Keeping away mice from homemade shelter

[Depps]

I'm planning on hiking the AT once I get enough money, experience, and do research to prepare. As of now I am homeless but over a year ago I built a shelter in the woods. Not your typical shelter. I spend a lot of time and effort on it. Using material from the woods but mostly from dumpsters; ranging from wood, insulation, down to full computer desks. I'm a perfectionist so I tend to go all out when I begin such projects. Anyways though it's not large it is layered with walling and flooring. I wanted to make sure it could survive the most severe of weather conditions without a single drop of water getting inside and keeping out every animal. I'm now back a year later and it survived the Illinois brutal winter we had without problems. Although mice made themselves a nice little home inside. Honestly I can't figure out how they got in. I examined the entire perimeter a few days ago and could not find any possible entry point. Nothing was chewed through, no holes, gaps, or anything. I had a sleeping bag and very nice expensive blanket inside a thick bag that they chewed through and pieces of the blanket were spread every outside. Oddly though, not a single piece was on the inside. Anyways it happened. Today I am going to clean it out inside, removing all the dropping left behind, disinfecting, and removing the mice that are probably dead beneath my layers of flooring. My question is how do I prevent this from happening again once I clean up the mess inside aside from the basics; mouse traps, leaving no food behind, etc. Because I have a huge passion for animals I am against killing of any animal. I refuse to set traps that would kill a mouse. And now that it is warming up the snakes will be heading back out of hibernation and if they smell fear, I imagine they smell mice regardless of me disinfecting the entire shelter. I should add, I have a severe snake phobia. Is there anything I can do to keep mice away without harming them?

[Tipi Walter]

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[Traveler]

Mice are incredibly able creatures and can squeeze through cracks you would not think air can move through. They will eventually chew, squeeze, dig, leap, slide, or bore into any structure, tent, or enclosure if they want to get in. I have used steel wool with some effectiveness cracks, around pipes, and other small entry paths. Beyond that, mouse traps are the next step.

While I understand your reluctance to kill animals, mice can easily sicken you through casual and secondary contact with feces, urine, and parasites they drop. We accept the extermination of some animals like mice, that have a long history of human association and the risk of illnesses they carry.

I wish you luck.

[ALLEGHENY]

Burn the rat infested bum camp down and switch to a hammock.

[Slo-go'en]

You have a structure in the woods. Of course their going to move in, doesn't matter if your living there or not. You either live with them or kill them. Get a cat.

[Tuckahoe]

You have a structure in the woods. Of course their going to move in, doesn't matter if your living there or not. You either live with them or kill them. Get a cat.

This.

Mice are drawn by people and their material culture. You're there so they will be there. And the more hospitable the environment you create the more mice there will be.

[BirdBrain]

Which AT shelter are we talking about?

[Depps]

This isn't an AT shelter. It's a shelter I built in the woods when I was homeless. I don't know the laws on that, I'm assuming I'm breaking some laws by building this shelter. But I keep the environment clean. I always take my trash to the dumpster. I never leave anything laying around. I'm headed back to the shelter so I could save money quicker, rent isn't cheap. I'm hardly at my apartment. If I am not at work I am either at the library or walking so it seems illogical to pay for an apartment just to sleep and shower when I have a solid, damn near fortress to sleep in. It's not large. Maybe 5-6 ft high, and 10 ft in length. But it's big enough to where I almost decided to build a dresser and put it inside for my clothes. I always go the extra mile when I begin a project. I put over 100-120 hours of work into it, probably way more than that. But by looking at it you wouldn't think it because you can't see the layer after layer of walling and flooring. Most of the time spent was having to haul all the wood and various materials found in dumpsters into the woods to my shelter. That was the hard part. I just wanted to make it as winter friendly as possible so I layered and layered with walling. Sawed everything evenly to make sure no gaps in the structure. I put deep thought into weather conditions, animals, and insects. Apparently mice are some sneaky bastards. They had to have gotten in from underground. But are they strong because my first layer of flooring is probably 150-200 lbs at least of small rocks to prevent anything from coming underneath. I'm going to look a little deeper today and see if I can find out out they got in. Aside from mouse traps there isn't anything that they tend to dislike or stray away from? This brings me to my next question. I'll create a separate thread. How do I keep away snakes?

