Mouse infestation at my new house and bb guns

[Teep]

I killed 17 in my garage one winter using a Crosman 2289G with red dot sight and only two pumps, shoots clean through them. I setup bait stations with soft pine for a backstop with a little peanut butter to stop them and a red light to allow me to see them. I've also used the same bait stations in the barns with an R7.

 

[delooper]

A bucket style trap like Glem.Chally suggests can work great. 



https://youtu.be/pHwvVPT202Y



A bank of snap traps in a wood case can also be very effective but requires a bit more effort to set up correctly.



https://youtu.be/s2Zn5ky8gn4



But my personal favourite:



https://youtu.be/AfGBCSQIH3o



All three of these solutions have the advantage that you get to keep the corpses. So you don't have to worry about decomposing mice elsewhere in your house. Of course, if you have baby mice hidden away, they'll die without their parents and also cause a stink. 



It seems like an exercise in futility to be shooting a pellet gun at mice in the house. A Crosman P1322 at 1 pump isn't enough to penetrate my own skin. I'd go for at least 3 pumps. That said, clear everything breakable out of the room and cover your windows. 

 

[Bigragu]

Hey, John, congratulations on your new place! Finally made it happen and got away from that crazy hectic Bay Area! 


you’re in heaven now, but it’s unfortunate about the critters. If it were me I’d be using the traps described by delooper and others, and on top of that I’d have glue traps all over, baited. In time after you go around and patch up any and all questionable access points for these mice, you’ll have won the war and lovin’ your place even more.

if your allergic to cats consider a female German Shepherd as they are all about hunting and killing pests. My female shepherd will jump up as high as she can to nab at a lizard on a tree, and is ruthless on squirrels. She won’t lay idle, always on the prowl she is. Very loyal, also 

 

[Bigragu]

Here she is, after killing a mouse today-

and here she hides, waiting to snipe on a rat that ran into a hole at the base of the tree to my right behind the storage box-

 

[delooper]

Dogs (even German Shepherds) have to be taught to hunt. The rare dog just has it in them, but most of the dogs on our farm, if they did not see other farm dogs hunting mice, they'd probably pay little attention to them. 

That said, once a dog learns the fun of hunting mice, they'll love it and always be looking for the little critters. My dog comes back to the house with big fat rats in her mouth. She's so proud of herself. 

 

[Raden1942]

Definitely getting a dog soon. I had a lab who instinctively killed mice rats and squirrels. I watch a YouTube channel called Joseph Carter mink man. He kills hundreds of mice and rats by picking up bails of hay and pallets and letting his mink in there. Then he has 2 or 3 dogs that murder the ones that run away. It's pretty epic. Thanks for all the ideas. 

 

[gvlasak]

I have a Crosman. Two pumps will do it and I would feel comfortable with that in the house as long as I'm willing to let a drinking glass or wine glass break in the process. most drywall would take a pretty good neck from it but what's more destructive. That or the mice?

 

[thumper]

Wadcutters are the answer with whatever you plan to put them through. They hardly ricochet, are usually very accurate and light, and resist over penetration.

BBs will be piss poor accuracy wise, but they will ricochet like crazy which can cause a bit of excitement to say the least

I have cleared out dozens of roof rats indoors for several people, and used an FWB300 at 6fpe for a lot of it with a 4X scope and a flashlight. It was more power than needed most times and these were some healthy grande sized rats.

I've since moved up to a .177 HW100 Carbine with night vision, but the rats ain't no more dead lol

Depending on what kind of rats/mice you are dealing with will depend on how to trap or lure them in. Roof rats and some field mice don't really eat much in the house in my experience, but they do like to hole up behind appliances and chew things up.

If the area is dry, the best universal bait for any kinda mice is simply water. Hide any other water source in the house and then put out a pan of water in front of a solid backstop and get to work.

Imitation vanilla extract (since it has no alcohol to burn their nose) can be a great thing to try adding to any other food type bait. I've had very good luck with it over the years.

Hope you get em cleared out, and get to have a little fun picking a few off. Good luck and congrats on the new pad!

 

[HogKiller]

This is a job for for a trained professional. View attachment 209531

Operative word is trained, NOT all cats are mousers, a feral or outdoor cat may stand a better chance of being a mouser. Felines are the most efficient killing machines on this rock you may need a few of them. I believe Minks will go after mice, I know they do rats. If you can stick you little finger tip in a hole a mouse can get through it.

Addendum: FYI I'm 99% certain you don't need a pellet gun and lead to kill a mouse, an Airsoft will do it, they tear the daylights out of aluminum cans. Mine Springfield XD9 powered by green gas. Accurate to 15 yards or so. Warning it's another darn rabbit hole.

