Help With Mice

[TimmyR]

I recently upgraded from a fairly old Weber Genesis to a new Napoleon Prestige Pro. I love the grill but for some reason the mice have decided THIS grill (not my previous nor my BGE) is a favorite place to come hang out, eat the foil in my drip pan and use as their personal bathroom. I see no signs on the grate fr the most part and am happy to fire it up to 600 degrees pre-cook.

Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping them generally out of the cabinet and in the grill? I don't have a cat (neighbor does but she's clearly not doing her job). There is no way to plug every gap on the grill. They (as mice do) have already begun an assault on some of the wiring, but nothing serious yet. I have peppermint extract pouches inbound and am planning to relocate grill and maybe start soap & water cleaning drip pan post-cook from now on.

Thanks!

[Donw]

These work and it won’t be long until no mice.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tomcat-mouse-killer-disposable-kid-resistant-station-pack-of-4

[PGH_RAM]

+1 on these. They work great.

[Alan Brice]

These do a great job killing the rodent, then you have a rotting carcass hidden away somewhere.

[klflowers]

This

[randy.56]

We also use those green blocks, and sticky traps. Just re supplied at Lowes 16 blocks for $15
. Sticky traps do a good job, but you have to check them, sometimes they get loose.

[DaveF]

The green blocks (Tomcat) work great. Cleaned out my old Kirkland top to bottom after a mouse built a nest only to come back two days later and the damn thing was back with a new nest. Green blocks deployed near grill along with black snap traps and peppermint spray from Amazon. Mouse nibbled on the green block - dead. Caught two others with snap traps. Never had this problem before but very vigilant now.

[RonB]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn_40K0er0E

Should also work for mice.

[WayneT]

I knew someone would step up with something like this! Thanks for not disappointing, Ron. Could this be the euphoric anticipation of your happy drugs tomorrow talking?

[RonB]

wayne T - I'll let you know sometime tomorrow - or not...

[captainlee]

I've tried ultrasonic units. I had one within 12" of a dish of poison pellets. They ate the pellets, the ultrasonic did nothing. Just be careful of pets if you are using poisons. Peppermint spray does work, they hate it. You do have to reapply as it has a short life.

[texastweeter]

I use the good old fashioned mouse traps baited with a half chewed tootsie roll. Works like a charm.

[texastweeter]

Murdy, I used to use peanut butter, but trust me, the tootsie roll is superior. You will catch all the mice you need to before you replace it, and they seem to come to it better.

[Murdy]

texastweeter -- I will give it a try. Good excuse to have some Tootsie Rolls around too.

[Alan Brice]

I have had good luck melting a cpl drops of chocolate as bait on the trap. The bait is not going anywhere and neither is the mouse.

[mrteddyprincess]

Live with a cat who lives inside the house and outside the house. The only time I've ever experienced rodent problems (mice) is when I wasn't living with a cat. Right now we're living with Mew Barrymore (shelter adopt), and we have no mice anywhere.

[CaptainMike]

This truly is the very best, even foolproof, method of ridding oneself of rodent problems. Plus, cats are cool.

[WayneT]

CaptainMike I'll bet y'all had a cat mascot in your fire battalion and it pissed off the Dalmation union shop.

[texastweeter]

Our cats useless, won't even chase a laser pointer...freeloader

[DavidNorcross]

I use traditional traps when needed. We keep chickens here and they range. We also have other animals that could come in contact. With poison, the mice eat the poison and then travel before they die, so we use traps if we see signs of mice.

[TimmyR]

I guess I should’ve added a cat is not an option in my home due to allergies and a dog who would not play well with it. I know it’s the ideal solution.

[jfmorris]

Yeah - I'm allergic too, and unfortunately, in our area, coyotes are becoming an issue and housecats that are let outside have become prey to the coyotes.

[jfmorris]

Good luck!

I think a bait station is the best way to go. I had this issue years ago with my old Weber Genesis. Apparently some outdoor rats discovered the grease pan - which hangs under that old grill on a frame - and then learned to climb up through the grease drain hole into the bottom of the grill to go after the crud in the bottom of the grill. I would see them from inside the house, in daylight, and ran out there more than once and lit the grill while a rat was inside! The rats went flying out of the bottom of the grill and up trees - these were tree rats with a nest up a big tree, but not squirrels. Weird.

I broke the grill down, hosed it out, scrubbed it down, burned it off, and relocated it temporarily WITHOUT the cover - I think that encouraged them to go up under it - until the rats were gone. They definitely ate the green stuff in the bait stations I put around the backyard.

[Steve R.]

I know for sure that the mice used the cover to climb up into my griddle. If I left it off, there was never an issue. But that just wasn't going to work for me long-term.

[SmokeyGator]

DO NOT use poison. Ever. Unless you want to kill owls and possums and whatever else might eat a poisoned rodent. Or the bait.

You can use mechanical traps. Those are fine. Zappy traps are also good. Owls like BBQ too? Only one way to find out.

For immediate de-rodentification remove the grease catch pan, keep the grill lid up, and keep the cabinet doors open. Critters will not like that. You can also say "psspsspsspsspsspsspsspsspss" and see if any neighborhood cats show up.

[RichieB]

SmokeyGator thanks for posting. I was looking b4 I posted. Please do not use poison. Wildlife finds a dead poisoned mouse, eats it and they're dead. So many other solutions.

[SmokeyGator]

RichieB Not to mention you might poison the neighbor's cat, which could land you in legal trouble because you knowingly left poison out. And of course, you could also kill rodent eating critters which is counter productive. Hawks, owls, snakes, possums, and so on. All things you want around. Poison is only good for use in your basement or attic, where the dead rodents will stay there. Rat poison dries out the rodent corpses so they do not stink.

[LeeAnne]

Before resorting to poison, consider that it often goes right thru the mice and is left where ever they poop. You know, the odd coloured poops found in or near bait stations, in your grill box and wherever the little annoyances go.

Agree totally with not using it due to secondary poisoning. There are some pretty tiny owls that probably won't survive too long eating poisoned mice. Dogs/cats "generally" don't eat enough mice to be poisoned due to their weight and the amount of poison ingested.

[BKYDBBQ]

I have an all natural and environmentally friendly solution that requires no maintenance, and costs $0...a black snake that lives under / around the house. i don't bother it and it doesn't bother me.

[UncleSpike]

If you lock a cat in the grill for a few days, it should take care of the problem.

An added bonus is that your grates will be cleaned for you as well...

[bbqLuv]

Moth Balls? but do you want that order under the grill?
Perhaps you might try marking your grill territory

[WayneT]

Take 'em out before lighting the grill!

"Mothballs are flammable. The modern mothball is made from 1,4-dichlorobenzene, rather than the traditional naphthalene. Some say this is because naphthalene is highly flammable, all we can say is that 1,4-dichlorobenzene has exactly the same NFPA 704 code for flammability. Both types are flammable."

[Starsky]

You think you have problems?

[WayneT]

Ratatouille!

[bbqLuv]

They belong to WIllard

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=willard+the+rat+movie&mid=4F90EC5A016E16AEF0504F90EC5A016E16AEF050&FORM=VIRE