# Lock Up You Grain



## Pumpy (12/4/08)

the mice are afer my grain ,they always come in when the weather gets colder 

best trap is the cheap wooden one,you get two for 99 cents in Bunnings

dont bother with the plastic expensive fancy ones fom WW.

I have caught three already .

Pumpy


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## brettprevans (12/4/08)

Ive got a great mice/rat catcher. cost me $100 from rspca....a Cat. its catches them and the dog then plays with them. actualy its too efficent. it also catches birds, guinnee pigs etc. it doesnt kill them,. it like to catch and release (except for mice/rate which it kills).

Damn vermon after your grain Pumpy. yeah the old cheap woodern ones are the best. KISS is the key. they are only mice for christs sake. who needs a $10 trap!


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## Pumpy (12/4/08)

CM I would like a cat they love catching mice 

The best bait fot the traps is bread squashed ard on the little trip

Pumpy


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## oldbugman (12/4/08)

tried using peanut butter?


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## Pumpy (12/4/08)

OldBugman said:


> tried using peanut butter?




I was a bit worried unless the mouse had a peanut allergy .

OBM I picked some of that up this morning will give it a go. just smear some on the trip?

Pumpy


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## schooey (12/4/08)

Me old grandfather used to swear by pumpkin seeds, but I never tried it. Always just did the bread thing


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## oldbugman (12/4/08)

yeah, you should be able to get it on there good and proper. bit harder for the little buggers to grab it and run


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## FNQ Bunyip (12/4/08)

schooey said:


> Me old grandfather used to swear by pumpkin seeds, but I never tried it. Always just did the bread thing




+1 or sunflower seed from bird seed... Just stick the little prongs in to it...

cheers


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## DarkFaerytale (12/4/08)

my vote is for peanut butter as well (at least for those that are not lucky enough to have a cat), they smell it from miles away and it sticks well to the trap. cought the little bastard that lived behind the heater at my old place within half an hour



-Phill


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## geoffi (12/4/08)

My preference is to put an impenetrable barrier between the rodent and the grain.

All my grain is in plastic tubs.

They have HUGE plastic tubs that would hold probably 50kg of grain from the local cheapie shop for about $20.

Oh, and the grain stays in its bags with a good tight piece of twine to stop any moths or weevils from getting in.


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## Ross (12/4/08)

Pumpy said:


> I was a bit worried unless the mouse had a peanut allergy .
> Pumpy



Classic  :lol:  

cheers Ross


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## Pumpy (12/4/08)

Peanut butter just put it on five trap one it has already licked it off the trap and its gone 

Pumpy


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## MCT (12/4/08)

Pumpy said:


> Peanut butter just put it on five trap one it has already licked it off the trap and its gone
> 
> Pumpy




I've always had good success with chocolate, it's easy to wedge on the trap and doesn't seem to get "licked" off.


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## joecast (12/4/08)

Pumpy said:


> I was a bit worried unless the mouse had a peanut allergy .


you certainly are the sensitive type pumpy. wouldnt want the poor bugger having some reaction when its neck gets snapped.


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## oldbugman (12/4/08)

Pumpy said:


> Peanut butter just put it on five trap one it has already licked it off the trap and its gone
> 
> Pumpy



Crunchy or smooth?


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## Sammus (12/4/08)

What happened to mice liking cheese? Cheese is the only thing ive ever heard of anyone using until I read this post...


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## Tyred (12/4/08)

From memory, cheese give mice high blood pressure but more likely is that cheese tends to go crumbly after being out for a few days. You want the mouse to trigger the trap, not to get a free feed.

Googled it and found this
" Mice will eat cheese if it given to them, however it is a myth that they are more attracted to it than other foods. I their natural environment mice would not find cheese, but rather grains and fruits.

In truth mice should not eat cheese, most mice are lactose intolerant and eating cheese can cause stomach problems and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration. If you are looking to give you mice a treat choose something that is closer to their natural food(sugar free cereals, vegetables, small amounts of fruit-but not too much fruit as it can also cause stomach upset)." 
[http://au.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/frontend.php/question?qid=20080112221058AARqZB1]

Pumpkin seeds or crust of bread pushed hard onto the prongs always worked for me.


