Ridgerunner
Garden Master
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2009
- Messages
- 8,227
- Reaction score
- 10,049
- Points
- 397
- Location
- Southeast Louisiana Zone 9A
When I use a snap trap I wire them to a nail or something so they cannot be drug away. Haven't lost one yet. But I'm a little nervous using a snap trap where songbirds can get to them. I haven't caught a bird yet so maybe I'm being too cautious. My normal mouse bait is chicken feed. I tend to use snap traps where wild birds can't get to them, inside my brooder in the coop when it is empty and in my workshop and storage rooms.
Then I use this bucket trap where wild birds can get to it. I imagine some of the times it's been tripped has been birds but I'm sure none have ever been harmed by it. A few inches of water on the bottom so they can't reach the bottom helps finish the mouse off faster, though sometimes they use the triggers as rafts. I sometimes have to remove the wood that falls in to help speed up the process. Mice can jump really well. I've seen some get pretty close to the top when this bucket is dry. But a few inches of water keeps them from being able to push off from the bottom. Swimming mice can't jump. If you use water it can freeze but the chickens can still eat them. If you use antifreeze it won't freeze but I'd not feed it to the chickens. I'd think the toxic dosage would be too high. So this trap is only set when freezing is not an issue.
I agree, the mouse needs to be dead before I give it to the chickens. It's not that they are afraid of it, but they just don't give chase. Mice can be gone pretty quickly and I want to make sure it does not get away after it's caught. They do enjoy the chasing and keepaway.
I was chatting with the owners of the local Ace Hardware about poisoning a groundhog. They said their lab had eaten rat poison so they called the poison control center. Three questions: what kind of poison, how much did he eat, and how much did the dog weigh? Poison Control then said you don't need to do anything, with his weight he did not get the dosage to harm himself. They really love that dog. He's kind of old and is usually at the store when they are there but he has finished off a groundhog by himself on a couple of occasions. I like that dog too.
Then I use this bucket trap where wild birds can get to it. I imagine some of the times it's been tripped has been birds but I'm sure none have ever been harmed by it. A few inches of water on the bottom so they can't reach the bottom helps finish the mouse off faster, though sometimes they use the triggers as rafts. I sometimes have to remove the wood that falls in to help speed up the process. Mice can jump really well. I've seen some get pretty close to the top when this bucket is dry. But a few inches of water keeps them from being able to push off from the bottom. Swimming mice can't jump. If you use water it can freeze but the chickens can still eat them. If you use antifreeze it won't freeze but I'd not feed it to the chickens. I'd think the toxic dosage would be too high. So this trap is only set when freezing is not an issue.
I agree, the mouse needs to be dead before I give it to the chickens. It's not that they are afraid of it, but they just don't give chase. Mice can be gone pretty quickly and I want to make sure it does not get away after it's caught. They do enjoy the chasing and keepaway.
I was chatting with the owners of the local Ace Hardware about poisoning a groundhog. They said their lab had eaten rat poison so they called the poison control center. Three questions: what kind of poison, how much did he eat, and how much did the dog weigh? Poison Control then said you don't need to do anything, with his weight he did not get the dosage to harm himself. They really love that dog. He's kind of old and is usually at the store when they are there but he has finished off a groundhog by himself on a couple of occasions. I like that dog too.
