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Of Mice and Wren


bookluvingbabe

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Fruit fly trap: get a jar, and add a small amount of cider vinegar. Top with a paper cone inserted into the jar but not touching the liquid. The flies are attracted to the vinegar and can't get out once they crawl down the paper cone.

They can be left to drown, or be released into the wild if you are hesistant to kill insects.

Edited by Heather
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Actually, these kinds of flies are often not fruit flies. I cannot remeber what they are called, but I've seen um' and killed 'um in plenty of restaurants.

My bet is that there is a consistent, even small standing water somewhere in the restaurant (probably behind the bar) where these flies breed. Get rid of the water, your fly problem will be history. A good "bug guy" (not Orkin or any of those corporations. You need an independant guy/gal who lives to kill bugs) can find the problem easily.

Sometimes the solution is as simple as making sure the ice bins get drained on a nightly basis. A slow drip into a floor drain makes for a nice little home for these critters. I can't imagine if they were truly fruit flies in the basement that it would be such a problem upstairs in the bar. There would be swarms of them downstairs.

A great bug guy is Kenny from Accurate Pest Control. It's a Baltimore company, they do a few jobs in DC, and they are awesome. If anyone from Palena reads this I'd give them a call.

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fruit flies are all over some of washington's finest restaurants. it has to do with the produce some of them get.

heck, i saw fruit flies all over the cheese cart of one of washington's most expensive and prominent luxe-fine dining restaurants (they tend to like the creamier french varieties).

i dont think it has to do with standing water. while i am not advocating this; it is better than cockroaches and rats.

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We have occasionally gotten fruit fly infestations from bringing produce home. We've discovered that the best remedy is a vacuum cleaner. That does the trick.

I agree that they aren't as awful as cockroaches.

Edited by Barbara
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From the dad of my best friend in grad school, who was a produce man in a Boston warehouse (the dad that is) --

"It doesn't matter what the <bleeeeeeeeep> it is! Wash that <bleeep> <bleeeeep> as soon as you get it home you dumbass!"

What a charming man. :lol:

Edited by JPW
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fruit flies are all over some of washington's finest restaurants. it has to do with the produce some of them get.
I don’t deny that fruit flies are all over restaurants in town, and I don’t deny that they are introduced through produce. But Jonathon, you work in a kitchen, surrounded by produce. Are there more fruit flies in your kitchen or in your bar? I’d bet your bar. Why? Because it’s got everything they need to eat and breed.

Food Source? Check. Maybe not rotting fruit and vegetables (Actually, how many slices of limes have fallen behind that reach in?). But certainly plenty of the greatest fermented fruit and vegetable I know of, alcohol.

Breeding Ground? They can’t lay eggs in their food source, ‘cuz the alcohol will kill them. Next best place is a sink drain, because it’s dark, warm, and moist.

Drain the ice bins. Rinse them. Pull out the refrigerators and sweep! Mop with bleach water and then pour the bleach water down the drain. Do every night, whether you are too tired, too drunk, or both.

I have been five for five in eliminating these pests when I managed restaurants by thoroughly cleaning the bar, and keeping it clean. Actually, you can never really eliminate them but you can minimize them to the point that people are again talking about your spectacular food and drinks, and not about the flies.

"Give me the fries, hold the flies."

Edited by B.A.R.
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When I first moved here on the other side of town, it took me a while to get used to the tapirs right next door. I'd wake up long before dawn to the sound of hungry snorts at feeding time. Got used to it. That was that.

Now, back in town, it's great to have a new neighborhood to explore, one that is a whole lot more quiet when it comes to animal behavior, or so I thought.

Late last night, I noticed a scuttle across the kitchen tiles and a thin, tapered tail slurped like a strand of spaghetti down a wooden maw beneath the recycling bins, followed by a peeping, whiskered nose.

Not completely resettled, I had been keeping sundry food items in cardboard flats in one closet, much of it in jars, but not all.

Didn't notice anything amiss when I returned home early this evening, but just a little while ago, I thought I heard more Ratatouille soundtrack above my head. Hmmm.

