|
|
Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Aug 7, 2013 4:31:08 GMT
This myth came as a result of a post in the thread ‘You're never more than six feet from a rat'. I was told that the smell of a cat scares the *CENSORED* out of rodents & act as good deterrent keeping them out of your home. So does the smell of a cat (or cats) deter rodents from invading a home?
|
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Aug 7, 2013 5:40:03 GMT
This myth came as a result of a post in the thread ‘You're never more than six feet from a rat'. I was told that the smell of a cat scares the *CENSORED* out of rodents & act as good deterrent keeping them out of your home. So does the smell of a cat (or cats) deter rodents from invading a home? No it does not. We have 4 indoor cats. Every fall, when the fields are harvested, we have a short lived, field mouse invasion of the house. The mice just come on in through whichever way they get in, but soon get removed (killed) by the cats. |
|
|
|
Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Aug 7, 2013 6:08:48 GMT
This myth came as a result of a post in the thread ‘You're never more than six feet from a rat'. I was told that the smell of a cat scares the *CENSORED* out of rodents & act as good deterrent keeping them out of your home. So does the smell of a cat (or cats) deter rodents from invading a home? No it does not. We have 4 indoor cats. Every fall, when the fields are harvested, we have a short lived, field mouse invasion of the house. The mice just come on in through whichever way they get in, but soon get removed (killed) by the cats. Ok fair enough. But I still think it might work. A few years ago a friend of mine moved into a home that was next door to a abandoned building, & they had a 'bit' aka MASSIVE of a rodent problem. Being a total do no harm/hippy kinda person who won't use traps or bait of any kind on pests. My friend asked if she could borrow some towels & other bedding that my cat slept on "to scare the mice away with the smell." She placed the towels in & around the house & after a few weeks the mice stoped coming into the house. (BTW I've also heard snake poo has the same effect on them) |
|
|
|
Post by craighudson on Aug 7, 2013 10:46:18 GMT
My friend asked if she could borrow some towels & other bedding that my cat slept on "to scare the mice away with the smell." She placed the towels in & around the house & after a few weeks the mice stoped coming into the house. Maybe you could sell your used towels at a markup as mouse deterrents. |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Aug 7, 2013 13:28:52 GMT
No it does not. We have 4 indoor cats. Every fall, when the fields are harvested, we have a short lived, field mouse invasion of the house. The mice just come on in through whichever way they get in, but soon get removed (killed) by the cats. Ok fair enough. But I still think it might work. A few years ago a friend of mine moved into a home that was next door to a abandoned building, & they had a 'bit' aka MASSIVE of a rodent problem. Being a total do no harm/hippy kinda person who won't use traps or bait of any kind on pests. My friend asked if she could borrow some towels & other bedding that my cat slept on "to scare the mice away with the smell." She placed the towels in & around the house & after a few weeks the mice stoped coming into the house. (BTW I've also heard snake poo has the same effect on them) I'm pretty sure your friend did more than just put cat scented towels around. For example, cleaned up, kept clean and denied food for mice, closed off entry points etc. Being a "hippy" she may be using a natural cleaning solution or other scented items that mice don't like. We've had cats my whole life (46 years and counting), both indoor, outdoor and indoor/outdoor cats, (we also currently have 5 outdoor cats here on the farm who hunt mice all night long), cat scent doesn't deter mice. The physical presence of cats doesn't deter mice, why would the mere scent on a towel deter them? |
|
|
|
Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Aug 8, 2013 5:23:14 GMT
Ok fair enough. But I still think it might work. A few years ago a friend of mine moved into a home that was next door to a abandoned building, & they had a 'bit' aka MASSIVE of a rodent problem. Being a total do no harm/hippy kinda person who won't use traps or bait of any kind on pests. My friend asked if she could borrow some towels & other bedding that my cat slept on "to scare the mice away with the smell." She placed the towels in & around the house & after a few weeks the mice stoped coming into the house. (BTW I've also heard snake poo has the same effect on them) I'm pretty sure your friend did more than just put cat scented towels around. For example, cleaned up, kept clean and denied food for mice, closed off entry points etc. Being a "hippy" she may be using a natural cleaning solution or other scented items that mice don't like. We've had cats my whole life (46 years and counting), both indoor, outdoor and indoor/outdoor cats, (we also currently have 5 outdoor cats here on the farm who hunt mice all night long), cat scent doesn't deter mice. The physical presence of cats doesn't deter mice, why would the mere scent on a towel deter them? I'm told that as they are the animals 'natural predator' the smell makes them want to stay away to keep safe. all I know is I've had a cat since I've moved out of home & lived in' high rodent areas & never had a problem with them in any of my places. |
|
|
|
Post by silverdragon on Aug 8, 2013 9:10:20 GMT
In the same way that fast moving traffic makes me plan my road crossing carefully, I would say that the presence of a cat would make rodents rethink their own movements.
Scare is Healthy when used as a behaviour modifier....
Doers cat "scare" rodent, yes...,
... does it prohibit rodent, no...
