My tiny shed to cabin project

[Bill]

Do you place them outside? Or inside?

outside for sure. If you put them inside the mice die inside. I learned this in my pole barn.
If you put them outside they usually die before they figure out how to get in.

 

[SD51555]

B, are you going to put any kind of power into your building?

 

[John-W-WI]

Do they typically die in the station or elsewhere? I want to put these around our shed.

Occasionally I'll see one cruising around that obviously isn't doing well, but as much bait as I have gone through in the last 10 years there are lots more I never see.

My theory is they find the bait station and never need to go into the structure. I think their #1 priority is food. They aren't like you and me looking for a warm bed. They take a bite, go back where they came from and die.

The rat size stations gets chipmunks too. At our cabin that has been very helpful.

-John

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Are they dog proof?

 

[John-W-WI]

My dogs have never shown any interest, which is surprising. They are as dog proof as plastic can be I suppose. If they really wanted it in sure they could chew through it.

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[Bszweda]

B, are you going to put any kind of power into your building?

Yeah I bought a generator wall kit and a generator(https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance...able-Generator-Through-The-Wall-Kit/987368010). It's installed but I didn't get a chance to actually use it yet due to having the wrong connectors. I am also going try and figure out some sort of solar and battery setup, but I haven't gotten that far.

 

[Bszweda]

do you guys have a preferred poison for the bait stations?

 

[Bszweda]

I have a shed like that and have turned it into a hunting cabin too. I hunt way North, so my priorities were really just "warm and dry". The nominal interior dimensions on mine are 12'x24'.

Here's what I've done to make it livable.

1. Vapor barrier on floor with 1" pink foam board insulation on top. 1/2" birch sanded plywood on top for a floor. (I wish I'd put some sort of finish on the wood.)
2. Insulated with fiberglass.
3. Shiplap walls
4. Pine tongue and groove ceiling.
5. Replaced the crappy shed windows with double pane vinyl (This was game changing)
6. Installed a direct vent Empire furnace with a 100LB tank. The 15K BTU model has been more than enough, even in December. I suppose -40 wouldn't be very comfortable.

All of these were really vital to making it livable. After I got it insulated, I was trying to use a Big Buddy heater. It kept it warm enough. But the condensation was horrific and I was just never convinced it was safe. Changing the windows and installing the vented heater were total game changers. I roll around in there at ~70 degrees and never have to chip frozen condensation off windows, or wipe up melted condensation. Total game changer.

Mine's the cheap siding. I wish I'd upgraded that.

Glad I paid extra to get the double pane windows. I originally wasn't, but the person who placed the order into the building called me back and recommended I do the upgrade. Thanks for the info on the direct vent furnace. I think I've decided on a propex hs2000 propane heater, which will be vented through the floor.

 

[Bill]

Are they dog proof?

there not coon proof! Well the coons can’t open them but they drug mine all over the place. I still find one here and there in the fields.. thought someone stole them. Since then I wire them to something or drill a hole in them and stake them down.

my mice seem to eat any bait. It just has to have a hole through the center so you can slide them over a wire inside the station. Keeps the mice from taking the bait home.

 

[swat1018]

do you guys have a preferred poison for the bait stations?

Tomcat

 

[Mortenson]

do you guys have a preferred poison for the bait stations?

You need to keep rotating. I like Jaguar best, followed by Hawk.

 

[buckdeer1]

Dogs will eat it if they get a chance.Then if you can save them it takes a quick visit to vet and some $$

 

[Da U.P. 'eh]

Rotate for sure. Change bait brand every year because they seem to lose interest for some reason when you stay too long on one brand. (I don't understand either) I put them outside and inside seems to solve the issue.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Dogs will eat it if they get a chance.Then if you can save them it takes a quick visit to vet and some $$

Yup, I have my dog on liver meds for the rest of his life because of mouse poison. $160 for 20 days worth of drugs. He is my buddy, he will be 12 this summer, but if I could give up my own liver for him, I would.

 

[Tree Spud]

Yup, I have my dog on liver meds for the rest of his life because of mouse poison. $160 for 20 days worth of drugs. He is my buddy, he will be 12 this summer, but if I could give up my own liver for him, I would.

Thats my worry, our dog eating a poisoned mouse.

 

[Tree Spud]

futon & small compact kitchen area all off grid. I am debating on a small mini wood stove, diesel, or propane heater. The cabin is pretty air tight so I might need to put in ventilation.

For a wood stove, below are a couple of options for small spaces. You can also get them with a cook top. They would work well for your size space.

Tiny Salamander Stove

CB-1008 CUB Cubic Mini Wood Stove

Mini wood stove designed to heat boats, cabins and RV's up to 40' long. Durable! Constructed from laser cut steel plate 1/8 to 3/16 thick! Produces 6000 to 14000 BTU's!

cubicminiwoodstoves.com

 

[H20fwler]

Thats my worry, our dog eating a poisoned mouse.

Will the poison transfer like that? Or in enough volume to even affect a larger animal?

 

[H20fwler]

Love the new little cabin and the personal touches you have put on it so far.

 

[Catscratch]

I won't poison mice where my dog roams. Many years ago I poisoned some packrats that had gotten into an old car. My dog (who was fenced off from the car) ended up sick with poisoning. The rats had crawled out of the car and into his part of the yard. Could have been a really bad deal!

They say to not put poison near where you don't want to have mice as it is a bait, but to put it on the outskirts to attract them away from your structures.

 

[jackpine]

I couldn't imagine them getting in the bed, my wife would've demanded we move. We bought a 150 year old house about 2 yrs ago and saw some mouse sign before buying but figured i could handle it. 6 months later we were hearing wood gnawing in the walls while in bed, that was it and I called an exterminator. 4 bait stations around the outside foundation for the last year and we have had no issues for about 5 months. At first the exterminator was coming once a month and the bait would be totally gone in that time, now theres hardly any activity. Had 2 die inside walls during that time. They wired the bait stations to landscape blocks so they dont get dragged away by coons. The exterminator said that usually a rat will get smart to bait and will just take a nibble to see if they get sick so the exterminator will start out with a harmless bait to get them used to eating it and then switch to poison of the same flavor. This probly explains why switching baits for mice is effective. Now I just gotta get rid of the moles digging up my yard.....

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