Brought the folded laundry downstairs, opened the door, and there at the edge of the rug was an angel hair nest. Yup. Had to dump out the bran and rye flour, too, since the plastic bags in which the sacks were sealed had been gnawed through.

So...now what to do about the rodents--I presume--and my food?

Everything in jars? Plastic containers no good? What about the fruit, potatoes, and what not?

Cockroaches, schmockroaches. Ants, ho hum. But this is kinda freaking me out. Cats are not an option.

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The first thing I would do: find and stuff -- with steel wool -- points of entry. Yes, it's quite time consuming but really quite effective. And, until you get things under control, use glass jars. I prefer glass to plastic because: glass is easier to clean; it doesn't stain; you can clearly view contents and know when you're running low; and the odd sized jars looks quite funky.

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Set some mouse traps baited with peanut butter in your pantry.

And if you end up left with a clever mousie who passes on the peanut butter, you'll probably have luck baiting with little pieces of raw bacon tied to the trap with dental floss (and yet again prove the near-universal irresistibility of bacon).

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And if you end up left with a clever mousie who passes on the peanut butter, you'll probably have luck baiting with little pieces of raw bacon tied to the trap with dental floss (and yet again prove the near-universal irresistibility of bacon).

Strangely enough, even critters that pass on straight peanut butter seem to go for it when you spread it on a cracker.

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Strangely enough, even critters that pass on straight peanut butter seem to go for it when you spread it on a cracker.

I am going to try this, or maybe just the cracker since they've been ignoring the traps completely and steadfast in preference for carbs.

Now that the food that attracted them is either out of reach (including freezer for flours) or securely stored, they've gotten desperate, if determined to stay put. After wondering if they'd found another place w better options, I was startled last night to see a little brown mouse staring up at me.

Apparently, I was lounging on top of its granary. After shrieking, I pushed aside the couch to see where it fled. There was a stash of dried decorative wheat shafts, milled by gnawing. I fear for rush and caned seats in the dining room.

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Cats are not an option.

Could you borrow a cat? Just for a little while?

I doubt I could loan you mine, as she is militantly indoor/outdoor, but a great mouser is a wonderful thing.

Mine will eat a mouse entirely, not even leaving the tail or toenails.

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Could you borrow a cat? Just for a little while?
Actually, there is someone who was going to bring her champion rodent killer of a dog over, but Buttercup's services were declined in favor of a professional.

And legant's advice is spot-on.

* * *

Since this is supposed to be all about the things humans eat, let me add another tip should any of you find households affected by WASA fiddling around w pipes and sewers on your streets: no matter how exhausted you are after flying across the country, if you do a fry up before climbing up to bed, never, EVER leave the bottle of olive oil out next to the stove, cap off.

Came downstairs to discover little shards of clear plastic all over the counter. Why the bottle was still upright, undrained, I'll never know, but an unwanted guest had laboriously gnawed off the entire safety/pouring doohickey of a ring that turns the top of the bottle into a spout.

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This is embarassing, but surely I can't be the only one-I have mice in my house. I understand it, it's cold, they want food, I hate to kill anything, but I don't want to share my space w/ mice- hanta virus, other icky stuff....I've ordered some 'humane' electronic mice zappers from Amazon, I've totally cleaned out my pantry (I think my daughter's sunflower seeds were the lure, but there were droppings everywhere-yuck!) & wiped it down w/ spearmint oil (I've heard mice hate peppermint oil, didn't have any, but I have lots of spearmint oil, let's hope they hate that, too). I'm going to check every spot in my kitchen, where there might be a hole-behind the sink, dw, stove, frig, & plug it w/ steel wool (I've tried tinfoil, but that doesn't seem to be effective), & liberally apply spearmint oil. Right now, my kitchen REEKS of spearmint oil, but I don't want mice, & my cat is totally unconcerned . Any other ideas? (sorry if this grosses anyone out, I'm just trying to deal w/ this)

