I have never had a useless mouser - OH had a cat who was bad at it - normally the smell of cat sets them packing - prob plugged their noses with loft insulation too. Can you not stick the cats up there for a few hours and see what happens? The riverdance may be louder and more like a breakdance but if it gets rid - worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Still waiting for the sonic thingies to arrive. Mr Griffin cleared absolutely everything out of the loft yesterday in preparation for getting it insulated and there was no sign of our visitor. I was in the bathroom at lunch time and I could hear it dancing over the ceiling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 There was an article in the paper at the weekend - apparently there has been a 25% increase in sales of mouse traps at B&Q The increase in the little beasties is put down to the warm weather so far. The guy writing the article said the only thing which had worked for him were traps and I've now read in 2 places that Peanut Butter should be the weapon of choice. Do let us know how you get on with the sonic thing. Seeing they are so noisy and mice are so small I suppose your clog dancers are definitely mice and not either squirrels, rats or dormice (protected)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 we've tried peanut butter, mars bar, bacon, and some other things. And Cats x 3 up there. Nothing. Its def not rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We had mice in the garage eating a tray of apples which we had put in there, we put a sonic device in there because we have one in our summerhouse next to the hen run to deter rats and the only time that we have seen ra rat was when we had unplugged it to plug in the lawn mower and had forgotten to plug it back in. The one in the garage was less successful and we found mouse dropping all around it, my OH thinks that they were using it as a beat box for late night raves We then tried to shut the cats in there, useless, so we bought a pack of 2 simple plastic snap traps ready baited with peanut butter from B & Q and within a couple of hours we had caught a mouse and then over the course of the next couple of weeks we got 5 and the cats caught one, nothing now for over a month and no more nibbled apples. I did however discover a rat run in a compost bin at the bottom of the garden a couple of days ago, it looks like one overwintering which we had once before, which is why we bought the sonic device, this bin is about 40 feet away from the summerhouse. The rat has done a lovely job of turning the compost which had been there for a year and now looks ready to use, we just need to persuade him to move out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 The only way I have found is to start to empty the bin and they run out sharpish. Once they left behind a nest of babies I may be being over cautious but I don't use this compost on the veg patch, just in case there is urine left behind which may contaminate edibles. The pest control man told me to put chicken wire under the bin as they don't like chewing through it. I tried this and it does seem to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We put chicken wire under all of our bins, but it looks like he is going in and out via the flap at the front where the compost comes out, which has been displaced by the compost. This will either go on the beds in the garden at home or it will got to the allotment for long standing crops. The soil level in my garden has gone up so much since we have had chickens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
