# mice in loft



## fadedracer (Jul 8, 2011)

how do you keep mice out of your racing pigeon lofts? i have just started noticing them in my loft. and i am terrified by them. i have set out traps today and gotten 3 so far. thats 3 in one day? i have not even entered my loft but just feed them through the aviary. surround the loft with moth bolls? or inside? need advice? cant put traps in loft. i have a concrete bottom but there is a crack in i that i noticed a hole and dirt coming out of it? any advice? and there is a large supply of corn in the corn field next to my house. and i take feed out after there done. any advice would help.


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## bigmalley (Dec 6, 2011)

get some tuff stuff window sealing foam and fill all cracks in walls and maybe patch the concrete with floor patch or tile morter.


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## fadedracer (Jul 8, 2011)

great stuff? can they clim up walls? into high craacks


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## Pollo70 (Jan 3, 2012)

D-con packs under and around the loft help. are u leaving feeding trays with left over feed over night in the loft ? that does invite them in. u mentioned u live by a field I live by a canal and field. so far I had no problems with mice.I also have a fake owl perched on my fence by the loft I have heard it spooks ground gritters and hawks don't like them either.I also know flyers that have cats that don't bother the birds that realy helps. good luck hope u get it resolved.


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## TylerBro (Mar 14, 2011)

Put tin foil in the hole make it into a ball .. mice can't chew threw it don't like the taste .. so I've been told .


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## bigmalley (Dec 6, 2011)

yes great stuff


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## NZ Pigeon (Nov 12, 2011)

Bringing the food in at night does help but you already do that, I suspect they are feeding in the fields and using your loft as somewhere to try and nest, Probably under the concrete floor. All you can do really is try and mouseproof your loft to keep them out but if you are near a cornfield I imagine they will always be near.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

They make mouse traps that are not spring loaded and that are safe to put in your loft. A mouse enters a tunnel to get the bait, and once inside they can't get back out. Disposal of caught animals isn't pretty but along with the other ideas suggested, you should be able to get rid of any mice inside the loft. Check at any hardware store, Home Depot, or Menards. If you have fiberglass insulation in your walls, the mice can climb the insulation. I found this out when a mouse fell from my ceiling, onto my head. Very rude


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## fadedracer (Jul 8, 2011)

i know thats what im thinking. maybe seal all the entrance? but they probably chew threw the wood and enter am i right? moth bolls? anyone try that?


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## klondike goldie (Apr 20, 2009)

I've heard that you can put jar lids around with soda pop in them, the mice drink the soda, get gass, can't fart so they bust a gut and die. I've never tried it so I don't know. My loft is 3 feet off the ground with 2 chickens under it, they eat any grain that goes under the loft so there is no food to draw the mice.


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## fadedracer (Jul 8, 2011)

i need a gaurd cat lol... anything to deter them like certain liquid around the loft the wont cross?


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## bbcdon (Oct 16, 2007)

I have 1/4" hardware cloth. I don't think a snake could even get through it.


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## fadedracer (Jul 8, 2011)

my loft is in on the ground on concrete so i dont know how hardware cloth would work. maybe mouse traps that sorrund the whole loft lol


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

It wouldn't look too pretty, but you could temporarily tack the wire mesh around the loft from concrete to 6 to 8 inches high. Along with filling the holes and setting traps, you should get rid of them.


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## 1981 (Aug 9, 2006)

Mice leave a scent trail to where ever their food source may be. You can mix peanut butter with crush vitamin D pills. That will do the trick. Or you can get buy some bait boxes and bait them with poison.


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## klondike goldie (Apr 20, 2009)

1981 said:


> Mice leave a scent trail to where ever their food source may be. You can mix peanut butter with crush vitamin D pills. That will do the trick. Or you can get buy some bait boxes and bait them with poison.


what do the vitamin D pills do


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

fadedracer said:


> how do you keep mice out of your racing pigeon lofts? i have just started noticing them in my loft. and i am terrified by them. i have set out traps today and gotten 3 so far. thats 3 in one day? i have not even entered my loft but just feed them through the aviary. surround the loft with moth bolls? or inside? need advice? cant put traps in loft. i have a concrete bottom but there is a crack in i that i noticed a hole and dirt coming out of it? any advice? and there is a large supply of corn in the corn field next to my house. and i take feed out after there done. any advice would help.