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This is embarassing, but surely I can't be the only one-I have mice in my house. I understand it, it's cold, they want food, I hate to kill anything, but I don't want to share my space w/ mice- hanta virus, other icky stuff....I've ordered some 'humane' electronic mice zappers from Amazon, I've totally cleaned out my pantry (I think my daughter's sunflower seeds were the lure, but there were droppings everywhere-yuck!) & wiped it down w/ spearmint oil (I've heard mice hate peppermint oil, didn't have any, but I have lots of spearmint oil, let's hope they hate that, too). I'm going to check every spot in my kitchen, where there might be a hole-behind the sink, dw, stove, frig, & plug it w/ steel wool (I've tried tinfoil, but that doesn't seem to be effective), & liberally apply spearmint oil. Right now, my kitchen REEKS of spearmint oil, but I don't want mice, & my cat is totally unconcerned . Any other ideas? (sorry if this grosses anyone out, I'm just trying to deal w/ this)

get someone to look around the outside of your place and seal every possible entrance (you'd be amazed at how small a hole they can get into). We did this a few years ago and haven't had any problems since.

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I hate to say this, but the humane traps never work very well, so if you aren't catching them go for the good old snap variety- nasty, but they work. Also I highly, highly recommend something like the XO pop containers for things like flour, sugar, pasta and things like that to keep them clean and secure.

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Well, they're not humane traps like Havaharts, catch them live, release them a mile from your house traps, they're 'humane' in that they kill them quick, electrocute them-I got a Victor electronic mouse trap & an Agri Zap Rat Zapper classic. I hope they work. I will probably also call in a professional exterminator, just because my DH will not be convinced they're vanquished, unless we call in the pros. I feel really bad about zapping helpless fieldmice, I just wish I could get them to go back outside...

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Get a new cat. ;)

Seriously. Or borrow one from a friend. I had mice way back in grad school, and a friend lent me her uber-mouser cat for two nights. They turned out to be two rather sleepless nights (as various objects crashed to the floor during the pursuit), but I was soon mouse-free. And that was from the mice moving out - not from the cat actually catching any. The scent of the cat must have stayed because they didn't come back. Before the cat solution, I was capturing them in the little grey humane traps and releasing them at the local golf course. I figured it was a nice place for a mouse to live.

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You're not the first to have such a problem and in fact, I started a topic on a related subject almost a year ago.

Read this.

Since I also was a bit embarrassed, the title's a bit oblique, but this is a domestic problem vs. one related to restaurants, so I started it in a forum home cooks read.

Good luck!

(Not much consolation, but at least mice are cuter than rats despite all attempts animated features made to convince foodies otherwise.)

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This is embarassing, but surely I can't be the only one-I have mice in my house. I understand it, it's cold, they want food, I hate to kill anything, but I don't want to share my space w/ mice- hanta virus, other icky stuff....I've ordered some 'humane' electronic mice zappers from Amazon, I've totally cleaned out my pantry (I think my daughter's sunflower seeds were the lure, but there were droppings everywhere-yuck!) & wiped it down w/ spearmint oil (I've heard mice hate peppermint oil, didn't have any, but I have lots of spearmint oil, let's hope they hate that, too). I'm going to check every spot in my kitchen, where there might be a hole-behind the sink, dw, stove, frig, & plug it w/ steel wool (I've tried tinfoil, but that doesn't seem to be effective), & liberally apply spearmint oil. Right now, my kitchen REEKS of spearmint oil, but I don't want mice, & my cat is totally unconcerned . Any other ideas? (sorry if this grosses anyone out, I'm just trying to deal w/ this)

I could loan you a dog or two ;) I had a critter problem outside my home, mostly due to my bird and squirrel feeding habits. I stopped the feeding for a while, had Orkin adress the issue as part of our total home care, and my Daisy Mae did her part in *ahem* eliminating the problem.

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If you are in Virginia keep in mind that "Under state law, these species can be killed at anytime and in any manner that is legal under state and local laws (It is NOT legal to trap wildlife live and move it to another location.) These are the only species this applies to and a permit or hunting license is required to use lethal methods on other wildlife that becomes a nuisance."

