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Cottage Life

Cottage Q&A: How to clean up after a mouse infestation

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We had a severe mouse infestation over the winter at our Lake Michigan cottage. (Somehow, it was missed by the caretaker.) There was poop everywhere and blood in corners and closets. Most of the upstairs is cleaner now, but the basement is disgusting. The concrete floor absorbed everything. My husband, Ned, did a great job of scrubbing the floor with Simple Green, but I can still hardly stand the smell in the room. Could you suggest an alternative? Would bleach and water work?—Neva Asplundh, via email

Yikes! Maybe you should hire a new caretaker. But back to your question. You’re right about two things: One, “Concrete absorbs everything,” says EcoEthic’s Rob Davis, who has had his own struggles banishing mousey stink. And two, bless Ned for giving it the old college try but, yes, it’s time to bust out the big guns. Even Davis, who sells environmentally friendly cleaners, wouldn’t recommend one in this case. They’re not strong enough. But he suggests peroxide bleach over bleach—you can use it straight. “Mop the stains, let the peroxide bleach sit for half an hour, then re-mop with water,” says Davis. You may have to repeat the procedure. No joy? You could try a specialized cleaner designed to treat dog kennels, cat litter boxes, and chicken coops. 

As a last resort, you could hire a professional cleaning company, says Gary Ure, the owner of Second Nature Wildlife Management in Gananoque, Ont. “But in 27 years, I’ve never seen a situation where that would be necessary. I mean, they clean up crime scenes.” Yes, but there was blood, Gary!

We assume this goes without saying, but you should seriously up your mouse-proofing before next winter. The best strategy is exclusion: painstakingly search for every possible rodent entry point and seal each one up. “Mouse-proofing will always take more work than you think it will,” says Ure.

Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

This article was originally published in the March/April 2023 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

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Would these 6 tricks deter nuisance wildlife?

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Deterring nuisance wildlife and cottage pests can take a lot of patience and persistence. But who has time for that? So, would these six moves of trickery work? Would they successfully outsmart or out-annoy cottage critters, or are they likely to fail? We asked the experts.

1. Ultrasonic sound generators

Goal To annoy cottage critters so much that they move out of your attic (or walls or shed or boathouse).

Likelihood of failure = High

At least according to every wildlife control expert that we’ve ever talked to. “It’ll drive dogs, cats, and people nuts,” says Mike Webb, the owner of West Coast Problem Wildlife Management on Vancouver Island. But in most cases, “wildlife won’t give a rip.”

2. Imitation wasps’ nest

Goal To dissuade wasps from building their own nest nearby.

Likelihood of failure = Medium

It can work, but not always—it’s a myth that wasps will never build nests close to each other.

3. Owl decoy

Goal To frighten geese (or other waterfowl) from gathering on your dock.

Likelihood of failure = High

They’ll quickly figure out that there are no consequences to a bird of prey that does absolutely nothing except sway in the breeze.

4. Non-stop loud music

Goal To evict nuisance mammals.

Likelihood of failure = Medium

It’s worth trying—we’d move if, say, our neighbour played “Edamame” 24/7. But lots of denning mammals probably won’t.

5. Fake “attacking” predators that move up and down on a string

Goal To discourage woodpeckers from drumming on the cottage.

Likelihood of failure = Low

The Birds-Away Attack Spider and similar products get our experts’ stamp of approval. Birds aren’t arachnophobic, but “something that mimics a sit-and-wait predator would be more effective than any motionless decoy,” says Doug Tozer of Birds Canada.

6. Pet dog or cat

Goal To keep mice or other rodents from even considering moving in.

Likelihood of failure = Medium-Low

The very presence of a cat or dog can help deter mice (and hey, you’d get a pet out of the deal)! But a loose snake would probably work better.

This article was originally published in the March/April 2022 issue of Cottage Life.

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Q&A: Mouse-proofing a winterized cottage

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What’s the best way to deal with mice during the long winter in a winterized cottage?—Mike Miles, via email

The best way? The best way is to make sure that they can’t get in ever, by sealing up all possible entryways. (Remember that mice can fit through a hole as small as a pencil. Consequently, this amounts to a lot of entryways.)

