Types of Mouse Poison and Issues
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The neighbors Cub zero turn had a leaky valve cover the end of last year so I told him I would let him know when I had a chance to look at it.
Not trying to start a debate on mouse poison and the risks to pets but if you want to use be aware of this.
First thing I found was mouse poison stuffed in one side of the engine. He used 2 types. One small and thin and one the size of gumballs. The gumballs are like rocks and will not pass through the cooling fins so they would get part way down and stop and then block grass and pine needles. The thinner ones would make it through if the gumballs had not jammed up the works. I could see the issue right away without removing the cover since needles and grass were spilling out of the spark plugs hole on the left side. I told him to check that first before he ran it in the future.
How I found it.
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This was not all from the motor but the amount of mouse poison I found as I blew things out was amazing.
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The dark spot was the discolored valve color and screw from getting very hot from the lack of airflow.
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Set the valves, the coil module gaps, put in plugs and changed the oil & filter, fuel filter and sent it on its way.
Not trying to start a debate on mouse poison and the risks to pets but if you want to use be aware of this.
First thing I found was mouse poison stuffed in one side of the engine. He used 2 types. One small and thin and one the size of gumballs. The gumballs are like rocks and will not pass through the cooling fins so they would get part way down and stop and then block grass and pine needles. The thinner ones would make it through if the gumballs had not jammed up the works. I could see the issue right away without removing the cover since needles and grass were spilling out of the spark plugs hole on the left side. I told him to check that first before he ran it in the future.
How I found it.
This was not all from the motor but the amount of mouse poison I found as I blew things out was amazing.
The dark spot was the discolored valve color and screw from getting very hot from the lack of airflow.
Set the valves, the coil module gaps, put in plugs and changed the oil & filter, fuel filter and sent it on its way.
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Did the owner put the poison in there or did the mice carry it there?
Hmmm. There was no nest. Just food. I get along with him pretty well so I don't think he was leaving me a treat. Now that you mention it though his wife is the one who brings over pies for us and while he always gets one at the same time maybe he wants 2.
That is interesting. I use the blocks either scattered around or in bait boxes along walls. I have seen collections of pellets before when dad used them. You want something mice can't carry around.
Mice and red squirrels are a pain Glen. They can sure make a mess and always worry about them getting into stuff. Hear several horror stories.
I quit using the pellets as like you said, they carry them everywhere. In the shop I use the bait blocks in the little container. Feel better with them so Gunner can’t get to them also. I also keep 3 traps set with peanut butter just in case. Been years since I’ve seen a mouse in the shop or house but you never know. Farm we have barn cats and them roam around which helps a lot.
I quit using the pellets as like you said, they carry them everywhere. In the shop I use the bait blocks in the little container. Feel better with them so Gunner can’t get to them also. I also keep 3 traps set with peanut butter just in case. Been years since I’ve seen a mouse in the shop or house but you never know. Farm we have barn cats and them roam around which helps a lot.
Mice and squirrels don’t always eat the poison as they tend to like to score food. I had mice or could have been squirrels pack the tung f a utility trailer full of acorns over night. I had hauled my atv up to the cabin for the weekend. Lights worked fine on the way up. When I hooked the trailer up for the return trip home I got a message on my dash that I had a trailer light out. I didn’t know my truck was capable of doing that. It turned out something chewed the wiring off on the trailer tung and it was packed full of acorns. I have found rat poison in a number of places I didn’t put it.
The old Decon seemed to work better than what is available today. Yet some say it’s more deadly to dogs. I still put some out. But I put it in places Fido can’t get it. I still do worry what would happen if one of the dogs would eat a critter that had eaten rat poison. I find one or 2 dead mice some where in the shed about once a month.
The old Decon seemed to work better than what is available today. Yet some say it’s more deadly to dogs. I still put some out. But I put it in places Fido can’t get it. I still do worry what would happen if one of the dogs would eat a critter that had eaten rat poison. I find one or 2 dead mice some where in the shed about once a month.
I never found bait that will eliminate squirrels. They must have a cast iron stomach.
All that grass in the engine shroud is a nest (or the remains of one). I always get the exact same thing and for some reason they love building right around the coils. Every spring I have to peel the shroud off and blow that whole area out with an air gun.
If you put the poison baits out in the fall months they'll pick them up and drag them to their nests to save them as their winter stash. That looks like what has happened there.
If you put the poison baits out in the fall months they'll pick them up and drag them to their nests to save them as their winter stash. That looks like what has happened there.
I use bait stations in and around my shop. When I first noticed mice in my shop I used bait traps and got 3-4. Then put out the bait stations and haven't seen any mouse activity since.
