Mouse invasion!

[neuroticmum]

Hi everyone,
My boys have been living in their hutch in the garage for the winter, a few weeks ago I found a hole nibbled in their food bag and a few teeny droppings on the floor so suspected mice had found the food. Moved the food into a plastic crate and that solved that.

However... last night when I went to check on the boys at bedtime I found a small mouse eating from their food bowl in their hutch! It quickly ran away but now I'm worried.

Am planning to put chicken wire over the opening to the piggies hutch to try to keep mousey out, but is this the right thing to do? I assume if piggies live outside then they will get many "visitors" to their hutch over their lifetime.

Does the mouse pose any kind of a threat to my boys? Ie carry diseases etc?

Do I need to be worried? Anyone else found a solution to this, really dont want to kill the mouse if at all possible! :...

Thanks
Carolyn

 

[Wiebke]

You are right to be worried. There are things that can be passed on. Mouse droppings can cause real harm when eaten.

Make sure that your hutch has not the smallest hole elsewhere either and give the hutch a thorough clean afterwards.

I am very sorry about your nightmare!

 

[neuroticmum]

Thanks Wiebke, thought as much. Will try to get this sorted today!

 

[Hermes]

You'd need to use a 6mm mesh to stop mice getting in, the stuff that I think of as chicken wire is a lot bigger but I'm guessing you must be talking about something with a smaller gauge. Check for any other holes in the hutch (adult mice can get through a 1cm gap) and check for holes in the garage as well. Mice can chew through plastic containers so you may want to think about storing the box somewhere safe. Make sure you only feed your guineas the recommended amount of pellets and split it into two amounts (morning and evening) so it gets eaten quickly and there is no excess for the mice. You can always use live traps to try and catch the mouse and relocate it. I don't know how much stuff there is in your garage but having a sort out and moving things around will disturb any mice that may be living in there.

 

[neuroticmum]

Thanks Hermes, we've now sorted out the access for the mouse / mice and have covered all hutch openings in fine mesh, probably the 6mm stuff you refer to, looks odd but will do the trick, and can't see any other holes anywhere.

Good idea about the food too, will also switch to feeding smaller portions twice daily as it wont leave anything to tempt a mouse.


Thanks and fingers crossed this sorts it!