Plan B – Update 2
UPDATE 2: Chippy (no other mice) caught again tonight in the room with several Fresh Cab sachets…and this… sachet with … er … evidence. aaaaaarrrrrhhhgggggg!!!!!!!!!
UPDATE 1: Plan B seemed promising enough until I woke to a captured mouse — this is AFTER I had put the magical rodent repellent in the basement and in strategic places on the main floor, which was AFTER Chippy was caught and deported. No surprise that it was Chippy who greeted me this fine foggy morning. No other mice. I don’t have an infestation problem (I don’t think.) Either I have one smart and persistent mouse or many mice and only Chippy is dense enough to be caught time and again. I’m not sure Plan B will work, as I put several sachets near and around the oven and in the basement right below where the oven is located. Mouse evidence on oven. *!$#&!!! To be honest though, I can’t really smell the sachet until I bring my nose right up to it. The room itself does not smell of Balsam Fir. Maybe I need more of them or fresher sachets. They sell an industrial size….
ORIGINAL POST:
And I’m not talking about emergency contraception…
Nope. I’m talking about Plan B, as in the primary strategy (Plan A): the rodent deportation program, has been an abysmal failure.
It’s waayy past time for a Plan B (Chippy Chunkear continues to come back and continues to be caught.) Fresh Cab (@FreshCab) is now on deck. I purchased 2 boxes from Amazon for a total of $31 and some change (4 sachets in each box and they smell great!) The company who makes this product is http://www.earth-kind.com and they swear by it! So do many people who reviewed the product on Amazon. Here is my start strategy:
1. I believe there may be some mice – at least one (Chippy) in the house NOW.
2. I placed 3 sachets in the basement near where I believe are the primary openings to the inside of the house.
3. I placed the highly efficient catch device on the main floor where I consistently catch Chippy (in a lightly used room off the kitchen.)
4. Once mouse/mice are caught, they are deported as usual and the rest of the sachets are placed on the main floor.
5. The openings are re-secured using a variety of methods based on size and location. For example, I believe that Chippy has once again eaten through the dry-wall behind the oven. I used a variety of methods to close it previously. I may just board and wire the whole thing up. The old stone masonry makes things challenging, but not insurmountable.
6. All food is stored in mouse proof containers, but I have 6 dogs and they have to eat somewhere. When I make them eat food outside, it attracts predators like possums and when I make them eat inside, it attracts Chippy et al. No matter how diligent I am at cleaning up, one persistent mouse can find a morsel or two.
Fresh Cab, as an effective rodent repellent, is my fingers-crossed Plan B.
What could go wrong? One thing. The second floor is where I keep my pet mice and so I can’t really put any sachets up there. If the wild mice figure out that the second floor is clear (they do come to visit my pet mice – as in I’ve directly observed them and I’ve seen the evidence)… then Houston – we have a problem.
I’m hoping that the sachets are repellent enough that the 2nd floor will not be visited at all because if not, then Chippy and his peeps may decide to move their residence upstairs, thereby creating a whole new set of counter-actions that will need to be deployed.
For now, fingers crossed for Fresh Cab!!
Plan C – live and let live? Or, to put it more colourfully, suck it up sunshine, Chippy ain’t goin’ nowhere!
Plan C is going to be to bring food twice daily to the ‘hood. It seems that when I stock the area with food, there is a bit of a delay before Chippy comes back and/or is caught. I can’t be certain, so I’ll give it a go. Fresh Cab was quite excited that I mentioned them on twitter and linked to the post. Since Update 1 and 2, not a peep from them….oops. I guess they never suspected that their product would be tested with such a mouse as Chippy!! I guess no advertising is better than bad advertising! LOL!
Ha, too bad they didn’t get back to you with a suggestion as to how to make their product work with smart mice.
Chippy can stay. I caught him again this morning and, well, he can just stay if it means that much to him.
Hooray – I’ve been on Chippy’s side from the very beginning!!!!
Yes you have. Plus, you predicted he would win…and so he has!
Fresh Cab is more along the lines of a sachet….nothing you spray…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachet_%28scented_bag%29
I fear you may be right, as Plan B is not looking too good right now….if only CC would be a bit cleaner, a little stealthier. I can be in total denial if I don’t see any evidence…I can live the ignorant wife role…
Oh dear, good luck. In my heart I hope you win, in my gut I fear the IQ of Chippy.
We have a product here called “Gone Possum”. It’s basically the same idea. Non-toxic, not chemical, non-harmful and not even stinky – unless you’re a possum. They hate the smell (apparently) and graciously move on if you spray an area with the product. I’ve used it successfully to get mice to move on from a garage (I figured if one small mammal thought it stunk, others would as well). The advantage of the spray is you can get it in rafters, on walls, wherever you think they might try to climb around crystals (Is that was Fresh Cab is?). Anyway, if it’s stinky enough, I’m sure Chippy and friends will give it a wide berth.