You may believe that you’ve done this, but—in a quest to be hyper-vigilant—it’s common to overlook one or two obvious entry points, says Lauralee Proudfoot of Cottage Country Pest Control in Victoria Harbour, Ont. “Under the kitchen sink—or any place where water is coming in—is a good place to check,” she says. The attic is another one. Mice love insulation, “and it’s so easy for them to get into the soffits,” says Proudfoot. “People should really get their attics—and their crawlspaces—checked more often than they do.”

7 ways to keep pests out of your cottage

You say that your cottage is winterized. We assume that means you visit it during the winter. The happy news? You have an advantage over cottagers who leave their places vacant six months of the year. “Places that are lived in year-round, or almost year-round, have food, water, and heat available year-round, but they also have people to notice if and when pests try to sneak in,” says Proudfoot. “So things are less likely to get out of hand. Mice are so quick at breeding. Even if you get one or two a week coming in unchecked, you’ll never get ahead of them,” she says.

6 secrets to successful mouse trapping

If you want to DIY your mouse control, our experts almost always recommend traps over poisoned bait—it can harm non-target animals, for one thing—and they usually recommend regular snap traps over the other options.

“Don’t use glue traps,” says Proudfoot. “They’re just terrible.” (Caveat: unless these glue traps are for cockroaches. “Cockroaches can die on a glue trap.”)

Peanut butter is the go-to trap bait. Cheese dries out (and who wants to eat dry cheese?). Other expert-approved options include bacon, chocolate, and Nutella—but heck, food is expensive! Don’t waste that good stuff on mice.

Don’t put too much bait in the trap, assuming that more food will be more enticing. It usually just allows the mice to eat the food without actually springing the trap. Place traps around the perimeter of rooms—mice like to hug walls—and in concealed areas, for example, behind the fridge. In areas where you’ve seen a lot of mouse traffic, place several traps close together, in a row. Wear gloves when you set the traps. This prevents you from leaving your scent behind for the mouse to detect.

Could mice start a fire by chewing strike-anywhere matches?

Mice, like all mammals, are wary of new things. It could benefit you to, for several days, first put out baited traps that aren’t set. It’ll allow the mice to stop perceiving the traps, and the food, as a threat. This’ll take some patience on your part. But…dealing with wildlife—especially the pesty variety—takes a lot more patience than you’d ever expect. Good luck!

Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

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Cottage Q&A: How can I mouse-proof my fridge?

By Szasz-Fabian Jozsef/Shutterstock

I have a secondary fridge in my shed that I use approximately from May to October. Once I turn it off, I wipe it down with a heavy bleach solution and put a stick in each door to keep them open in order to prevent mould from forming. However, the open door attracts the mice and they leave their droppings behind. How do I prevent both from happening?— Sheri Krajnc, via email

First of all, good call on keeping the fridge doors propped open; allowing air to get inside the fridge will for sure help to prevent mould. But cleaning with bleach may not be the right move. When we previously answered a Mould vs. Secondary Fridge in Shed question (see Spring 2017 Cottage Q&A—everyone has a secondary fridge in their shed), the experts gave bleach the thumbs down. “Bleach is absolutely the wrong product to use,” Ron Arena, at the time a senior consultant with Chem Scope in North Haven, Conn., told us. The problem? Bleach can be strong enough to scratch the surfaces in the fridge. “This creates a roughness on the finish and makes it more susceptible to mould,” he said. Arena—and other experts we consulted—suggested gentler cleaning methods. For example, a slurry of baking soda and water, applied with paper towels or a vegetable brush; dishwasher detergent tablets dissolved in lukewarm water; or ordinary dish soap.

Freshen up your fridge with these cleaning hacks

Now let’s talk about the mice. In an ideal world, you’d make the shed itself more mouse-proof. But we get it: sealing up every mouse-sized crack and crevice is a lot of work. You can of course set traps, or try deterrents like Bounce sheets (some folks swear by them). But the simplest strategy may be to make the fridge itself less attractive to mice. Mice, like a lot of prey creatures, like hidden, protected spots. Propping the fridge doors open with only a stick makes the interior of the fridge dark and cozy and snug. If you prop the doors wide open, on the other hand…the interior could appear, to a mouse, like a giant, gaping, scary space. In other words, not a safe place.

