This is kind of gross, but I have a question about getting rid of rodents.

We've had more than the usual influx of shrews into our home this winter, and our old cat just isn't as good a mouser as she used to be. We've been trying to live trap them and take them back outside for the sake of our karma, but they've gotten so wily that they can now get in the trap, get the peanut butter and escape without it clamping shut. I'm convinced they've formed teams where one will keep the door open while the other grabs the goodies and splits. I'm tired of cleaning up after them. We're meticulous (now) about not leaving any human or pet food out, but they've become quite bold running across the counter in broad daylight looking for some. I gotta tell ya -- I HATE THAT.

So we bit the bullet today and bought some D-Con or whatever it is, mouse poison. We know where to put the pellets where the little guys have been hanging out (under the stove, behind the refrigerator, etc.), and our pets can't get to those places, but I'm wondering if a rodent has ingested the poison and then a cat catches it and chews on it before it dies, will it make the cat sick. Or do the mice just go off somewhere to die and then we have to look for them to dispose of them?

My youngest daughter has moved back in with us with her three cats, who are younger and springier than my cat, and I don't want to hurt any of them second-hand. One of them did kill a critter last night, so I know they're on the lookout for them. But I fear we have a nest somewhere, and I don't think the cats can do the trick.

Does anyone have experience with this?

At least, it shouldn't be. Stranger things probably have happened, though. Hawks and other predators are poisoned in this way, but its usually from consuming a fairly significant amount of poisoned prey over a period of time, such as when ranchers do mass poisonings of gophers.

What about using those sticky traps. Messy, kind of nasty, but effective. And, they are non-toxic. The glue is soluble in oil, so if a cat gets into one by accident, you can remove the glue with cooking oil, and then use Dawn to was the oil out of the fur.

Sticky traps sound like they might be a better idea.

I think what we're going to do for now is wait for a few days and see if my daughter's cats are actually catching many of these little rodents. If they're not, then we're probably safe to use the D-Con, but if we see many more mauled little furries around here, then we'll know that there might be some risk of the cats ingesting second-hand poison.

If that's the case, then we'll see if we can find the sticky traps. The two boxes of D-Con were only like $7, so it wouldn't be a great financial loss if we don't end up using it.

high heaven.

Also a consideration. I think the exterminators use something that just makes them shrivel up and die, leaving no odor, but we didn't want to have to pay for someone to come in here if we didn't have to, plus the disruption (and the fact that they might find my indoor garden).

I've lived here for 20 years and I've never seen so many of these things. It must be a cyclical life cycle or something or predators not doing their job. Whatever, I'm tired of being the nice lady who wouldn't kill a mouse. I'm DONE with that.

when I used it died very quickly and dried up so there was no smell.

I adopted a young cat. In two weeks the mice were gone. I don't want to risk the poison.

since my daughter moved home with her three younger kitties, that the shrews seem to have gone underground. My daughter will be here for at least a month, and during two weeks of that time my husband and I will be in Costa Rica and our Shih-tzu will be at the boarders, so the cats will have free rein without fear of being chased around the house by the hyperactive dog. Maybe in that time, the rodents will decide to pack up their bags and move to somebody else's house. :) We can hope.

The smell of one cat's urine might not be enough for your job, but with three cats in the litter box, maybe they sense the danger and have moved on.

I would never recommend poison... poisoned rodents lead to the deaths of many birds of prey. I saw this on a web cam, sadly, as 2 owlets succumbed.

and they had the bad taste to die right in the middle of the floor. Or at least four of them had that kind of bad taste.

(Yeah, I tried live-trapping for a week, but there were still LOTS of mice, and I'm skeered of hanta virus.)

so doubt if mouse/rat baits/poison would work anyway

I bet you have mice too, if they are taking peanut butter. take the wire out of a twist tie and tie a chocolate chip or bit of bacon into the peanut butter so they have to tug at the bait - it will work - especially if they are getting used to feeding from your traps.

find any of my posts on trap and release - it is not the feel-good action people think it is - snap traps are cheap, fast, effective and honestly, the best way to get rid of rodents in buildings (but you also have to do all the work to EXCLUDE them in the first place)

I only use the old fashioned spring traps because they are fast and effective. I hate that I am killing mice, but there is just no option. I have been told that there is not a live trap that seals enough that a mouse cannot escape, but I have never tried one.

Glue traps and poisons are a gruesome way to die, and I have a hard time with that. Personal opinion here.

For bait in the spring trap, I put peanut butter on the trap and stick a chocolate chip in it. I seems to be very tempting for mice.