... they are just more careful, and just because Human does not see rodent, does not mean they are not there...
ask the cat.
|
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Aug 8, 2013 16:16:01 GMT
Was there a rodent problem in any of the places you lived in when you moved into them?
|
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Aug 9, 2013 4:23:51 GMT
I also have 4 cats. well, actually 5: 2 always inside, two inside/outside, and one never inside. And a rodent problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Aug 11, 2013 8:07:53 GMT
Was there a rodent problem in any of the places you lived in when you moved into them? Yes I live in an old recommissioned industrial area at the moment & many of the old unused buildings are infested with mice & other vermin. I fact my first flat was above an old furniture shop & it (the shop) had a LOT of rodents in it. I saw one the first day I moved in run across my bedroom floor before I brought my cat over from my parents house, & I saw one more running around just after the cat came in. It came out of a hole between the stairs & the skirting board scuttled across the floor took one look at the cat & ran like hades back to its hole. I never saw or heard another mouse or found any evidence of mice aka mouse poo, in my flat after that. I did blocked the hole the mice came in up but, they could still get in under the gap beneath my front door if they had really wanted to. |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Aug 11, 2013 15:18:32 GMT
Was there a rodent problem in any of the places you lived in when you moved into them? Yes I live in an old recommissioned industrial area at the moment & many of the old unused buildings are infested with mice & other vermin. I fact my first flat was above an old furniture shop & it (the shop) had a LOT of rodents in it. I saw one the first day I moved in run across my bedroom floor before I brought my cat over from my parents house, & I saw one more running around just after the cat came in. It came out of a hole between the stairs & the skirting board scuttled across the floor took one look at the cat & ran like hades back to its hole. I never saw or heard another mouse or found any evidence of mice aka mouse poo, in my flat after that. I did blocked the hole the mice came in up but, they could still get in under the gap beneath my front door if they had really wanted to. Ah, see you did more than rely on the "cat smell" to keep the mice out, you blocked up their internal route of access as well, I think you are suffering from Confirmation Bias.Also, let me inquire, do you clean with Pine Oil based cleaners? Do you use cedar or pine based cat litter or use cedar based scented sachets or potpourri to cover the odor of the litter box or to keep other pests away from drawers/closets? |
|
|
|
Post by Lex Of Sydney Australia on Aug 12, 2013 1:51:16 GMT
Yes I live in an old recommissioned industrial area at the moment & many of the old unused buildings are infested with mice & other vermin. I fact my first flat was above an old furniture shop & it (the shop) had a LOT of rodents in it. I saw one the first day I moved in run across my bedroom floor before I brought my cat over from my parents house, & I saw one more running around just after the cat came in. It came out of a hole between the stairs & the skirting board scuttled across the floor took one look at the cat & ran like hades back to its hole. I never saw or heard another mouse or found any evidence of mice aka mouse poo, in my flat after that. I did blocked the hole the mice came in up but, they could still get in under the gap beneath my front door if they had really wanted to. Ah, see you did more than rely on the "cat smell" to keep the mice out, you blocked up their internal route of access as well, I think you are suffering from Confirmation Bias.Also, let me inquire, do you clean with Pine Oil based cleaners? Do you use cedar or pine based cat litter or use cedar based scented sachets or potpourri to cover the odor of the litter box or to keep other pests away from drawers/closets? No I dislike the smell of pine or any other scented products because they reminds me of hospitals so I use unscented products. The most chemical scented thing I spray around the house is bug spray when a mozzie gets in my flat in the summertime. & I use a charcoal based cat litter in a enclosed cat box to hide the smell & I have the bathroom window open during the day to provide air. (My bathroom window is less than a meter wide/tall & hangs over a 5 meter drop unless your Spiderman with sever anorexia your not getting in) & no it’s not Confirmation Bias. If you re read my post you’ll see that I only blocked the internal route of access not the external. Mice can & will come into a house via any means they can find including a 4 centimetre gap under a door, which is what was what was under my front door. Also they can also climb up along walls & enter in via open windows that don’t have fly screens – which my first flat did not. & yes mice can climb how do you think the get to the upper levels in barns & other structures. |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Aug 12, 2013 2:31:38 GMT
Ah, see you did more than rely on the "cat smell" to keep the mice out, you blocked up their internal route of access as well, I think you are suffering from Confirmation Bias.Also, let me inquire, do you clean with Pine Oil based cleaners? Do you use cedar or pine based cat litter or use cedar based scented sachets or potpourri to cover the odor of the litter box or to keep other pests away from drawers/closets? No I dislike the smell of pine or any other scented products because they reminds me of hospitals so I use unscented products. The most chemical scented thing I spray around the house is bug spray when a mozzie gets in my flat in the summertime. & I use a charcoal based cat litter in a enclosed cat box to hide the smell & I have the bathroom window open during the day to provide air. (My bathroom window is less than a meter wide/tall & hangs over a 5 meter drop unless your Spiderman with sever anorexia your not getting in) & no it’s not Confirmation Bias. If you re read my post you’ll see that I only blocked the internal route of access not the external. Mice can & will come into a house via any means they can find including a 4 centimetre gap under a door, which is what was what was under my front door. Also they can also climb up along walls & enter in via open windows that don’t have fly screens – which my first flat did not. & yes mice can climb how do you think the get to the upper levels in barns & other structures. You are assuming that the mice will use your front door gap or open window to gain access because you've blocked off their other route of access. Then assume that it is your cat that keeps them away, despite having evidence by two outside sources that cats don't keep mice away if they really want in. Thus, confirmation bias. You can't just assume that since you blocked the access that mice were using, but there are other routes they could use to enter, that it is the cat keeping them away. The mice may not know about or feel secure enough to use the other routes of access. Yes, I know mice can climb. I would never suggest otherwise. |
|
|
|
Post by Cybermortis on Aug 14, 2013 22:25:54 GMT
They may be unscented to your nose, but might not be unscented to the nose of a mouse or rat.
|
|