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Those are what I use. I hate the thought of open or accessible bait even though we don't often have tykes and the pups are indoor pups and can't get their big snouts inside if they wanted to. We still have the risk of an animal eating another that has been tainted with poison; I don't like that but have no alternatives in this area where many of the visiting cats die crossing the highway.
If I were president of the world I'd mandate all wires (including house wiring) be animal-resistant. This would eliminate the use of half of this kind of stuff.
If I were president of the world I'd mandate all wires (including house wiring) be animal-resistant. This would eliminate the use of half of this kind of stuff.
Funny story. Mice can get into amazingly tight spaces. For years I was a television repairman. Back in the vacuum tube days field techs would bring in just the chassis where I would bench repair them connected to a test jig (ceiling mounted picture tube, cables, etc). One chassis ticket said "high voltage arcing", so I connect it up, sure enough a loud sizzling sound. Back then they had a high voltage metal box with transformer inside. I opened it up and inside was a mouse stretched straight out, looked like Frankenstein with 25,000 volts coming out out the top of his head. I unplugged set and he fell over stiff as a board his head smoking!
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One way to keep your bait from wandering and safe from pets...
What you did on your property, farm or ranch today. | Page 165 | Green Tractor Talk
What you did on your property, farm or ranch today. | Page 165 | Green Tractor Talk
Crazy thing happened this afternoon. Had my shop main door open sweeping the floor up and all of a sudden I heard something making a scratching/rustling around noise under my toolbox. I keep a snap trap under there and said to myself "dang, we were just talking about mice on GTT". Looked underneath and found this poor fellow. Didn't make it of course but thought it was very odd I'd catch a bird in a mouse trap. First for everything I guess
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The old Decon seemed to work better than what is available today. Yet some say it’s more deadly to dogs. I still put some out. But I put it in places Fido can’t get it. I still do worry what would happen if one of the dogs would eat a critter that had eaten rat poison. I find one or 2 dead mice some where in the shed about once a month.
The old d-Con was better at killing mice. The active ingredient was brodifacoum and all the veterinary staff knew to use vitamin K-1 as the antidote. The little pellets were a problem because mice trans located the product in their cheeks and it got scattered everywhere.
Now d-Con uses a soft bait with a different active ingredient (cholecalciferol) which is harder for the Vet to save pets but better for raptors in the wild. The soft bait may be what ended up as hard marbles in the top picture. My guess is that the neighbor is a bit casual with rodenticides.
Most dog poisonings happen with the bait re-fills that come in a bag, not the bait station.
One trick you might try when you use rodent bait: the mouse or rat will take a up to a week to succumb. If you place traps along walls (glue, snap, multi-catch) the mouse will blunder into the trap since it is woozy during it's last few days. This helps prevent secondary poisoning to starving barn cats and allows you to dispose of the mouse easily instead of searching for a smelly carcass.
The old d-Con was better at killing mice. The active ingredient was brodifacoum and all the veterinary staff knew to use vitamin K-1 as the antidote. The little pellets were a problem because mice trans located the product in their cheeks and it got scattered everywhere.
Now d-Con uses a soft bait with a different active ingredient (cholecalciferol) which is harder for the Vet to save pets but better for raptors in the wild. The soft bait may be what ended up as hard marbles in the top picture. My guess is that the neighbor is a bit casual with rodenticides.
Most dog poisonings happen with the bait re-fills that come in a bag, not the bait station.
One trick you might try when you use rodent bait: the mouse or rat will take a up to a week to succumb. If you place traps along walls (glue, snap, multi-catch) the mouse will blunder into the trap since it is woozy during it's last few days. This helps prevent secondary poisoning to starving barn cats and allows you to dispose of the mouse easily instead of searching for a smelly carcass.
I’ll second that notion! We used Decon for decades to keep mice at bay. Having said that, I lost count of the number of open trays of that stuff that I inadvertently spilled over the years. At least with the Tomcat cubes you can see if they are nibbling on it.
I went to a battery operated box trap last winter. It actually fries them. I have two operate on AA batteries and I clean them out weekly and rebate with Peanut Butter. I catch a bunch the first cold snap but haven't had any the past three weeks. I have 4 dogs and 3 feral cats my wife feeds, so I don't want to use poison
I don't remember seeing any battery traps. Where did you buy them? Thanks!
Amazon has dozens of different electronic mouse traps. The most popular seems to be the Victor. Of course they are also a bit expensive.
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I use the victor tin cat's. Only electric in the way that last week one was alive when I dumped it out into the five gallon pail so I smashed with the the back end of the flashlight.
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