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## pint of lager (12/4/08)

Bit of bacon rind spiked onto the trigger. Something they have to work at along the same lines as the seed strategy.

Never spill grain around the plastic bins, the little bastards can chomp their way straight through plastic if they thing it is worthwhile.


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## Paul H (12/4/08)

Pumpy said:


> CM I would like a cat they love catching mice
> 
> Pumpy



Then you have to get something to get rid of the cat <_<


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## Screwtop (12/4/08)

I've got one of those long slithery traps, know when he's in the shed cos the Gecko's dissapear. Neighbour came over screaming one night, he was curled up on her doorstep and she wanted him gone (sure he had planned on cat dinner, he was curled up beside the mat where her cat often sleeps), put him in a bag and told her I would take him away and let him go in the bush. I did but only about 200M away. He was back a couple of days later saw, spotted him in a tree in the back yard.


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## TidalPete (12/4/08)

Paul H said:


> Then you have to get something to get rid of the cat <_<



Shotgun? <_< 

TP :beer:


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## sqyre (12/4/08)

i use pumpkin seeds too... works well.. mice love them
press them onto the prongs at the right angle and they wont budge.
i must killed at least 30 with the same pumpkin seed.

We had a plague of the bastards last year.. 
they came in through the roof and chewed through the gyprock walls to get in.. :angry: 
Havent seen any lately just heaps of snakes...  

Sqyre...


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## bindi (12/4/08)

Macadamia nut or bread with a few drops of Macadamia oil on it for rats and mice, works around here every time.


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## Steve (12/4/08)

citymorgue2 said:


> cost me $100 from rspca....a Cat.



:blink: $100 bucks for a cat! Thats a bit rich. My wifes cat discovered a mouse nest in our old compost bin (where the grain went). She mustve though she was in heaven. Years ago we had a mouse invasion and yep peanut butter is the go Pumpy - go the crunchy nut peanut butter though. They seem to prefer that over the smooth.
Cheers
Steve


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## domonsura (12/4/08)

Maybe I should get a carpet python for the Beerbelly Grain Room? :lol: 
I'll know he's got big when customers start going missing......


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## Weizguy (12/4/08)

Screwtop said:


> I've got one of those long slithery traps


A slithery trap, you say? An ex-wife? <_< 

I have possums in my roof/storage area under the house, and was very upset about them lurking among my brew-gear and other stuff.
Since I found that rats are no longer hanging around, I'm getting used to the possums. Occasionally they make a bit of noise, when they're making possum-babies, but they're mostly well-controlled and no rats!  

Les


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## enoch (12/4/08)

OldBugman said:


> Crunchy or smooth?


Mousetrap - have to be crunchy.


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## Batz (12/4/08)

Monty looks after my grain,no mice there

Batz


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## bindi (12/4/08)

I have a snake also, it appears and disappears, to where I don't know [ i have 3 large sheds] and the mice can't get to the grain, but I still caught a mouse in one shed yesterday.


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## paul (12/4/08)

Caught some


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## Adamt (12/4/08)

Hahahahhahahahhahahahhahahhaha! :lol:


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## pokolbinguy (12/4/08)

Thats pure gold!!

Laughed my arse off over that one


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## Pumpy (12/4/08)

This is quite a good site has the Glue board to which the mouse gets stuck too.

And the trap that will not kill the mouse !

http://www.horsesuppliesdirect.com.au/category229_1.htm

Pumpy 

Ps Old Bugman I used the Smooth peanut butter should I have used crunchy ?

We may jest at this ,but people with grain ,will always attract mice .

pumpy


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## Screwtop (12/4/08)

Batz said:


> Monty looks after my grain,no mice there
> 
> Batz



I've got pic's of Monty, he likes to come into Batz bar to warm up occasionally


How he walks on his ribs along the courses of a brick wall is really something. If he'd fallen Patch would have shit in his pants. Monty looks like he hasn't eaten in a while, Batz gets rid of him by taking him miles away (well metres), snakes are handy to have around.

You Sunny Coast guys got lot's of toads at present? they've come out here in the last few days, just come in from toad patrol with the detol spray bottle.


