" How often do the dryer sheets have to be changed?" When the mice start sticking to one another....
Seriously, if there is food and habitat- rats/ mice tend to be there. DO what you can not to feed them if possible. Early fall is a great time to break the cycle. Just keep killing until they don't feed no more.

"When the mice start sticking to one another...."

Tom, that's the best laugh I've had in a long time!!! Thanks!

No "food" in the barn, just tools, equipment, lubricant's etc. OK, it's a "habitat," and they love it.

Guess I'll keep going with the D-Con as I bought a large box of "feeding stations."

BTW, according to "Orkin" the pest control folks website, dryer sheets are ineffective almost immediately and have also been shown to attract them, they wonder what the new scent is and if it's edible...." Wonder if Orkin is slightly biased?? :-)

Thanks,

EV

That trick by Orkin is just what all of the advertisers do, to get you to buy their product!
I've been using dryer sheets for about 3 years, and get no critters in my equipment. Which reminds me--i need some fresh dryer sheets, out in the back garage. I only wish they kept the ground hogs out, too.

"D-Con WORKS! The fact that they are eating it is a good sign. Have patience, there are probably scores of them. You won't see any dead mice because they 'go away' seeking water as the poison starts to kill."

Agree! Works for me.

Walt Conner

Here's a good one for you, and it worked like a charm for me.

Place a bowl of fresh Coca-Cola out for them. They'll come to it and drink like pigs in a trough. Don't use Pepsi or anything else. For some reason, they prefer Coca-cola.

Mice, rats, etc., cannot burp nor pass gas easily. Therefore, they bloat up and are easy prey after that.

I didn't believe it myself until I tried it. Couldn't figure out why a bowl I'd filled just hours before on a 90* day would be empty. That is, until I refilled one, waited about 15 minutes and sneaked back to take a look see.

Yep, you got it! The mice & rats were fighting each other to get back at the fresh refreshments. I saw several so bloated they couldn't even walk right.

So, there you have it.

Coke. The pause that refreshes.

I've heard that the plastic bucket / tilting paint stirring stick, with 4 inches of water, works well, too.
I put out several mouse traps, but the mice took them away and hid them---or so my wife sez! But, the Decon sure disappeared quickly, too. Maybe the wife doesn't want to hurt them.

A cat will solve all problems , we have 2 or 3 hang out and they even get rid of those nasty chipmunks.
This last spring I was ill so coldnt do a lot , my brother found no less than 10 mice in my garage. The cats dont come in the garage cause my Dobie will eat em.I try not to use poison because my dog eats everything an I mean everything. Those snap traps worked great with peanut butter.

Feed them a mixture of Coca Cola, vodka and Exlax.
I don't know if it will keep them out of your OPE but it sure sounds like it would ruin their day. :^)

If you want a laugh (though scary) google "uses for coca cola." Some of the more interesting are removing corrosion from battery terminals, disolve rust, remove oil stains from concrete, and remove rust/stains from chrome....

Well, I'm into the 4th "feeder pack" of D-Con someone's eating it so I'm hopeful.

Mownie, your idea reminds me of something an "acquaintence" told me he did to a barking yapping dog next door who was let out every morning at 5AM. This woke up the guy and his wife who were retired and were not amused. He started going out and flipping exlax to the mutt. The dog was brought back inside, after a while, yelling, and so forth erupted and the dog was put out again. After a few days, the dog was gone....:-)

Thanks for all the ideas.

Happy Turkey Day,

Ev

Scatter moth balls around to see if they keep the mice away.

A couple these a year at different time take care large population they claim braking into 8 pieces but 16 pieces way to use on mice. You clean up block with one bite. Rat and mice like travel along base wall so put bate behind fixtures hay bails feed sacks boxes in 4 days they are no more field mice move inside as weather cools. Rat Snakes Hawks move away to better feeding area.

Here is a link that might be useful: mice and rats

The trouble with bait is they croak and then they stink .
I guess if they are not in the house and your other animals cant get at it your golden.

Noramally these new rodent baits contain a ingredient (Warfarin) that causes the run for water as Walt indicated. They then burn right up due to a chemical reaction . Usually not much left other than its tail and skull . I do hesitate at times when in areas where domestic cats are pets and let to roam since dead reminants if found are probably still potentially lethal . Not so much that I care for the unthinking owners but hate to kill innocent pets doing what they do lol . Have tried the ultasonic deterents within my Garage last yr since I saw them on sale for peanuts . I usually do not have a problem but with all the fish frys and butchering of Moose and Deer I thought I would give one a try just in case .

If you want to catch them alive, use a variant of the bucket/water trick. Place the cardboard tube from empty toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls on your workbench with about half of the tube sticking out over the edge. Put a 30-40 gallon trash can under the tube, then put a peanut in the end of the tube. The mouse will run along the work bench, then into the tube to get a peanut, and his weight will cause tube and all to fall into the trash can. Don't use a 5-gal bucket as the mouse can jump out of that. If the mice get smart and drag the tube back, you will need to block it at the back.

When all done, put your cat in the can to get the mice, or sell them to the pet store (snake food), or re-locate them to the idiot neighbor down the road that you don't like.