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Mackenzie

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 03:33 PM

Hello All,

 

I have a bit of a mice/rat problem and tincats are just not cutting it.

Was wondering if any of you have had the same issues and what food safe remedies helped solve your issue?

 

Thanks!



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Posted 24 March 2015 - 03:59 PM

Get the experts in ....It will save you money in the long run


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Posted 24 March 2015 - 04:08 PM

Eliminate the food they are eating outside the facility, and you will reduce them inside your facility.


Edited by Simon, 24 March 2015 - 06:06 PM.

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 04:16 PM

What is your current pest control procedure?


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Mackenzie

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 05:33 PM

There is no food outside of the facility.

I have tomatoes growing inside and that is what they are eating-cannot eliminate that.

Right now we have tincats with glue boards every 30 feet throughout the interior of the facility and bait stations along the exterior of the facility.

We are catching very little with the tincats (these guys are smart!!)

Just looking for any food safe ideas anyone else may have to help us out



Scampi

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 05:43 PM

Can you find where they are getting in/out? Are you in the country or in an urban area? Are you able to find a path they are repeatedly taking? Maybe they are entering a part of the facility after they eat where you can safely use a chemical? 

Short of Able Pest or Orkin, you won't be able to eliminate them while they still have access to a reliable food source

 

If all else fails, try this lol

http://fivegallonide...ket-mouse-trap/  (not food safe, unless peanut butter is what you make)


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Setanta

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 05:44 PM

How are they gaining access to your facility? Do you have a professional working with you to block the entrances?


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MWidra

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 06:22 PM

There is no food outside of the facility.

I have tomatoes growing inside and that is what they are eating-cannot eliminate that.

Right now we have tincats with glue boards every 30 feet throughout the interior of the facility and bait stations along the exterior of the facility.

We are catching very little with the tincats (these guys are smart!!)

Just looking for any food safe ideas anyone else may have to help us out

1. Are they eating the bait outside?  If not, then either they are not coming in and you have an infestation, or you need to change the bait you are using.  It should be changed periodically anyway.

 

2. Have you identified their trails inside the facility?  If so, the tin cats need to be in their usual travel patterns.  Mice constantly defecate as they walk, so you can find their paths that way.  Just remember that their feces are very small and dry up quickly, so sometimes it is hard to see them.  Look for something that resembles anise seeds.

 

3. Are your tomatoes growing in dirt?  If so, are the mice living in the dirt right under the vines?  If so, then tin cats around the walls won't help, you need to block the mice from emerging from their little dens in the dirt.

 

I agree with others, you should get in a professional to help you with this, and determine if they are coming in or living there.

 

Good luck.  Mice can have a litter of 10-12 every 21 days, so they multiply fast if you don't get them all!

 

Martha


"...everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  Viktor E. Frankl

 

"Life's like a movie, write your own ending."  The Muppets


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Posted 24 March 2015 - 06:26 PM

How would a real cat do in this situation.

Would that be a no no from a food safety perspective in tomatoe growing?


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MWidra

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Posted 24 March 2015 - 06:41 PM

How would a real cat do in this situation.

Would that be a no no from a food safety perspective in tomatoe growing?

All cats do not catch mice equally.  Some are not interested in mousing.  It's hard to select a cat that is suited to hunt.  I had a cat once that would catch prey, then release it; she did not have the instinct to kill.  So I'm not sure that's a good way to go.

 

Martha


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"Life's like a movie, write your own ending."  The Muppets


Myusername

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Posted 25 March 2015 - 03:09 PM

I have to explain this one quite often but because its a bit of a misconception people have...

 

1) mouse traps like tin cats inside are not to control mice infestations, they are to monitor pest activity. if certain traps catch mice all the time they are entering In the area of that trap. if you think mouse traps inside will stop them your wrong because the school of thought is to not let them in in the first place.

 

2) im assuming you have a raised deck in this green house which means you cannot place the traps in a strategic location because they will not follow the walls because they have protection from above. there is no way to strategically place mouse traps in this situation

 

3) if you have abundant food sources, mice will completely ignore the traps. and seeing as how they are getting in this is the truth. They will ignore the bait stations outside rendering them useless because they prefer real food over the bait (have you checked the bait is their anything in there?). 

 

so what you can do.

I don't know what size your greenhouse is or what your resources are or if your urban or rural but your here asking so I will share my life experience

1)completely surround the outside perimeter with gravel, going about 6 inches up the exterior wall if you can, it seals off entry points and when they burrow into it its very easy to see where, you will see holes in it.

2) after the gravel put crushed limestone rock. go at a minimum 3ft out from the exterior gravel you just put down, and make it a thick layer of at least 4 inches so your feet slip when you turn your foot and you don't touch the ground beneath. mice absolutely hate this stuff. its too big to burrow into. and if they do the rock will collapse on them. also 3ft is huge for a mouse to cross on open ground with little to no footing because this stuff slips around, also its white so mice show up when the try and cross and any bird of prey will take it from there. also it looks nice

3) make sure you remove any and all vegetation that grows up through the gravel and rock, vegetation will act as shelter to them, pull by hand or pesticide including soil stearilant that's up to you.

4) mow the grass on the outside of the limestone perimeter. I mean like golf course short

5) close the doors make sure they seal when closed and install proper vents (put window screen over the vents) including temperature sensors that turn the fans on.. I've seen a lot of greenhouses that use open doors as there ventilation when it gets too hot, doors should only be open when walking through them. 