House mouse is included under "these species".

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Coda: It should be noted that a professional was called in and it took approximately six weeks for the problem to end. As it turned out, the creatures were large rats, though perhaps mice got in first and scrammed after the arrival of the big boys. Big girls, too. Helps to act radically fast since we opened spice drawers to find insulating materials transformed into nesting. Freaked me out to see gnaw-marks on the plastic handles of my pretty pastel Japanese knives. Would have been a disaster were procreation to transform the walls of an old three-story row house into a furry, squeaky condo. Shudder.

Not sure the professionals did all that much, to be honest, though it was reassuring to have someone else on the case. What really helped is the time-consuming project legant describes above. All gaps between molding and floor, etc. were stuffed w fine steel wool by owner of the house who then nailed new strips of wood over that. I suppose the exterminator was better equipped and knowledgeable when it came to identifying exit/entrance points outdoors.

Don't waste money on sonar repellants you plug into walls.

If you have the stomach for it, do buy the huge, peanut-butter smelling sticky traps and position crumbs and peanut butter in the center. Rats will stick and boy when you approach, screaming yourself as you raise a copper firewood basin over the beast to cover it, be prepared for the otherworldly screech it will emit in return. What this means, though, is you'll have to kill it yourself. (I am sorry, but weeks of coming downstairs to see rats climb folded ladders to get to the stove top, scurrying off the dining room table, waking to hear sharp rodent teeth digging into things underneath the bed do not a Buddhist make.)

For mice, the cheap spring traps are effective, too, but the rat-sized ones are scary (and effective, too) and spring spontaneously to seriously hurt the human handling them. I had to finish killing a rat that had only been (terribly) wounded by one of these traps and the job was rather unpleasant.

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seconding the dog comment. Terrier, (my personal favorite is the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, not to be confused with the American Staffordshire Terrier). My little girl has been known to catch moles, mice, and once even, a rat, (all of them outside in the yard. The rat's lifeless corpse she brought into the house, however). ;)

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Anna,

I read your previous thread & I hope it doesn't come to that-I'm realistic, I know they're here, I'll put out traps & call in an exterminator, but if it comes down to finishing mice that are in traps that aren't dead, I'm going to wuss out. Yes, my cat is old & not interested in catching the mice-I've had cats for a long time & most of them just want to play w/ mice, maybe bat them around a bit. I've already put in place a tupperware system for the pantry, for beans & rice. My biggest problem is the large bag of jasmine rice, I've raised it off the floor on a thai rice steaming pot, hoping the mice can't climb...& I've got an exterminator coming tomorrow.

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In my admittedly limited experience, the little dudes can climb, or jump, or whatever. If you've got an exterminator coming over tomorrow, I would put the big bag of rice in the oven until then (don't turn it on, though).

[by the way, Ignatz Mouse is not the culprit]

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In my admittedly limited experience, the little dudes can climb, or jump, or whatever. If you've got an exterminator coming over tomorrow, I would put the big bag of rice in the oven until then (don't turn it on, though).

I'd say, find room in the fridge. Mice can make like an envelope and squeeze through amazingly narrow spaces.

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It's funny, how cats are about mice. I've had other cats, that have brought me 'presents' in bed, in my cottage in NC-this cat, my latest, while almost being the perfect cat, shows no interest in mice. She knows they're here, sits beside the DW, sniffs them out, but is not going to exterminate them for me...

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We have a reasonably fussy Maine Coon female who would enjoy eliminating your mice if there were cat treats involved. Then, too, friends of ours recently moved to Idaho and, early one morning were bringing coffee out to the deck when they encountered a new neighbor. I suspect that the beast would enjoy dealing with any and all rodent populations, as well as unruly children.

mountainlion.png

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As long as we're at it I guess I'll add that I have a bird's nest in the ventilation fan above my stove. It wouldn't really matter (because it doesn't work) except that the straw from the nest kept dropping down onto the stove top. Duct tape.