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## Screwtop (12/4/08)

paul said:


> Caught some






Yep, when your down and out, there's always someone waiting to Fcuk you


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## SJW (12/4/08)

Thats Gold. I guess u got to take what u can get.
Sounds to me like the little bastards like your malt pretty good Pummy, so why not stick a few grains of your finest in the trap, maybe a little Carraroma, or Munich II

Steve


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## Linz (13/4/08)

44 gal drum here.

Havent met a mouse that can chew thru steel yet!!...and if it can; He can have all the grain he wants, cause I aint going near it!!


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## matti (13/4/08)

:lol: 

Screwtop lives up to his name


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## Jazzafish (13/4/08)

Geoffi said:


> My preference is to put an impenetrable barrier between the rodent and the grain.
> 
> All my grain is in plastic tubs.
> 
> ...




+1

Works very well for me too


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## Lobsta (13/4/08)

Screwtop said:


> You Sunny Coast guys got lot's of toads at present? they've come out here in the last few days, just come in from toad patrol with the detol spray bottle.



dettol is no fun. i dont even think it works that great. my weapon of choice for toad hunting is a 8 foot tomato stake. pointy end for quickly finishing them (point between the eyes, smack down on the top, crack), long to practice the golf swing or baseball swing, long to catch the buggers as they try to get away. that and a bottle of zippo fluid makes for a fun night of hunting

XD go queensland!!!


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## TidalPete (13/4/08)

Lobsta said:


> dettol is no fun. i dont even think it works that great. my weapon of choice for toad hunting is a 8 foot tomato stake. pointy end for quickly finishing them (point between the eyes, smack down on the top, crack), long to practice the golf swing or baseball swing, long to catch the buggers as they try to get away. that and a bottle of zippo fluid makes for a fun night of hunting
> 
> XD go queensland!!!



You are correct re the dettol Lobsta. It is supposed to give the toads an agonising death & even if they are toads I would not wish that on them.
A sharp thrust just behind the eyes with a garden fork does it for me.
In my early days, a drive around the back streets of Mooloolaba used to result in a bounty of squashed toads but not enough to stop the bastards from spreading.  

TP :beer:


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## warrenlw63 (13/4/08)

paul said:


> Caught some



Doggy Mice.  

Warren -


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## Batz (13/4/08)

Air rifle and a home brew sitting on the patio,toads are the target
Wonderful way to spend a night now amd then.

Batz


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## reVoxAHB (13/4/08)

I've read that if you do use peanut butter, you should toast or burn the outer layer with a lighter before setting the trap. FWIW, I have used peanut butter as bait in the past, with no luck. Might try pumpkin seeds this year. All of my grain was stored away just today, in 60L heavy rubbermaid bins- on sale [email protected] bunnings for just $9.95 w/locking lid. Black bins, too. 

reVox


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## dr K (14/4/08)

I am really of the belief that you should look at problems like this from a whole of greenhouse / carbon footprint view rather than an outdated capital based mindset.
Those plastic bins are actaully made of plastic, plastic is on the whole made from non-renewable inputs such as petrochemicals and is about as biodegradable as a neuclear reactor.
I used to lock my grains up in all sorts of contraptions till one day when I was spreading a few grains around the back yard for the cats (birds fly in to eat the grain, nature takes its course and I reduce my carbon footprint by not buying cans of catfood) when it struck me..why not do something for our native birds and let the cats cats eat mice instead..I leave my bags open, the mice migrate to an easy food source and the cats have fun as well as food...an unfortunate side affect is that the cockroaches who eat the remnants of the mice have increased but I am working on a clean green solution to this as well, although they not very edible I am thinking that I can crush them for a bio-fuel base.

K


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## Gerard_M (14/4/08)

In order of preference my choice would be: Shot-gun (bit too loud & messy)
Snake (scare the sh!t out of me)
Cat (I am allergic but appreciate their efforts)

When we had our warehouse at Lane Cove we were getting through 1.5 - 2 tonne a week & never had a mouse problem. No droppings, no chewed bags, no problems at all. The guy we were leasing the space from wasn't supposed to have us there as we were storing perishables or foodstuff, but a few long-necks of Green Star & he looked the other way.We never used any baits or traps as to my way of thinking they attract the mice to pay you a visit, but I think the most important part was that we never opened a bag of grain in the warehouse, so there was no dust or spillage to attract them either.

