Does attracting certain birds for mice control on rural property work?
Rocky Mountain land (tens of acres, not hundreds). 7000ft and higher elevation. Hardly no snakes up there and none at all above around 8000ft or so.
Little grey mice in the area seek food and shelter. Also, these little grey mice leave small shit pellets everyfuckingwhere and lots of them.
Will it work/help to build/buy some special birdhouses to attract some mice eating birds? Any downsides to attracting said birds? Which birds? What birdhouses and whatever else?
Thanks. I see a paper from an Oklahoma university on it. And it seems not entirely stupid... but?
Also, certain public areas out in the mountauns will close off access for Raptor Breeding certain times of year, so they're certainly out here.
But is it wise and will it work (aka keep some of the mice population down, meaningfully)?
May 29, 2021, 11:17 AM
ZSMICHAEL
IDK but snakes and feral cats are pretty sure bets.
May 29, 2021, 11:27 AM
irreverent
Owls. They’re stone cold killers. Get in touch with the local falconers and encourage them to hunt your land.
__________________________
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May 29, 2021, 12:37 PM
Oscar Zulu
One of my tenants is an organic farmer. (500 +) acres. He has birdhouses around the fields for owls. Says it make a difference with the gophers and other rodents, Then again, he doesn't have many options. OZ
May 29, 2021, 12:39 PM
ensigmatic
quote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL: IDK but snakes and feral cats are pretty sure bets.
Might want to be careful with that feral cat thing, though. Place my family used to vacation in the UP ended up with a feral cat problem so bad they had to take extreme measures to cut the population down.
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May 29, 2021, 01:08 PM
cparktd
Cats My cat keeps my 4 acres clear of mice, snakes, lizards, moles etc very well.
She sleeps inside at night but gets put out every day.
A local Spay and Neuter clinic here works pretty cheap and is a must.
But cats would require feeding and it sounds like you may not live on the property.
Endeavor to persevere.
May 29, 2021, 07:56 PM
cas
Through the miracle of modern technology, I am laying on the couch in my grandfathers hunting cabin, reading the forum. We have lots of owls here, hawks, peregrine falcon, snakes, fishers, fox, coyotes, bobcat, feral cats… and more mice than you can shake a stick at. I trapped and killed 17 of them in 10 days last hunting season. I don’t think your idea is going to help any.
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May 30, 2021, 05:03 PM
c1steve
There are some great online references for setting up owl houses on poles, for your type of problem. I would read up on this, owls would probably make a huge difference.
Also if you mouse proof your house, from the basement up, that would stop much of the primary problem. Mice would still go for your garbage and try to get into the garage, but that could be stopped as well.
There are some bucket top mouse traps that work well, but so does a tall plastic garbage can with a small amount of food in the bottom.
-c1steve
May 30, 2021, 08:17 PM
urbanwarrior238
Owl houses. I have an Owl box with a wifi camera in it and it is a blast to watch mom raise the babies. Not only will the Owls eat the rodents, once the babies fly the nest, you now have the babies feasting on the rodents.
Ive had two rats and a bunny at the same time (dead) in the box waiting for mom to use them to feed the babies.
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May 31, 2021, 10:14 AM
c1steve
If you read up on the owl houses, they state the recommended distance between houses. The houses should have a back or bottom clean out, and the front hole needs to be a certain size.
Great Horned Owls are a big predator of barn owls, so keep the house long and the front door small to protect barn owls from the larger predators. Posts should be metal, so they cannot be climbed.
What are the mice feeding on? The answer to your problem lies with the answer to that question.
quote:
Originally posted by 46and2: Rocky Mountain land (tens of acres, not hundreds). 7000ft and higher elevation. Hardly no snakes up there and none at all above around 8000ft or so.
Little grey mice in the area seek food and shelter. Also, these little grey mice leave small shit pellets everyfuckingwhere and lots of them.
Will it work/help to build/buy some special birdhouses to attract some mice eating birds? Any downsides to attracting said birds? Which birds? What birdhouses and whatever else?
Thanks. I see a paper from an Oklahoma university on it. And it seems not entirely stupid... but?
Also, certain public areas out in the mountauns will close off access for Raptor Breeding certain times of year, so they're certainly out here.
But is it wise and will it work (aka keep some of the mice population down, meaningfully)?
June 01, 2021, 11:45 AM
Billythekids
Having a clean cage/aviary can help... But I find once you have mice they are normally always around somewhere even if you think their gone... Try catching them live or with a trap in or near the aviary... Aviod put bait in or near the aviary... I've heard some people have had problems with their birds dieing from the bait... I have a recipe I use...
June 01, 2021, 10:35 PM
FN in MT
Rural MT , dry climate, 3400' elevation. Copious deer mice and packrats. we Always have a pair of outside cats, which works pretty well.
I'd also do outside bait stations. They worked well for me, especially with the pack rats.
Rodents are a part of rural. living, But can be controlled with poison and good mousers.
June 02, 2021, 05:17 AM
sourdough44
This is your residence? Home, garage, a shed maybe?
Look at a commercial building when it comes to rodent/pest control. The usual answer is a pet proof poison system, ‘bait houses’. I built a larger wood box with a large rock on top, even more pet proof.
Even if you had a hawk family, two weasels & a Martin nearby, they’re not gonna kill everything. Then any mice will want inside to escape them.
June 02, 2021, 08:46 AM
corsair
Whatever the solution is, I'm sure the good folks in Australia could use a whole lot of it given that their country is getting over run by a mice plague.
June 02, 2021, 01:50 PM
46and2
It's at a bigger property I'm considering buying... has a cabin and a couple of sheds.