The 'E' Type Forum

So, in the garage I have an enormous trug full of walnuts from the trees in my friend's garden in France.
Thought it had been going down a bit quick, even though I eat them by the bowl full. Then a few days ago, I looked in my car cleaning kit in the garage and saw this:



Then today, went out there again and it was definitely down a lot more. So starting looking, and heard a scuffle in the corner behind the E Type where loads of rubbish is piled up. So moved E Type out, and removed all the stuff from the corner.
My God! Massive stash of nuts, bedding, all sorts.

Kept digging down, and found more bedding:

So thought I'd better look on top shelf, and looked inside a cardboard box of "bits"


ext to it, was the box of gadgets for the Kirby vacuum cleaner

And then the box of kirby cleaning bits

Got to the box that contained my daughters old cycling helmet, and saw further evidence

Moved some stuff to study the helmet, and a mouse leapt out at me! Big one, and ran across to opposite corner of garage

So moved the wife's car out, and emptied stuff from that corner. Left the wife to carry on emptying tools from the corner while I took some of the crap to the tip

When I got back, the wife had been chasing the mouse in and out of the garage the whole time! Apparently, screaming loudly every time it appeared! While I was there, we found it behind a board. It ran out of the garage, hid in the stuff we'd piled up, then ran back in. I nearly got it with the fish landing net, but missed. Quick little bugger! This happened a few times, then we got it trapped in the corner behind a few remaining tools. . The wifer slowly moved them while I waited with the net. Moved the last thing - Nothing! Vanished! Searched for ages, then thought we'd better check other stuff.

So looked in my wellies:

And under where the pressure washer was kept:

This is under where the tools were:

This was in a couple of storage boxes:

Altogether, there were 3.6 kilos of whole nuts stashed, and loads of eaten ones. There was another big stash INSIDE the engine section of the petrol lawnmower! Couldn't get to them, so spent ages shaking it about and slowly getting them out. About 20 came out of there. At one stage, the mouse ran and hid inside the engine compartment. I had to bash the lawnmower up and down to get it out.

Finally failed to catch him, so put everything back

So we've now got 3 traps down, baited with - walnuts!

Still not sure how a mouse moves 3.6 kilos of walnuts from inside a slippery plastic trug, to places like shelves high up on the wall.
No sign of entry into the E, but very wary, so checking regularly. Might have to sit out there with the shotgun tonight![/u]

Fire up the vacuum cleaner and leave it running for an hour with the nozzle on the ground :D

Get a cat

I have 8 'big cheese' killer traps in my garage plus 2 cats on patrol. Was shocked by the number I caught (about 5 a day) when first installed but now down to just 1 or 2 a week. Expecting another upturn come spring though !

Hope that cat on the E keeps it's claws in.....

Update - two traps sprung last night, but no corpse! Just the bait stolen

I just hope the little bugger isn't sitting on the car when you take aim :(

Those of a sensitive nature should look away now:



On turning the trap over, you can see it was a clean hit, straight through the head just behind the eyes:



Funny thing is, we bought two new traps, absolutely top rated. The old guy in the hardware shop said they were the best he'd ever used.
This morning, one was set off but no mouse. The other had the bait stolen, but hadn't triggered. The wooden one that got him (or her, I think on inspection) was about 50 years old. Bit like E Types then; the old ones are the best!!

Best bait is a Maltesers ball or a bit of chocolate.

Heuer wrote:Best bait is a Maltesers ball or a bit of chocolate.

Agree with the chocolate idea...we use Nutella...little blob...nice and sticky, stays on for repeated use....up in the roof space of our old house, on a run rate of 1 a month...you'd have thought the little blighters might have got the message by now...maybe mice don't like talking to each other..

Lovely mousetrap, David. It looks like it might also work on driven pheasants.

A commonly used method here on old farms with barns (often used for storing classic cars during winter) is a bucket 2/3 full of anti-freeze, and a plank of wood from the floor to the edge of the bucket. The inquisitive mice fall into the anti freeze (and drown), they can't climb up the walls of the bucket, the anti-freeze obviously doesn't freeze (it can get down to minus 20 here on a good winter).

The reason you have the mice is cats love anti-freeze but it kills them (painfully).

I can promise everyone that walnuts are great bait for mice! I weighed them, and 3.6 kilos of walnuts had been moved by the critter! That shows a lot of desire! He also ate a load, and still went for the ones I put on the traps.

malcolm wrote:I can promise everyone that walnuts are great bait for mice! I weighed them, and 3.6 kilos of walnuts had been moved by the critter! That shows a lot of desire! He also ate a load, and still went for the ones I put on the traps.

Seriously , you think there was just 1 mouse

A far better plan is to reduce the gaps around garage doors and sofits etc , then set traps , use toffee from the middle of a Mars bar .

Heuer wrote:The reason you have the mice is cats love anti-freeze but it kills them (painfully).

Yes, this point cannot be emphasised enough : ethylene glycol antifreeze is highly toxic to small animals , particularly cats but also dogs .Unfortunately it is also rather attractive being sweet , and as little as 10 mls can be fatal . Please, never ever leave a source of Glycol unprotected in your sheds or garage

Hello,
Thank you for the idea of "Nutella". I will put some in my garage this week-end and will see if I can catch a mouse called Kayslee Collins.
:)

Not sure about a mouse, but if you search Google images there's a very nice shot of her and her beaver in the E-type....

:D