The many mice on our farm

Here come the Mus musculus, better known as mice.
All the corn silage is in and also a fifth cutting of hay, so our bunkers are full. We always seem to finish filling the bunker silos right before a rain storm or as the daylight is leaving, and we work in the dark with tractor lights to pull the tarps tight and put on the sidewall tires. We try to work safely when the rain makes the plastic slippery. We also try to keep everyone safe when the wind picks up the tarp. We all hold tight so it doesn’t flip back. It always seems to be the case that we don’t have enough helpers when it is time to start throwing tires on the tarp. Everyone comes on the bunkers to help, even the dogs, Bonnie and Bebe.
We have a tool attached to the loader tractor that is called the tire shooter. When it was purchased, we all thought it would shoot the tires just like a kid’s Nerf gun. Well, it is more like the tire plopper. As the tires are removed off the top of the bunkers throughout the seasons, they are stacked in rows next to each other so the long arm can get right in the hole of the tires and pick up many at once.
As soon as the tires are lifted, Bonnie and Bebe are right there chasing after mice that have started to make their winter homes. Bebe is a mini Jack Russell terrier, and Bonnie is a border col-lie. These two make a very good team and can take on more than one mouse at a time. If the mouse has a burrow, Bebe can shove her nose right in and sniff if the mouse is in the hole. She will rip the sod out with her teeth and dig ferociously to get to her target. The dogs will stay focused on the mice the whole time we are covering the bunker.
Similarly, when we go to the pumpkin patch, the dogs are in hunting mode. Noses to the ground, the dogs push the pumpkins away to find the mouse house. Dirt will fly as Bebe is digging like a badger, and she will growl and spit out the hunks of grass and soil. Bonnie will often wait for the mouse that tries to escape. They are live action exterminators.
As the season progresses and the corn and soybeans are harvested, mice will make their way into the robot barn. We do have plenty of food for the mice to be drawn in for the never-ending feast of cow chow. The mouse live traps are checked by a professional monthly, but the dogs will let us know when a mouse is trapped because they’ll inspect the light weight metal boxes many times a day. Bonnie will carry the box over to us or try to paw it open. The box is an easy-open aluminum trap that can sometimes drop and pop open. With two mouse crazy dogs, the mice don’t have a chance.
There are other areas the dogs are not able to patrol. The robotic manure scrapers that push the manure through the slatted floor allow the varmints to sneak inside, and the dogs have no way to pursue them. The mice will take advantage when the robot is at the charging station and will crawl down the wall and right into the inside to make a nest by the battery box.
Inside the robots, where the pellets drop into the feed bowls, is another spot where we find mouse nests. This is located behind the cabinet that holds all of the electrical wires and pneumatic hoses that operate the milking. The area is full of dust from the pellets and, once again, an all you can eat buffet for a mouse family.
Our dealer has recommended we put mothballs in the robotic feed pushers and behind the robots. The mothballs are commonly made of naphthalene or para-dichlorobenzene, both are toxic to humans. These chemicals are solids at room temperature and are made into round balls, flakes or cakes that slowly change to a gas and become fumes.
We have used mothballs for the past couple of years to keep mice away, but they need to be changed out when the smell lessens over time and the gas becomes weak. I don’t like the smell of mothballs.
I have done a little looking into other mouse repellents such as peppermint oil, cloves or cayenne pepper. I will try to find what will be a good smell for us but not for mice over the next few days. If none of these natural repellents work, I will see what my professional exterminator can provide.
Tina Hinchley, her husband Duane and daughter Anna milk 240 registered Holsteins with robots. They also farm 2,300 acres of crops near Cambridge, Wisconsin. The Hinchleys have been hosting farm tour for over 25 years.