 It is pretty simple if you don't want to do the job yourself, you simply call in an exterminator. Various traps and baits, which are safe around pigeons can be used. 

http://landing.terminix.com/guarant...gn=8e0afed902adce9b465a55293c8cfe28&ovchn=MSN


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

1981 said:


> Mice leave a scent trail to where ever their food source may be. You can mix peanut butter with crush vitamin D pills. That will do the trick. Or you can get buy some bait boxes and bait them with poison.


I work in the pest control business, and deal with mice on a daily basis. The best way to get rid of them is to find their main entry point....this is usually waist high or lower. Patch all possible entry points around the loft (waist down) except what you think is their main entry. Place poison mouse stations (these can be home made using a coffee can attached to a board on its side with a 1 inch hole cut in the lid.) OUTSIDE the loft right at the entry point. Leave the entry point open while the bait is in place. If you dont, they will chew another somewhere else and bypass your bait cans. After a weeks time, check the amount of bait that has been eaten and refill if needed. Take wadded up paper towels and loosley stuff them into the entry hole. If after a few days the paper towels have not been chewed out, then you know your problem is solved and go ahead and patch the last hole......Job complete!!

I dont recommend using any kind of trap that you have to bait. All you are doing is inviting mice to a place they arent supposed to be just to kill them. Take care of the problem outside of the loft with the D-con bait stations.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

I meant to also say that you need to be careful using the home made bait stations when pets and children are around. Some of these mouse/rat baits can be pretty potent.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

SouthTown Racers said:


> I meant to also say that you need to be careful using the home made bait stations when pets and children are around. Some of these mouse/rat baits can be pretty potent.


I'm glad you clarified that 
I use 1/4 and 1/2 in hardware wire for my flight cages (underground also), so they can't get inside. BUT, and I've asked quite a few pest control people this, so maybe you can help!......I have a rat problem and have for 3 years 
They can't get inside, but they are tunneling EVERYWHERE trying, and making a mess! I cannot use poison or traps because my backyard is completely fenced for my dogs, goats and cats. My Chow Chow knows where they are and she's digging at their holes making a BIGGER mess.
I have 1/4 wire mesh under the sand in my flight cages, which are 'walk-in'. They have taken to tunneling under the flight cages now. So what I have done is hoe the sand back to expose their tunnel, I pour sacrete (concrete) over the wire into the tunnels and wet it, then cover it back over with their sand. But I've had it!


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

SouthTown Racers said:


> I work in the pest control business, and deal with mice on a daily basis. The best way to get rid of them is to find their main entry point....this is usually waist high or lower. Patch all possible entry points around the loft (waist down) except what you think is their main entry. Place poison mouse stations (these can be home made using a coffee can attached to a board on its side with a 1 inch hole cut in the lid.) OUTSIDE the loft right at the entry point. Leave the entry point open while the bait is in place. If you dont, they will chew another somewhere else and bypass your bait cans. After a weeks time, check the amount of bait that has been eaten and refill if needed. Take wadded up paper towels and loosley stuff them into the entry hole. If after a few days the paper towels have not been chewed out, then you know your problem is solved and go ahead and patch the last hole......Job complete!!
> 
> I dont recommend using any kind of trap that you have to bait. All you are doing is inviting mice to a place they arent supposed to be just to kill them. Take care of the problem outside of the loft with the D-con bait stations.


You may still have to use bait stations inside if the mice have taken up residence in your loft.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

almondman said:


> You may still have to use bait stations inside if the mice have taken up residence in your loft.


I would never put the bait inside the loft. I take care of severe mouse problems in houses from the exterior only.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

Msfreebird said:


> I'm glad you clarified that
> I use 1/4 and 1/2 in hardware wire for my flight cages (underground also), so they can't get inside. BUT, and I've asked quite a few pest control people this, so maybe you can help!......I have a rat problem and have for 3 years
> They can't get inside, but they are tunneling EVERYWHERE trying, and making a mess! I cannot use poison or traps because my backyard is completely fenced for my dogs, goats and cats. My Chow Chow knows where they are and she's digging at their holes making a BIGGER mess.
> I have 1/4 wire mesh under the sand in my flight cages, which are 'walk-in'. They have taken to tunneling under the flight cages now. So what I have done is hoe the sand back to expose their tunnel, I pour sacrete (concrete) over the wire into the tunnels and wet it, then cover it back over with their sand. But I've had it!