 

[tnt68]

I do live in countryside and I understand your problem. I have twoo cats working well but in case it's needed...
I'm use to have ratting sessions at a friend of mine farm. He discovered that the best solution is me with my RTI sub 7,5Joules/5.5fte, Hawke Airmax 2-7-32, Pard NV007 12mm 910nm and RWS Super Field 0,54g/8.4gr , JSB Exact 0,547g/8.44gr and all of the wad cutter in such weight but also lighter as the Geco Diabolo(cheap and precise till over 20m/22yards).
I've been effective also with HW30S or HW977 both sub 7,5Joules/5.5fte, with more or less similar scopes, night visor and pellets.
The range I zero is from 10m to 12m(depending the height of the scope) to have the best kill zone in the 8-25m range.

If the shooting capabilities are good there are no damages even shooting indoor.

The most of rats are use to wake up at the sunset and then they stay around till they are hungry. They may stay in open space only in case of feeders but they like to move "covered" by plants, bushes, threes and pergola. My main advice is to keep as less plant are possible next the house and try to close the accesses from outside the house and then make your choice for the best removal solution from inside.

 

[Berserkeley Mike]

+1 on the cat. Pick one up from the shelter. I don't have time to shoot that many mice but a cat has nothing better to do, and enjoys it; they just can't help themselves. Feed him/her only in the morning and let it have the run of the house, including closets, drawers and cabinets. Your mouse problem will be gone in 2-3 days. Then feed twice a day.
Meow,
Mike

 

[delooper]

+1 on the cat. Pick one up from the shelter. I don't have time to shoot that many mice but a cat has nothing better to do, and enjoys it; they just can't help themselves. Feed him/her only in the morning and let it have the run of the house, including closets, drawers and cabinets. Your mouse problem will be gone in 2-3 days. Then feed twice a day.
Meow,
Mike

. . . and if you don't like cats, a daschund will do the job as well.

 

[Berserkeley Mike]

. . . and if you don't like cats, a daschund will do the job as well.

Good to know.
A few years ago my wife and I left our house unattended for a month or so. We had cats, but they were locked outside (they had a dry place to sleep) and somebody came by to feed them. So mice move inside. When we came back, the mice were everywhere: kitchen 'fridge, cupboards, bedroom, bathroom, basement, attic, everywhere the cats couldn't get to. The cats, being cats, weren't immediately concerned; they just wanted their kibble, "These mice can wait for me to play with them". But our little dog went berserk. She had been cooped on a plane for half a day and was half a day's timezones out of whack and we were all tired it was 2 am. but she would not stop sniffing and growling and digging until all the mice were banished from the house (to heaven). Not a Daschund, but a Terror. No, more than terror, Terrier.
But I couldn't leave a dog outside for a month with someone coming by to feed it. That's the difference.

 

[geak]

A bucket with water has always worked for me, we do it about every couple weeks and get 30 to 40 each time, hasn't put a dent in them, at least not in the shop none in the house

 

[mtnGhost]

This is a job for for a trained professional. View attachment 209531

Yep get a cat.

 

[rayroz]

Country living at its finest , welcome !

 

[bf1956]

You may be over thinking this...

View attachment 209382

Never fails mounted vertical.

 

[delooper]

Good to know.
A few years ago my wife and I left our house unattended for a month or so. We had cats, but they were locked outside (they had a dry place to sleep) and somebody came by to feed them. So mice move inside. When we came back, the mice were everywhere: kitchen 'fridge, cupboards, bedroom, bathroom, basement, attic, everywhere the cats couldn't get to. The cats, being cats, weren't immediately concerned; they just wanted their kibble, "These mice can wait for me to play with them". But our little dog went berserk. She had been cooped on a plane for half a day and was half a day's timezones out of whack and we were all tired it was 2 am. but she would not stop sniffing and growling and digging until all the mice were banished from the house (to heaven). Not a Daschund, but a Terror. No, more than terror, Terrier.
But I couldn't leave a dog outside for a month with someone coming by to feed it. That's the difference.

The thing I like about daschund's is it's munch-toss, munch-toss, munch-toss, repeat. They can kill a large number of rats, mice and rabbits in only a few moments. They deal with infestations. Cats take their time with their prey.

 

[karl_h]

. . . and if you don't like cats, a daschund will do the job as well.

Some will, some won't. Ours, back in the 1960's was a serious hunter but wouldn't waste time on anything smaller than a rabbit, wouldn't even look at squirrels sideways. When she decided it was time to go hunting, she would get out of her collar somehow, she was chained to a run when let outside in the back yard, no fence would hold her when she wanted to go hunting. , She would dig under the metal fence buried 6+ inches in less than a minute to go hunt the woods. Until she passed when I was 9, I can remember probably a dozen trips to the vet for stitches, and 5 or 6 badgers she succesfully brought home.

 

[dizzums]

ive had good luck with the large sticky sheets for mice in the shed, just have to figure out where theyre running when you surprise them and throw a sticky pad down .... rats though, unlike dum fat farm rats, most 'roof' rats are too smart for anything like pads or traps, sometimes you can corner them in a pile of stuff and have a co2 ready, sometimes you can stake them out with a thermal or theyll show up tooling around when ur after something else and walk right into it lol ..