[Buttcrack Johnson]

Throw mothballs around the perimeter and under the floors once in a while.

[richrob424]

Gonna stay tuned to this thread!


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[Traveler]

Throw mothballs around the perimeter and under the floors once in a while.

Mothballs are highly toxic to the environment and animals (humans too). It is sometimes said to repel animals, but it does not (according to pest control experts), animals move around it. Naphthalene is the main ingredient in mothballs, which can be absorbed through the skin, ingestion, and inhaled. It is cumulative, does not easily break down in the environment. Essentially, once exposed to the environment, it will remain toxic in the environment for a very long time. Once this stuff gets into surface water, it can have a huge impact to a variety of plants and animals, never mind water sources.

Probably best to find a less toxic means of mouse dissuasion or learn to love them.

[jackwagon]

We have a cabin in Maine that is untended through the winter. We have found that Bounce brand dryer sheets seem to keep mice out of enclosed areas like drawers, and in beds, etc. that have been covered with a plastic dropcloth. I doubt that they would work in an open area like the whole shelter that you have built, though.

[BirdBrain]

I have a house in Maine. Actually, I only have one house anywhere. We have a horse pasture behind the house. We use good old fashion traps. The Ravens get a free meal once in a while. We normally get a pair of mice each year. Pretty easy. No chemicals. We did not get any this winter. I think they could not navigate the snow pile on their journey.

[Ground Control]

I once used steel wool as a barrier around a shed to keep mice out. They can't chew through it. You can buy it in rolls, designed specifically for rodent control.

That said, it's gonna take a lot of it to rodent-proof a shack in the woods built out of second-hand materials.

[Hot Flash]

Get a snake to live in your place. Voila, no mice.

[renegade47803]

No worries, if you have mice like that, you will soon have snakes (the circle of life).

[Walkintom]

You could just agree to exist with the mice in a state of limited warfare. Kill them when you see them and ignore them when you don't.

We have a few mice move in the crawlspace under our house every winter inevitably. I do what I can to keep them from getting too numerous and our cats take care of any that make it up into the living area.

[imscotty]

Depps,

Mice can get through amazingly small cracks. They don't care about your rock layer. The cracks in the rocks are home for them.

I ask how are you getting in your shelter? Unless you installed a professionally built door with frame, I suspect the mice may be entering in gaps around your doorway. Also, if you did this right, you included some venting for your structure, perhaps at the ridge line or the eaves? The mice can get in through there too (they are expert climbers).

Since you are unlikely to keep them out, learn how to keep them at bay. Cats and snakes are your friends. Learn to love the snakes, really. Put destructible items like your sleeping bag in a Rubber Maid container when you are away. Don't be afraid to kill some mice, this is a battle you do not want to lose. There is an endless supply of mice. Trap them and feed them to the hawks.

Please do not have fires inside your structure unless you really understand the precautions you need to take and have provided for excellent ventilation. There is a reason for building codes. Wish you the best.

[Traveler]

"Love to eat them mousse; Mousies what I love to eat Bite they little heads of, nibble on they tiny feet" B Kilban

[Hangfire]

There's a movie called "Never Cry Wolf", watch it on your phone? that should give you some ideas.

[Acacia]

Mothballs are highly toxic to the environment and animals (humans too). It is sometimes said to repel animals, but it does not (according to pest control experts), animals move around it. Naphthalene is the main ingredient in mothballs, which can be absorbed through the skin, ingestion, and inhaled. It is cumulative, does not easily break down in the environment. Essentially, once exposed to the environment, it will remain toxic in the environment for a very long time. Once this stuff gets into surface water, it can have a huge impact to a variety of plants and animals, never mind water sources.

Probably best to find a less toxic means of mouse dissuasion or learn to love them.

Just to get the point home, "poisoning from naphthalene [moth balls, camphor] destroys red blood cells so they cannot carry oxygen"

[saltysack]

I'll let u borrow a few....they love mice!!!http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/04/03/b76a9f51e21d11109c00a67d6e286bec.jpg


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[fastfoxengineering]

After working and living in an apartment. You really want to go back to being homeless?

Priorities my friend, the AT will be there when your ready.

As for the mice, exterminate or live with them.