mice in my woodpiles

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thebull22

New Member
Nov 25, 2005
8
Any thoughts about keeping mice out of my woodpiles? Keeping a cat is out of the question. They're up on pallets, with a roof but open on all sides. I'm a bit concerned about the pulmonary hantavirus that some deer mice carry. Is there something that will repel them? Thanks.
 
A good snake will take care of them, but really anytime there is some type of shelter the critters will congregate. If there is any type of "food" nearby they will really take residence
 
What state do you live in??

cases_state_of_residence.jpg
 
I get Chipmunks living in my wood piles. I can always tell when they have moved in because the cats will go sit by the stacks waiting for the chipmunks to come out. It doesn't matter how many they get, there are always more.
 
Hantavirus- I've been told to avoid dry, dusty barns, crawlspaces, anywhere they may crap and the particulate matter could break down and become airborne. I would not think a woodstack in a breezy location would pose a problem. I could be wrong.
 
I get mice and chipmunks in the wood plies the only thing that brings the population down is a fox or bunch of ferral cats. Once in a while if it gets bad with no preditors around I will buy some "snacks" and spread them around in the buildings and knock out a bunch of them.
 
Four cats . . . my back yard is a kill zone . . . never know what critter carcass I'll find on my back door step. The smallest cat even chases gray squirrels which are larger than her and has been known to eye the wild turkeys that come by the bird feeder.

As for mice . . . I don't worry about them too much . . . but in the past I have used the re-usable snap traps -- the fancy schmancy ones where supposedly you don't see the blood and guts after the spring trips smashing the mouse head or snapping its neck.
 
Better in the woodpile than in the house.

I really don't mind them and they don't complain when they have to move from this years pile to next years. I think a nice,covered wood stack looks like luxo condos for them.

For the cat it's like a hunting preserve.
 
Maybe I can ship you the snakes Ihave in my stacks ;)
 
as I move my wood pile from outdoor stacks to the wood shed I 'm find a small little town built in my piles. Mices, snakes, bugs, ground bee's, salimanders, frogs, rabbits...........I have awhole bunch of little critters that are finding themself homeless for the start of fall.
 
I've never worried about mice or anything else in the woodpiles and also have never had a problem.
 
There are lots of things living in my stacks. I don't worry about the mice, but the yellowjackets are a problem. If they are White footed or Deer Mice they eat both plants and animals, so I figure they may help reduce the number of Yellowjacket Nests. I have no proof it works.
 
Mice, chipmunks, snakes, frogs... They live under the pallets or in the wood. I usually find mice nest when I take the wood. I good clunck of two splits get rid of that!
 
loon said:
just throw some mothballs around it..

Yup, that or a few of those scented tissues that wimmins put in dryers

Both work great keeping mice out of airplanes in old hangars

(Although once I did find one jump out after I had been flying for a while;
lil devil told me I made some horrible landings, then scampered over and into the next plane)
 
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