6) look at your building, fix and seal any and all holes/cracks/gaps along the foundation and roof

7) if the inside is a dirt floor put limestone rock down it works well on the inside too

 

this will make it hard for them to get in, so they will get hungry and actually use the bait stations, making your traps inside a simple monitoring tool so you can locate any further entry point.



Myusername

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Posted 25 March 2015 - 03:10 PM

ps: cats in a greenhouse are an awful thing... kinda like a bull in a china shop fyi



trubertq

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Posted 25 March 2015 - 03:29 PM

Get an expert in... spend the money save the time....


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FoodChick

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Posted 25 March 2015 - 06:14 PM

I've also had a mouse problem in a facility and thought they were pretty clever in avoiding the tincats.  We had the experts helping us but it still took time to solve the issue.  You need to stop them from coming in and also need to eradicate the ones already inside the facility as they breed quickly. 

 

Search all incoming pallets, supplies and ingredients diligently and thoroughly.  They can go up through the slats on the bottom of a pallet and burrow in the middle of a pallet of ingredients.... speaking from experience here as a nest was discovered in the middle of a pallet that was unloaded to be restacked. 

 

Definitely search inside your facility for any nests or mouse homes.  It could be a drawer in a file cabinet that has a hole in it that never gets opened has become a mouse condo or another area that they are hiding at inside.  Also speaking from experience here.   

 

We were also able to use snap traps (http://www.victorpes...ontrol/bm154-24) in non-food production areas (maintenance shop, non-ingredient storage) as long as they were inventoried and temporary.  As a nut-free facility and not wanting to introduce allergens, we used licorice as bait (vs. peanut butter/cheese).  The mice actually liked Hershey's Twizzlers. 

 

We caught quite a few with Twizzlers, found some nests/homes and kept the effort going... just be persistent!!!! 



MWidra

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Posted 25 March 2015 - 06:32 PM

and also need to eradicate the ones already inside the facility as they breed quickly. 

 

 

Amen to that.  Unchecked, two mice can produce over 100,000 total mice over a year, with all the babies having babies. 

Definitely search inside your facility for any nests or mouse homes.  It could be a drawer in a file cabinet that has a hole in it that never gets opened has become a mouse condo or another area that they are hiding at inside.  Also speaking from experience here.   

 

We caught quite a few with Twizzlers, found some nests/homes and kept the effort going... just be persistent!!!! 

Great advice.  I have had them nesting in pots of dirt in my house once.  They are amazing.

 

I'll remember the Twizzlers, lol.

 

Martha


"...everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."  Viktor E. Frankl

 

"Life's like a movie, write your own ending."  The Muppets


MMorse

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Posted 25 March 2015 - 06:53 PM

I have to explain this one quite often but because its a bit of a misconception people have...

 

1) mouse traps like tin cats inside are not to control mice infestations, they are to monitor pest activity. if certain traps catch mice all the time they are entering In the area of that trap. if you think mouse traps inside will stop them your wrong because the school of thought is to not let them in in the first place.

 

2) im assuming you have a raised deck in this green house which means you cannot place the traps in a strategic location because they will not follow the walls because they have protection from above. there is no way to strategically place mouse traps in this situation

 

3) if you have abundant food sources, mice will completely ignore the traps. and seeing as how they are getting in this is the truth. They will ignore the bait stations outside rendering them useless because they prefer real food over the bait (have you checked the bait is their anything in there?). 

 

so what you can do.

I don't know what size your greenhouse is or what your resources are or if your urban or rural but your here asking so I will share my life experience

1)completely surround the outside perimeter with gravel, going about 6 inches up the exterior wall if you can, it seals off entry points and when they burrow into it its very easy to see where, you will see holes in it.

2) after the gravel put crushed limestone rock. go at a minimum 3ft out from the exterior gravel you just put down, and make it a thick layer of at least 4 inches so your feet slip when you turn your foot and you don't touch the ground beneath. mice absolutely hate this stuff. its too big to burrow into. and if they do the rock will collapse on them. also 3ft is huge for a mouse to cross on open ground with little to no footing because this stuff slips around, also its white so mice show up when the try and cross and any bird of prey will take it from there. also it looks nice

3) make sure you remove any and all vegetation that grows up through the gravel and rock, vegetation will act as shelter to them, pull by hand or pesticide including soil stearilant that's up to you.

4) mow the grass on the outside of the limestone perimeter. I mean like golf course short

5) close the doors make sure they seal when closed and install proper vents (put window screen over the vents) including temperature sensors that turn the fans on.. I've seen a lot of greenhouses that use open doors as there ventilation when it gets too hot, doors should only be open when walking through them. 

6) look at your building, fix and seal any and all holes/cracks/gaps along the foundation and roof

7) if the inside is a dirt floor put limestone rock down it works well on the inside too

 

this will make it hard for them to get in, so they will get hungry and actually use the bait stations, making your traps inside a simple monitoring tool so you can locate any further entry point.

A QC Manager at contract pasta manufacturer told me about having rodent problems until they added a thick perimeter of crushed rock, looked about 6 - 8 feet wide.  Problem solved.



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Posted 25 March 2015 - 07:07 PM

Not sure I have much to add except when we had an issue several years ago the pest control company used hot chocolate powder to attract the critters to the snap traps.  Might work in the middle of a glue board too?





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