I spent this last Sunday at work moving my stuff out of a loud, chaotic central dispatch room into my own office with my two direct employees. I got those convertible standing desktops for all three of us that fit on top of a standard desk, and anti-fatigue mats to stand on.
It... is... so... quiet...
And, we have windows to the outside world!
This is temporary as we shop for a new (second) building, which will be my own division of the company. I feel like George Jefferson all of a sudden.
Hey, if you've using bird feeders, there or home, try this: Pick up one or two restaurant size jugs of cayenne pepper. Next time you fill the feeders, mix the seed (preferably black oil sunflower) in a bucket with lots of cayenne. Fill feeders, and watch for tree rats. Oh, and WASH HANDS, duhhh...
The cayenne won't affect the birds, but the squirrels WILL notice. Last time I did this, saw one get on the feeder, grab a mouthful, then bail to ground, to bird bath, chugged water, then back to ground rubbing face over and over and over...
Cats are inefficient. Instead of killing the mice in and around the house they go out to bring others back home! Usually near dead.
Decon makes green blocks, they are about 1 1/4 square by about 2 inches. No stink, easy to move around, much better than cats. I toss a couple under my stored vehicles and one or two inside. Under seats. I use them in and under my motorhomes, shop, sheds and such.
Technically, all you need is cat urine. Find someone with a cat and ask them for the used litter. After they stop laughing, put the litter in soup cans around the barn. Even though you will likely not be able to smell it, the mice will. It terrifies them.
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider; That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her! She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird; How absurd to swallow a bird! She swallowed the bird to catch the spider; That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her! She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat; Imagine that! She swallowed a cat! She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider; That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her! She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady that swallowed a dog; What a hog, to swallowed a dog! She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider; That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her! She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a goat; She just opened her throat and swallowed a goat! She swallowed the goat to catch the dog, She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider; That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her! She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cow; I don't know how she swallowed a cow! She swallowed the cow to catch the goat, She swallowed the goat to catch the dog, She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider; That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her! She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
We had a problem at one point, after a neighbor tore down a shed. He said mice scattered everywhere. They were getting into our kitchen where the plumbing came through. My wife read about simply putting powdered dish washing detergent where they come in. Damned if the problem didn't stop immediately. Sorry, I have no clue what brands work/don't work. I also don't know if this will work in an open area. Cheap enough to try though.
Otherwise look to youtube for bucket mouse traps that drown the mice. I know we've discussed them in the past around here.
I am told by RV owners I know, cheap smelly dryer sheets all over their RV's keep mice away when they store them over the winter. I have used a few under the hood of a car and it appears to work.
I wish every company owner had that sort of commitment to progress. I helped my company increase sales of equipment, at my branch, from at least 2 of our suppliers by double digits, several thousand $$ per unit profit (my straight commission salesman enjoyed this with good reason).
I just got a truck exchange, our truck needed a PA inspection (whole reason for the exchange) and had 150,000 miles. I didn't know until the day of the exchange that we were getting back our old truck needing a VA inspection with 300,000 miles. What an upgrade!!
Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 - 03:12 pm:
Update to the office/critter fix thread... I just had the idea to take a suet cake and coat it with scorpion and cayenne pepper powder. Been watching the birds, I think I made my big red-headed woodpecker sneeze. Watched another similar species take a bite, then hop off to wipe its beak on the bark.
Whoops... I guess I'll wait and see if the squirrel shows up. That's my target for this trick.
Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 - 03:25 pm:
The process that lowers the temperature at which the nerve cell reports to the brain that it is on fire does not occur in birds. In most mammals, the pain temperature threshold is lowered to below body temperature. You're not actually being burned...it's all in your head. Not so in our avian friends.