Tag: pests

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Cottage Life

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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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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Wild Profile: Meet the stink bugs

By Davide Bonora/Shutterstock

Stink bugs. Can’t live with ’em, can’t keep ’em from squeezing into your cottage and stinking up the joint. Well, you can. It just might take a little work.

Why are there so many stink bugs?

Fall is stink bug season. At least, that’s when you’re likely to notice them. As the temperatures drop, stink bugs—North America has more than 250 different species—start to move indoors…sometimes right into your cottage. “Lots of insects overwinter in the adult stage, which means that when the weather starts to get colder, they have to find places to spend the cold weather,” says Bob Anderson, an entomologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Great for the stink bug. Not so great for you.

Do stink bugs bite? Are stink bugs harmful?

In general, true stink bugs don’t bite or sting. The most they’ll do is land on your pant leg and freak you out. The invasive brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys, pictured), native to Asia, is harmful in the sense that it can destroy entire fruit and vegetable crops, along with a wide variety of plants. (If you think you spot one—look for the two distinctive white bands on the bug’s last two antenna segments—most provinces would like you to report the bug, and have online reporting forms like this one from the B.C. government. To learn more about this invasive, and how to ID it, visit the Invasive Species Centre.

What do stink bugs smell like?

Stink bugs stink either when crushed, or when threatened. They release a strong-smelling substance from their abdomens. Most people liken it to cilantro, but others describe it as freshly cut grass, dirty socks, cat pee, Jolly Rangers, rubber, cinnamon…In short, stink bugs smell like anything.

What attracts stink bugs? How do I repel stink bugs?

In spring, stink bugs are drawn to your property because of native plants or fruit trees. But they’re really only a nuisance when they come inside. Like plenty of other insects, they’re attracted to light, and they’ll find tiny openings to use as doorways into your cottage. There’s unfortunately no sure-fire way to repel them. Your best defense is the same defense that you’d use against any pest insect: inspecting the exterior of the cottage for any cracks and crevices, and sealing them up with caulk. Look around windows and doors, around siding and utility pipes, behind chimneys, and underneath the wood fascia. Look pretty much everywhere. (This will help keep your cottage free from other critters, too.)

As for chemical methods, an all-purpose, exterior spray—the sort that pest control companies use for cluster flies, “would likely do the job,” says Glen Robertson of Robertson’s Wildlife and Pest Control in Coldwater, Ont. The problem? You’d need to get this done early in the fall, before you start to notice them indoors, and a spray could also harm non-target insects. Which means you could end up killing beneficial bugs that you actually want around.

How do I get rid of stink bugs?

“We usually just tell people to vacuum them up,” says Robertson. (Get rid of the vacuum bag right away to avoid any stench.) Happily, the bugs won’t damage your cottage, breed and reproduce, eat your food, or do much of anything while they’re there. If they survive the winter, they’ll leave in the spring.