 Your situation, i would look up pest control supplies online. I would buy rodent stations that fit rat traps inside the locked station.....this way you can use them around your pets.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

SouthTown Racers said:


> I would never put the bait inside the loft. I take care of severe mouse problems in houses from the exterior only.


If you have a problem with mice actually living in the walls ( double wall construction with or without insulation) or under your wooden floor you may have to use the self contained mouse traps where the bait is contained within a sealed box. If you have this type of problem, even if you seal up all known holes, the mice can, and will, chew through at another spot. Why would they ever have to go back outside when they have found everything they need to survive in the loft? The self contained traps have no moving parts on the outside, and no exposed bait. The birds should be safe as long as your loft stays dry, which prevents the bait from leeching out of the trap. If you have sealed all entrances properly, mice would not be able to get back in to repopulate the loft. If you haven't, they will come in for the same reasons they came in before, regardless of the traps. I have known people to use these traps as prevention to getting a problem.
In this case, this loft is on concrete, but how are the side walls constructed?
Sorry I got so long winded😷


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Poisoning and trapping the mice, when living next to a corn field isn't going to solve the problem. There will always be mice in the field and some will find their way over. Can you staple heavy hardware cloth onto your loft, from the ground, maybe 3 feet up? Mice can climb walls, but usually try to enter near the bottom. And fill any holes or cracks that they can get in through. Some attach hardware cloth to the bottom of the loft, all the way around, and they run it down (into the soil) 1 foot, then out 1 foot, and bury it. Most things trying to dig under the loft will come right up to it to dig in, but when they dig down, they will hit the hardware cloth.


Wanted to add that if you have cats or dogs, you have to be careful with the poison, as if they were to catch and chew on a poisoned rodent, they can become poisoned as well.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

almondman said:


> If you have a problem with mice actually living in the walls ( double wall construction with or without insulation) or under your wooden floor you may have to use the self contained mouse traps where the bait is contained within a sealed box. If you have this type of problem, even if you seal up all known holes, the mice can, and will, chew through at another spot. Why would they ever have to go back outside when they have found everything they need to survive in the loft? The self contained traps have no moving parts on the outside, and no exposed bait. The birds should be safe as long as your loft stays dry, which prevents the bait from leeching out of the trap. If you have sealed all entrances properly, mice would not be able to get back in to repopulate the loft. If you haven't, they will come in for the same reasons they came in before, regardless of the traps. I have known people to use these traps as prevention to getting a problem.
> In this case, this loft is on concrete, but how are the side walls constructed?
> Sorry I got so long winded😷


All I'm saying is I take care of my house, garage, loft, and hundreds of other houses in the St. Louis area from the exterior only, and it works great. So I would never risk putting a poison inside the loft that mice could chew up and drag out of the rodent station. Like I said, I wouldn't recommend putting out a trap with smelly bait on it because you don't want to attract mice inside.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I would bait from the outside also. The bait traps hold good sized pieces of bait that are attached to wires so that they stay in the station, BUT pieces could be broken off and dragged into the loft. Your birds could then ingest the poison. I would never put anything like that in my loft. Just not worth taking the chance.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

fadedracer said:


> how do you keep mice out of your racing pigeon lofts? i have just started noticing them in my loft. and i am terrified by them. i have set out traps today and gotten 3 so far. thats 3 in one day? i have not even entered my loft but just feed them through the aviary. surround the loft with moth bolls? or inside? need advice? cant put traps in loft. i have a concrete bottom but there is a crack in i that i noticed a hole and dirt coming out of it? any advice? and there is a large supply of corn in the corn field next to my house. and i take feed out after there done. any advice would help.


After you have taken care of preventing more mice from entering your loft using any/all of the methods given in this thread, if you still are seeing mice in the loft PLEASE at least check out the various types of mouse traps (both baited and mechanical) available from your local hardware store, Menards, or Home Depot. I am sure you will be able to find something that is both safe, and effective, to get rid of your problem inside the loft.