Not to mention that every year around this time, I get the annual March Of The Ants Easter Parade. Little tiny things, in a single-file line, going back-and-forth. They come in from somewhere outside, and arrive at whatever they collectively feel might feed them (the rub being there's nothing in my kitchen other than coffee and champagne).

Okay, so ... what's the best way to get rid of kitchen ants? Call Napoleon Solo?

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there's nothing in my kitchen other than coffee and champagne.

These are clearly ants who are not going to be around long (cf. survival of the fittest). Unfortunately, they seem to find enough time to procreate and pass their stupidity along to the next generation (cf. Britney Spears and Kevin Federline).

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Okay, so ... what's the best way to get rid of kitchen ants? Call Napoleon Solo?

Tea tree oil was one recommendation I read - rub around areas that you have seen them come in through. The toxic way that worked when I had to deal with ants with his "Home defense" product in a red thing sold at Home Depot. Can't remember the brand.

Boric acid might work too? Can't remember.

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Not to mention that every year around this time, I get the annual March Of The Ants Easter Parade. Little tiny things, in a single-file line, going back-and-forth. They come in from somewhere outside, and arrive at whatever they collectively feel might feed them (the rub being there's nothing in my kitchen other than coffee and champagne).

Okay, so ... what's the best way to get rid of kitchen ants? Call Napoleon Solo?

I track 'em back to the area where they seem to be coming in, and fill it with clear silicone.

Two days later, not a single one in sight.

(or you could declare U.N.C.L.E.)

(live and let live)

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I read a couple of years ago that you should prune trees so that they don't touch the house. That way, ants won't travel in on their favorite paths. It worked for one year, but now they are back and have brought their fuzzy little compadre: El Ratón. The cats are having a great deal of fun convincing the mouse to leave, but I'm having a worse time with the ants. I'll try the tea tree oil.

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I read a couple of years ago that you should prune trees so that they don't touch the house. That way, ants won't travel in on their favorite paths. It worked for one year, but now they are back and have brought their fuzzy little compadre: El Ratón. The cats are having a great deal of fun convincing the mouse to leave, but I'm having a worse time with the ants. I'll try the tea tree oil.

Ants certainly have more paths than trees to enter the house. Ants can nest underneath the siding which provides rather easy access.

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That's what I've done for three years - now I'm going Bondian on their metasomas.

does anyone know what to do about carpet beetles?

by the way, some of the approaches above to eradicating rodents are terribly inhumane. mice, at least, are fairly easy to befriend. eventually, you can get them to sleep in your bed. then, while they are slumbering, suffocate them with a pillow. if children are at home, you can run over them with tonka trucks.

we came home late one night to a honey ant invasion where the entire sink looked like it had sprouted a beard. my wife spent about five minutes whipping the ants with a dish towel but not killing many, and then gave up. the next morning they had all gone -- a mass exodus, we presumed, back down the drain from which they had come.

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That's what I've done for three years - now I'm going Bondian on their metasomas.

FWIW, I just found the entry point (a little gap on the top of the back door). I plugged it up with a dehydrated mangosteen which is the only thing I had in the kitchen. I really rammed it in there and pressed it like a putty - we'll see what happens.

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I once lived 5 hours, 3 minutes and two and half months in the most life-sucking, shoddily made, barren townhouse in a gated community which was nonetheless immaculately clean and mostly pest-free. Windows were not to be opened so that nothing either interferes with the air-conditioning, or flies in.

The anal-retentive owner went for the most natural methods possible for keeping the composite-board and plastic porcelain surfaces food, dirt and odor free. For example, scattered around the house were lids from take-out soup containers, each bearing a perfect circle of thinly sliced lime wedges, each cut the same exact width. These soaked up any smells left over after cooking and were replenished on a regular basis, e.g., daily whenever I dared to fry onions.

While a farmer once told me to put green walnuts beside cooling pies, Blanche placed cinnamon sticks around moldings and doors to ward off ants.

I chose to hang garlic outside my bedroom door, and smiled on the day I moved, noticing fruit flies hovering above the lime wedges.

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