Cottage Q&A: How to keep mice out of your ride

We ran the strategy by the experts, and it got the stamp of approval. “Leaving the fridge door wide open should be quite helpful in deterring rodents from entering,” says Tom Sullivan, a professor emeritus of wildlife ecology and conservation at UBC.

Mice might invade all kinds of other nooks and crannies in the other items in the shed. But they’d hopefully leave the interior of the fridge alone.

Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.

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4 mouse-proofing strategies wacky enough to work

By Viacheslav Lopatin/Shutterstock

Got mice? Desperate times call for wildly desperate rodent-proofing. We ran four extreme strategies past the experts to find out if these wacky moves could actually work. (The answers will surprise you.)

1. Install a live owl
Or some other wild predator. A weasel. A family of martens. A snake. Maybe all of them at the same time.

Would it work? Sure would. “The presence of a predator in the cabin would deter mice from seeking refuge in the first place,” says Tom Sullivan, a professor emeritus of wildlife ecology and conservation at UBC.

Feasible-o-meter says Low. You might just be trading one bad roommate for another, possibly worse, roommate—one that regurgitates all the time and, by the way, isn’t actually that wise.

Cottage Q&A: Where did all the mice go?

2. Ditch the cottage; build a concrete bunker

The rest of the lake will hate you, but when the Doomsday Clock strikes midnight—vindicated!

Would it work? Well, yes. It’s not likely that mice could gnaw through a concrete wall, says Gary Ure of Second Nature Wildlife Management in Gananoque, Ont. Unfortunately, they could gnaw through everything else. So a windowless, doorless bunker, with no plumbing, electricity, or air supply, would really be the way to go.

Feasible-o-meter says Low. You’d never get a permit. (Pfft. Building officials.)

6 secrets to successful mouse trapping

3. Source tons of cats. No, wait. Source tons of cat urine
And spray it all over the place. Gather used kitty litter in decorative bowls, and set them out like potpourri.

Would it work? Not reliably. “Mice may avoid predator odours for a while, but longevity and consistency of repellency has so far eluded us,” says Sullivan. “I have worked on this problem for many years.”

Feasible-o-meter says Medium. Because the man’s not giving up: “I still think the idea has great potential,” says Sullivan.

Cottage Q&A: How do I keep mice out of my ATV?

4. Establish a decoy building
You’ve heard of the Decoy Wallet, right?

Would it work? Yes. If your somewhat mouse-proofed cottage is beside one that is not mouse-proofed at all, the mice will go for the easier target. Mice are opportunistic, says Ure. “They’re like us. Or maybe we’re like them.”

Feasible-o-meter says High. But only if your close neighbours are the laziest humans on earth.

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B.C. gov. bans use of rodenticides over concerns about food chain seepage

Photo by Shutterstock/Gallinago_media

B.C. is changing its approach to rodent management.

On October 28, the province’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announced that it is permanently banning the widespread sale and use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs).

These are chemical agents designed to kill rodents by preventing their blood from clotting, causing internal bleeding. Rodenticide poisons have become the default strategy worldwide for handling rodent problems, but they come with a number of side effects.

The B.C. government implemented an 18-month ban on SGARs in July 2021 to further understand the poison’s effects. After public consultations and consultations with experts, the government decided to make the ban permanent starting January 21, 2023, when the temporary ban expires.

SGARs are often mixed with an attractant, such as peanut butter, and baited inside small black boxes. The chemicals are highly toxic to all types of wildlife, and there have been cases where animals other than rats and mice have been poisoned, such as squirrels, cats, and even dogs.

The B.C. government is concerned about secondary poisoning. The deadly chemicals can last in the rodent’s tissues for up to 24 months, even after death. Any predator that eats an infected rodent is at risk of secondary poisoning.

Between 1988 and 2003, scientists collected 164 B.C. owls to test for rodenticide. The study found that 70 per cent of the owls had detectable liver residues of at least one anticoagulant rodenticide. The study did note, however, that only six of the owls died from rodenticide poisoning. The rest died from other circumstances.