If the mice are living inside the loft(and this can happen) baiting/trapping outside will only get mice that have not yet become a problem.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

There are traps that don't hold poison that would be safe to set up in the loft, that the birds wouldn't get into. That isn't a bad idea. Just not with poison.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

Jay3 said:


> There are traps that don't hold poison that would be safe to set up in the loft, that the birds wouldn't get into. That isn't a bad idea. Just not with poison.


They are a bad idea if you are using peanut butter or some other bait that lures mice into the loft...the poison doesn't give off a strong odor because we don't want to lure mice to a area that they aren't supposed to be just to trap or kill them......I'm just trying to help.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

SouthTown Racers said:


> They are a bad idea if you are using peanut butter or some other bait that lures mice into the loft...the poison doesn't give off a strong odor because we don't want to lure mice to a area that they aren't supposed to be just to trap or kill them......I'm just trying to help.



Would a tiny spot of peanut butter in a trap lure in a mouse from outside? I thought it just might get any that were actually inside the loft.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

It can, but not necessarily..... it is just far better to deal with a problem out of the problem area. These mice travel in and out. May as well take care of them while they are out and away from your birds.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

SouthTown Racers said:


> It can, but not necessarily..... it is just far better to deal with a problem out of the problem area. These mice travel in and out. May as well take care of them while they are out and away from your birds.



Yes. I think that is probably the better option. And make sure you stop them from getting in, as more will come.


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## SouthTown Racers (Jan 14, 2009)

Haha...I'm dealing with mice in a house right now!


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## NZ Pigeon (Nov 12, 2011)

I agree that its best not to attract them into the loft, Their urine if ingested is not good for the birds so why have them in their when you don't have to. My understanding of this situation is that they are not living in the loft, just going their to look for food or maybe living under the concrete floor. I personally like the method of blocking up all holes bar 1 and then trapping them as they enter, This way all the mice that already know the loft should be killed and in the process you will not teach all the other mice the way in. If they try they die.


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## Lavender Hill Lofts (Dec 1, 2011)

fadedracer said:


> how do you keep mice out of your racing pigeon lofts? QUOTE]
> 
> 
> This is a time old question! I have found that when fancier’s hopper feed they increase their chances of attracting mice into their lofts. I’ve also noticed fancier’s that over feed their birds occasionally have rodent problems because the birds are not cleaning up all the feed in one feeding.
> ...


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## Freebird loft (Jul 17, 2009)

almondman said:


> They make mouse traps that are not spring loaded and that are safe to put in your loft. A mouse enters a tunnel to get the bait, and once inside they can't get back out. Disposal of caught animals isn't pretty but along with the other ideas suggested, you should be able to get rid of any mice inside the loft. Check at any hardware store, Home Depot, or Menards. If you have fiberglass insulation in your walls, the mice can climb the insulation. I found this out when a mouse fell from my ceiling, onto my head. Very rude


These traps work great for field mice, only problem is when you go to empty the trap and one jumps out at you  I have one of these in each loft. I recently cut the pasture line back to gain more backyard and the problem went away. Only problem now is more grass to cut


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## Lovelace (Jan 10, 2008)

I see you have mice problems, well I had mice and rat problems at one time so here is what I done, my loft is about a foot off the ground, one thing that needs to be done is don't have anything leaning against you loft for them to climb on to get inside, make sure there are no trees near by were they can climb to your loft, after checking all this I then put 1 foot flashing and tacked all around the bottom of my loft. this stuff is slick so they can't climb up the side, and they can't chew through it eather,I also put flashing bent at 45 degrees and tacked to the top of the loft. This has solved all my problems, hope this helps you.


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## almondman (Aug 22, 2009)

Well fadedracer - I'm putting this one to bed. Hope you can extract some useful ideas on vermin control from all of this. You have been given many great choices for controlling both indoor and outdoor problems. Good luck, and I hope you can alleviate your mice. 🙏


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## fadedracer (Jul 8, 2011)

thanks for all the help.
ima build a river around my loft lol. a lava river


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

fadedracer said:


> thanks for all the help.
> ima build a river around my loft lol. a lava river



Be sure to make it wide. Mice can jump! LOL!


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## GaryWCo (Apr 19, 2011)

I put all weather baits under and around my loft. You can buy them by the bucket online or in smaller quantities at Lowes and Hope Depot.


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