At home in the garage was a different story, as if there was a bag to be opened & repackaged that was were it happened. There was a family of mice that tried to have a go, but we kept the open bags in bins. I had about 8 Kookaburras that used to turn up every day for a feed of cheap steak. I saw them pick off a few mice & that was the last time we saw a mouse there.

Cheers
Gerard


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## barry2 (14/4/08)

Pumpkin seed or a piece of bacon rind spiked on.If you then tie the rind on securely with cotton you will catch several mice before having to change the rind.


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## therook (14/4/08)

I always had trouble with the mice either eating the cheese or licking the peanut butter off the trap, my neighbour then told me to melt the cheese onto the trap.

i have never missed a mouse since and you get excellent mileage from one piece of cheese.

Rook


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## pokolbinguy (14/5/08)

Well a good haul here lately  caught 4 mice over night all using chocolate for bait...the little buggers where into the left over easter loot.

So if you have never tried it, chuck some cadbury easter eggs on your traps and they work a treat.

Pok


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## matr (14/5/08)

I've always had great results with sunflower seeds superglued to the trap...

Gotta love it when you see their eyes popping out & blood dribbling out their little mouths.. B)


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## Katherine (14/5/08)

Peanut butter worked a treat for me. Though I have just got a kitten which Im thinking will work even better.


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## craig maher (14/5/08)

Katie said:


> Peanut butter worked a treat for me. Though I have just got a kitten which Im thinking will work even better.



I would stick with the peanut butter - unless your mice really like the taste of kitten :lol: :lol:


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## beerguide (14/5/08)

LOL - Nice one craig


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## Back Yard Brewer (14/5/08)

You gotta love cheese.

BYB 







View attachment TEAM_WORK.htm


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## bonj (14/5/08)

Here's my solution:

I have a very stupid cat. She lives in the garage due to being a whack-job that likes to mark her territory (unusual in female cats). I have seen a mouse or two in there, and suspect they are eating the cat's food. She is so totally useless and probably oblivious to all of it. Oh, I should also mention as further evidence of just how mental this cat is, she eats her food in rows... the cat food is always eaten to leave a perfectly straight line. Recently however, there hasn't been any food left.

I keep my grain inside in a spare room. We have another cat, that just last week proved her worth by catching a mouse that had ventured inside. Judging by the location of the catch (I heard the cat react and catch the thing), I'd say it came from the garage.

So I have a "honeypot" that keeps the mice away from the grain, and if they do come closer, the switched on cat makes short work of them.


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## mfdes (14/5/08)

I keep mi grain in metal bins and have never had a mouse problem.
Weevils are something else entirely though 

MFS.


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## pokolbinguy (14/5/08)

Up to 5 now and counting


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## domonsura (14/5/08)

matr said:


> I've always had great results with sunflower seeds superglued to the trap...
> 
> Gotta love it when you see their eyes popping out & blood dribbling out their little mouths.. B)



 uncalled for.....


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## Dave86 (14/5/08)

If you can find their hole, a mixture of equal parts concrete powder and milk powder filling their hole will do the trick. The milk powder is to encourage them to eat through the filling powder, the concrete petrifies them from the inside out. Best bit is they don't stink up the place if they die inside the walls....


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## beerguide (14/5/08)

Wow, neat trick Dave. I'll have to test that theory out for the bugger I got scampering around in my roof at night.


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## matr (14/5/08)

Dave86 said:


> If you can find their hole, a mixture of equal parts concrete powder and milk powder filling their hole will do the trick. The milk powder is to encourage them to eat through the filling powder, the concrete petrifies them from the inside out. Best bit is they don't stink up the place if they die inside the walls....




Isn't their hole just under their tail???? I guess you'd have to catch them first and use a small syringe??


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## jlm (14/5/08)

I just put my bull terrier's bed next to the grain bins. She's been known to jag the odd mouse, or pidgeon, or neighbor's escaped guinea pig or...... Provides a good deterent.


