BajaNomad

RATS ?

MrBillM - 10-14-2020 at 02:16 PM

Well, Mice, anyway.

The (Baja-Related) question IS ...................... Are REAL (old-fashioned and effective) mouse/rat poisons (containing cyanide/strychnine/arsenic/whatever) still available in Mexico ???????

What's available locally (Home Depot, etc) uses either Sodium Chloride (salt) or Diphacinone (an anticoagulant) and are (apparently) less than effective. Lately, the (so far) most effective remedy has been the traditional baited "Snap" Traps, their chancy nature (including keeping them away from mi esposa's cat) has left me looking.

Would a trip south do it ?

JZ - 10-14-2020 at 02:28 PM

Exterminators still use the big mechanical rat traps, not poison.



[Edited on 10-15-2020 by JZ]

del mar - 10-14-2020 at 02:29 PM

I use glue traps but don't think you'll want the gato stuck in one!:o

bajatrailrider - 10-14-2020 at 02:57 PM

glue traps good put a milk crate over it.

AKgringo - 10-14-2020 at 03:28 PM

I used a glue trap once. It caught one victim, but none of his fellow rodents got stuck while they consumed his corpse!

I went back to using Decon (sp?) and never had to deal with anymore corpses.

A tip from an exterminator; If the rodents are feeding on a supply of dog food, they may be getting vitamin K, which is an antidote for the anticoagulant !

advrider - 10-14-2020 at 06:33 PM

The bad thing with Decon is that any animals that eat the dead mouse will be poisoned as well, including the cat. We have a cabin that we get mice in on occasion, we use both sticky and snap traps, they seem to do the trick.
We are at near 8k feet and the place is buried in snow all winter and then dry's out in the summer. I always look for gaps or openings in the spring and patch them up. Steel wool works good in small gaps, they don't like the feel of chewing on it and leave it alone.

Caught up in the Rat Race

MrBillM - 10-19-2020 at 09:59 AM

Well, the evidence "seems" to be that the Sodium Chloride/ Diphacinone pellets "may" be working. The critters ARE eating it and evidence of their presence in the garage is less. The "snap" traps have yielded nothing.

SO ................ with mi esposa doing a guilt trip, it's down to Tractor Supply to give the wire catch-and-release cages a try.

As she's talking me into that, she notes that "we'll have to take them at least 3 miles away according to what I've read".

JEEZ ! . Chauffeuring Rats/Mice across town.

PaulW - 10-19-2020 at 10:39 AM

My snap tracks baited with bacon and my old decon work fine. The new decon is not so good, but is safer for other small animals.
Quite time consuming to keep the snap tracks loaded and ready.

Bacon ?

MrBillM - 10-19-2020 at 11:49 AM

Thanks. I've tried Peanut Butter and two different Cheeses, but I can envision that bacon aroma being enticing.

Used uncooked, I assume ?

Tractor Supply turned out to be a bust. Having remembered seeing an end display, I found that THOSE @ $30 (24 x 6" x 6") were the smallest stocked. They did have a variety of those "Hotel Death" types, but as a single-use, they would get expensive.

Amazon.com has the same cage-type @ 10+" long for $17.00 w/ free shipping. Ordered (2). We'll see.

Off to buy some bacon.

They are called "Hav a heart" traps

thebajarunner - 10-19-2020 at 11:56 AM

Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM  
Well, the evidence "seems" to be that the Sodium Chloride/ Diphacinone pellets "may" be working. The critters ARE eating it and evidence of their presence in the garage is less. The "snap" traps have yielded nothing.

SO ................ with mi esposa doing a guilt trip, it's down to Tractor Supply to give the wire catch-and-release cages a try.

As she's talking me into that, she notes that "we'll have to take them at least 3 miles away according to what I've read".

JEEZ ! . Chauffeuring Rats/Mice across town.


I have several that I use to trap ground squirrels.
My place used to be an almond orchard and for years we were over run with those nasty critters... A ground squirrel is just a rat with a bush tail.