Secondary poisoning from rodenticide is most common among raptors, but it has also been found in other predators, such as coyotes and foxes. There is concern among experts that predators are dying through secondary poisoning and effectively allowing rodent populations to thrive and spread diseases contagious to humans.

Despite the risks associated with SGARs, the government is making exceptions to the ban. To balance the need to protect wildlife, while protecting the delivery of essential services, the government said that agricultural operators and essential service providers, such as hospitals, grocery stores, and even telecommunication services, will be allowed to continue purchasing SGARs. The SGARs can only be purchased and used by a licensed pesticide applicator.

Before using SGARs, the pesticide applicator must identify the species of rodent and monitor the population size to assess the risk. After using SGARs, they must properly dispose of the dead rodents, so that they don’t pose a threat to other wildlife. Vendors can only sell SGARs to licensed applicators and they must keep track of all sales for at least three years.

Tips for deterring rodents

  • prune excessive vegetation where rodents might nest
  • ensure doors and windows are flush with their frames
  • plug any holes with steel wool (mice can fit through a hole the size of a dime and rats a hole the size of a quarter)
  • keep all attractants, such as food and compost, in sealed bins

Not everyone agrees with these exceptions, though. B.C.’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said that all anticoagulant rodenticides should be banned. The organization noted that compliance with proper SGARs use has been lax in the past. In 2019, provincial officers conducted 311 SGARs inspections. Only 39 per cent of those inspected complied with proper protocols. The organization is concerned that this type of misuse could continue.

SPCA also pointed out that first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) are still legally available for use. These products are slower-acting and less potent than SGARs, but can still pose a poisoning risk to wildlife.

Instead, SPCA is advocating for more humane rodent management strategies, such as prevention.

“The BC SPCA is committed to supporting the transition from rodenticides to more humane pest control strategies,” the organization said in a statement, “and is working with municipal staff to ensure there is a sustainable plan for their communities.”

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Cottage Life

Male mice are terrified of bananas according to new study

Photo by Karel Bock/Shutterstock.com

The stink of skunk on the family dog, the stench of burnt campfire popcorn, and the odour of a septic tank pump-out—there are undoubtedly some smells that can easily skyrocket a cottage owner’s stress levels. But humans aren’t the only members of the animal kingdom to get stink stress. Researchers from McGill University have uncovered an unusual stink-induced stressor for a certain critter: it turns out that male mice are stressed by the smell of bananas.

“Stress affects almost every biological and and behavioural phenomena,” says the co-author of the study, Dr. Jeffrey Mogil, a professor in the department of psychology at McGill University and the E. P. Taylor Chair in pain studies.

Animals behave differently depending on whether their stress levels are high or low, says Mogil. For scientists whose research includes lab animals like mice, an unknown environmental stressor could end up skewing the results of their experiment.

“I think it’s really important to try to figure out all the stressors and all the confounds we can find so research in the future is better,” says Mogil.

It was students from McGill University who first noticed that male mice were behaving oddly in the laboratory. “I’ve learned over the years that when my students notice something we should follow it up,” says Mogil.

A series of experiments showed that the male mice were reacting to the presence of pregnant and lactating female mice also housed in the laboratory. The main offender for the stress turned out to be a chemical in the urine of the female mice called n-pentyl-acetate.

Male mice are known to kill the offspring of other mice. The researchers think that the n-pentyl-acetate is being used by pregnant and lactating female mice to send an aggressive and stinky message to males: back off.

“This is a new form of social signalling that’s never been described before,” says Mogil. “Mice signal to each other all the time through smell, but there are very few examples of females signalling to males on a topic that doesn’t involve sex. The message here is that there might be a fight.”

N-pentyl-acetate happens to be very similar in structure to isopentyl acetate, the chemical that gives bananas their signature odour. The researchers found that banana oil produced the same stress reaction in male mice as the female urine. “The fact that it’s banana smell that seems to be the most important chemo-signal is funny,” says Mogil.

If you’re hoping the researchers stumbled upon the secret key to halting rodent infestations, think again. The smell only works on male mice, points out Mogil—which isn’t much use if females come around. “We’re certainly not suggesting that anyone try to control mice in their house with bananas,” he says. Best to save your bananas for banana bread.