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## pokolbinguy (14/5/08)

Just got number 6....


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## loftboy (14/5/08)

pokolbinguy said:


> Just got number 6....



C'mon Brett - Stop counting dead rodents & get brewing !.  

See you at the HAG case swap.

David.


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## pokolbinguy (14/5/08)

loftboy said:


> C'mon Brett - Stop counting dead rodents & get brewing !.
> 
> See you at the HAG case swap.
> 
> David.



Just caught number 7!!!


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## pint of lager (15/5/08)

Rats have been an issue here. They haven't made it into the grain, but they had decided that the roof cavity makes a great home.

They didn't touch the ratsack. So we bought some single feed Talon blocks. That did kill two rats.

Poison is a worry as the dog or cat may catch and eat a poisoned animal. Also, dead rats in the roof cavity stink, and even worse if they drop into a wall cavity.

The best result has been traps baited with bacon rind or beef sinew. The bait dries on the trap trigger and shrinks. This is hard for them to remove without triggering the trap. Do tie the trap with a bit of string to something. A few times, the trap has only caught the animal by the tail or a leg, and they then manage to drag the trap off.

Caught two in one trap one evening. 

The funniest was the young rat that decided to go down the clothes dryer vent from the ceiling cavity. It couldn't climb back out. The cat was trying very hard to work out how to get into the clothes dryer.

Total over the last two weeks is seven half grown and one full grown rat.

Both the dog and cat have been doing a good job on any mice. If we find that they have an area staked out, we shift things around and usually the dog or cat come up trumps.

The brown snake that was here two weeks ago, right near the dining room door was really not wanted.


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## justsomeguy (15/5/08)

The cat and dog are on mouse duty around our place.

The cat appears to be averaging 1 or 2 a week at the moment. The only problem is that he catch them, then brings them into the house alive to play with :blink: Sometimes he gets bored and lets the little buggers go inside the house until I find them and get him to go after them again.

The dog, a Jack Russell, ain't bad either though she doesn't actually catch the mice. Waits until the cat catches them then rips them apart damn quick. Much better than than the cat bringing them into the house.

I think that our problem may be that I've just been dumping piles of spent grain on the garden which is attracting mice from over the back fence. SWMBO has vetoed that now and insists that the grain go in the bin now.

gary


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## peas_and_corn (15/5/08)

What is it with you guys and not liking snakes? the pic of the one earlier was quite good looking, I would love to have it hanging around my place! But that said, I'm a bit of a reptile enthusiast...

My last batch was the last pre-crushed batch, and it was sitting in the sack (I have big orders, so a lot of the time they put my order into empty grain sacks) in the brew room- hole chewed in the side real quick  Of course, I still used all the grain, and when I finished I was glad to discover there was no mice still in it


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## pokolbinguy (15/5/08)

up to 8 now.... I think we need another Cat...since out last cat past away we have had a problem....live traps are much more efficient (furry or slithery)


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## pokolbinguy (16/5/08)

pokolbinguy said:


> Just got number 6....





pokolbinguy said:


> Just caught number 7!!!





pokolbinguy said:


> up to 8 now.... I think we need another Cat...since out last cat past away we have had a problem....live traps are much more efficient (furry or slithery)



Now 10!!


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## deadly (17/5/08)

>up to 8 now.... I think we need another Cat...<

put some poison down and get rid of both rodents.


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## staggalee (17/5/08)

matr said:


> Isn't their hole just under their tail???? I guess you'd have to catch them first and use a small syringe??



:lol: matr, that was very funny.
Are you sure you`re on the right forum :lol: 

staga.


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## pokolbinguy (17/5/08)

deadly said:


> >up to 8 now.... I think we need another Cat...<
> 
> put some poison down and get rid of both rodents.



So the count went to 13 over night. Bloody hell!!

Sick of using poison because they tend to want to go and die in the ceiling or wall cavities where we can't get them out. Atleast with traps I know they are dead and can remove them from the house!!!


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## pokolbinguy (29/5/08)

up to 23 now.... think we really need to invest in a fluffy mouse trap!!!


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