Anyway, instead of hauling them off to dispose just drop the trap in the pool for a few minutes, Then you can easily release them. They generally don't run away and when I dump them out back the buzzards are on regular call. They show up on schedule, chow down, and depart.
Easy and simple...

John Harper - 10-19-2020 at 12:21 PM

My roommate has been using these at her place in Campo Lopez.

https://www.amazon.com/Tomcat-Press-Mouse-Trap-2-Pack/dp/B00...

She says they work well, and she's even worked up the fortitude to dump the dead mouse and re-use the trap.

John

PaulW - 10-19-2020 at 02:38 PM

For squirrels I use peanut butter laced with an abundance of peanuts. All installed in a squirrel wire cage trap. After I catch them I add strychnine gopher pellets to make the die quickly. Then dispose of them in the trash and landfill.

Alm - 10-19-2020 at 05:50 PM

Old-fashion snap traps are not "chancy", glue traps are way less efficient, mostly good for catching bugs. With moderate mice infestation I killed a few within a month with snap traps. None with glue traps. For mice you want the smallest trap. Like others noted, peanut butter is one of the best. Also, nuts - any kind. I used a piece of walnut covered with peanut butter.

Cat should be a useful a tool rather than a nuisance that you have to work around. A cat that does its job is the best solution, better than traps. My neighbor has 2, one works, another one doesn't.

Don Pisto - 10-19-2020 at 06:29 PM

I use nothing but glue traps, the key is to staple em down or they'll take off with trap in tow! maxwell silver hammer treatment puts em out of their misery. at least here they can't resist Jif crunchy;)

[Edited on 10-20-2020 by Don Pisto]

advrider - 10-19-2020 at 06:53 PM

I've found a milky way works best in our area, had them clean off peanut butter without setting the trap off. The candy bar sticks really good to the trigger. A couple of outside cats can't be beat and will probably out preform the traps.

TMW - 10-19-2020 at 08:04 PM

I've had cats for the last 30+ years and no mice or rats in the house. I did have a couple of rats in the back yard for a while until the cats saw em. Bit the head off one and broke the back of the other. They looked like pet rats someone turned loose, probably the kid next door. One time one came up to the sliding glass door like it wanted in. It looked really clean like a pet.

I don't have any cats now but I feed two of the neighbors cat and I let them in the garage every so often to walk around.

bajaric - 10-20-2020 at 09:20 AM

Using poison only makes it worse in the long run, because the predators of the rodents get killed off along with the rodents, at least for certain types of single feed poisons. That is why vector control programs went over to multiple feed anticoagulants. If a bird eats the carcass it will not kill the bird.

I personally try not to use any types of poisons or pesticides. I have lived with the consequences of my altruism. I had rats that figured out how to gnaw through the window screens. I put traps in front of the holes that they had gnawed, and caught two that way, but two had taken up residence inside my house. Got one with a glue trap, then early one morning I heard one scratching around, got my air rifle and picked it off the top of the sofa. Then I put up steel mesh over all the windows.

John Harper - 10-20-2020 at 09:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
I don't have any cats now but I feed two of the neighbors cat and I let them in the garage every so often to walk around.


Yes, my neighbor's cat comes in my yard all the time. I leave the garage door open so he can "patrol" the area. No mice or rats.

John

Rats, Cats and Squirrels

MrBillM - 10-20-2020 at 09:31 AM

We seem to be turning the corner on the Rats. I may not be able to test out the cage-traps when they arrive in a few days. Which is OK.

My wife does have a Cat, but it's aged and lost its pep. I've been waiting (and hoping) for it to die for years, but it keeps hanging in there.

As to the Squirrels, even though they've tested me with their burrows front and back, they're mi amigos.

Speaking of which, with my trailer in storage, I'm loaded and ready to head up to Poppet Flats for my routine (p-off other campers) twice-weekly Critter (Squirrels, Raccoons, Coyotes, Crow y otra birds) feed.

Peanuts, Kibbles 'n Bits, seed (including sunflower), corn and chopped apples. Chicken Wieners for the Coyotes.

[Edited on 10-20-2020 by MrBillM]