Yet More New Rats General Chat

Soap pads work as well I use them around my greenhouses to keep the mice from eating my plants x

@Malka I think the canola oil would work well mixed with it. Never heard of using soap pads, but in your case I would try that first because of Pereg. And I don't think you have to use the pure peppermint oil. I'll look it up in the bug book again and let you know exactly what it says.

@manydogz - I had a look at the reviews of the pure peppermint oil on iHerb and quite a lot of people use/have used it to get rid of mice although it is actually sold for culinary or aromatherapy purposes. They all say that just one drop on a cotton ball is sufficient and will last for two weeks before any more is needed. Other reviews give other ideas for which they use it.

I have also checked and peppermint oil does not appear on the list of possible triggers [unlike rosemary oil which is a definite no-no]. I know she is OK with pure lavender oil [same brand] and also pure vanilla and pure orange. I put a couple of drops of lavender oil on my pillow - the other two I use for flavouring protein drinks, and those also are not on the list and do not affect her.

As I have an order waiting to be placed, I will add a small bottle of peppermint oil - it is not as expensive as I originally thought.

We do not have the luxury of soap pads here - just rolls of that wire-wool stuff for which I have absolutely no use!

I also commend you for using deterrents instead of horrendous traps. It's difficult for me sometimes. I work at a store where I have to sell people any number of poisons and traps, then stop at the pet shop on the way home to get treats for the same creatures these customers are killing.

One small chuckle on the topic. There are people who come up to the counter almost hiding their purchase and whispering "We seem to have a bit of a vermin problem can you advise us...". Then there are the folks who shove several packages at me and address the whole line " WILL THIS KILL THOSE &*%$*&%^???".

@lovemybull - Oh, I would hate to kill the mice as they are such cute little things - I would just prefer not to have them in my home if possible.

I am not sure I would feel the same were they rats though...

I really would rather not kill anything, but I don 't want to live with them either.
@Malka Hope the peppermint oil works for you and so glad it wasn't expensive.

Yeah, centipedes and spiders I can obliterate without too much thought. Okay, the spiders sometimes eat pests we don't need. If your web is out of sight I'll leave you alone. Centipedes just...I will smash them to bits. We all have our fears...

The only thing I actually fear is frogs. Go ahead, have a good laugh. I have some morbid fear of frogs. Don't know where it came from. I handle anything that comes along. Even snakes. But show me a little green tree frog and I'm gone.

I have fear of flies, moths, wasps, bees, hornets, dragonflies, butterflies, daddy longlegs, gnats, I hate them, anything that flys accept birds & bats I like them.

Well, I'm not afraid of biting gnats, bees, wasps or hornets, but I am allergic to them and carry an epipen. I do my best to keep my distance.

@lovemybull - spiders I do not mind although I used to be terrified of them many years ago - no idea why though and they do not bother me now.

But centipedes? Actually the horrid things that I sometimes find wandering about my bungalow are giant millipedes

Sometimes I also see things that look like black slugs although I do not look too closely

I just grab the nearest long-handled dustpan and brush [I have four scattered around the bungalow], sweep the horrid thing, whatever it is, up, and chuck it down the nearest loo. With a full flush to follow!

I have no idea how they get in but however they do it is definitely NOT at my invitation!

For some reason the "like" button is gone from many of my posts. If it's a glitch in the program or there's a reason for it I can understand it. If it doesn't come back I'll be leaving this forum.

@manydogz - you only have a "Like" button on other peoples' posts, not on your own. Do you not have that?

Thanx, Malka, don't know what I was thinking. Must have been a senior moment.

I hate millipedes! On Mayotte where I lived for 7 years there was one which grew to around 12 inches long and as thick as a man's thumb. If you were bitten by one, the pain was excruciating. I once stepped out of bed in the middle of the night and got bitten on my ankle and for the next two weeks my foot was so swollen I couldn't walk. Ugh ... horrible things!

Ewwwwww, even when you flush them...am I the only one who kinda eyes the toilet very closely until it has completely flushed? Morbid fear the creature will splash back up alive maybe?
We lived in Florida several years. The little mint green lizards in the post box were kinda cute. The snakes that snuck in the house the cats would take care of. But there is a species of roach they call Palmetto bug.
Not your little finger nail sized insect that signals the kitchen needs better cleaning...these things were HUGE and everywhere. If you swung a broom the Palmetto bug would laugh at you...horrible things they were.

Umm - I flush, wait until the cistern has filled up and flush again. And then I take a peek! But I have raised loo seats so things would have to jump rather high to get out!

As for roaches - the ones here are large - very large - but luckily I rarely see one. I do have roach spray [it is actually called DeBugg*r - hope the swear filter lets that through, hence the asterisk] but I seem to be lucky on the roach front. Not like the mice front!

And I have never seen a roach in the kitchen - only in the tiny original shower/loo room, although what they would be doing in there beats me.

Lizards are OK. I have tiny almost transparent house geckos and there are large outside lizards that bask in the sun - well not now as it is winter, and those terrified me when I first came across them when I moved to Israel in 1985 - but you get used to these things.

Snakes, however, are a different matter. Especially as most are rather deadly - actually I mean very deadly. I Do Not Like Snakes. Especially as I had one come into my home when I first moved onto the Moshav.

A few years ago I went to some friends for a Hannuka party and my friend said "Do Not Go Into That Room" - which was actually the dining area of their living room through an open archway. Turned out that one of their sons had a vivarium which had snakes, although not of the poisonous type. Phew, am I glad I was warned!

@lovemybull I live in Florida and know very well what palmetto bugs are. Big at least 3 inch long flying roaches! One of my cats, Asher, brings me those plus snakes and huge lubber grasshoppers as presents. Jumps up in my lap with them and he's so proud. I'm o.k. with the snakes, but I have a hard time making a fuss over the other two. There are usually many lizards in my house and I'm o.k. with them, too. They eat ants, small spiders and the occasional small roach that wanders inside.

Oh I forgot the Florida spiders...I was security in an office building, couldn't admit those elephant sized webs freaked me out. Those halls didn't get inspected...hey, figured those webs could catch any human intruders too

Reptiles I'm kinda okay with. Not gators of course but smaller species are interesting to watch. There was a guy at the pet shop one day who had brought his lizard, with collar and leash...maybe a three or four foot something iguana? Wicked looking claws though and apparently it could bite.

Among the few pets we haven't had are snakes or birds. Snakes because I love rodents too much to feed them to something and birds because we've always had multiple cats. The fish don't get scared being stalked. We have a tank for the cat's entertainment. But imagine birds would sense the drooling tabbie.