Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/06/does-fox-and-wolf-urine-keep-r.html
…
2 Likes
No joking, what works for my building is the people on the bottom floor putting out catfood.
We have 3 or 4 outdoor cats now, and no rodents spotted (or their poop) in years.
Of course, now occasionally I startle a raccoon or possum coming home, but it is a welcome trade.
6 Likes
My folks use this stuff to keep deer from eating their shrubs, and it seems to work.
2 Likes
4 Likes
Given that rodents infected with toxoplasmosis are actually attracted to the smell of cat urine (at least), I could see this being counterproductive in some cases.
Studies I’ve read indicate that the presence of cats does nothing for rats except make them less visible (they’re still there though). That’s because only in places with especially small rats (e.g. New Zealand) do cats catch adult rats.
Where I am, the raccoons are heavily infected with a dangerous parasitic roundworm that’ll infect humans (eyes, brains, various internal organs), spread through feces (which raccoons leave in areas where they’re being fed).
All in all, I actually prefer rats.
3 Likes
I live in the distant suburbs, so it’s mice at issue. I see cats around these parts carrying fairly large chipmunks too. Never had a rat problem.
Well, if I find raccoons or possum nesting in my kitchen, my preference will also flip.
3 Likes
Bad enough when they’re outside (they kill cats, injure dogs, destroy gardens), but I had raccoons in my ceiling. Still haven’t completely dealt with the mess, even after years of work.
3 Likes
I used fox urine to chase away a family of squirrels that gnawed a hole in the eave and built a nest in the attic. Seemed to work but I don’t have empirical evidence of it.
1 Like
I’ve tried peeing in a circle, didn’t make a damn bit of difference.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to try home brew first? And more plentiful.
Our raccoons make a regular habit of taking their nightly dump on the skylight of our kitchen. Thanks guys.
Also - rat’s don’t give a rat’s ass about predator vermin. Maybe raccoon shit would keep them away. Hmmm.
Never mind the urine. I want a shot of beaver musk-gland liquor:
https://www.andersson-import.de/l-o-smith-bvr-hjt-jagd-schnaps-43-5-vol-700ml.html
Even mice don’t seem to be deterred by cats when the cats don’t hunt them (I had a cat who just loved to watch the mouse show in my apartment, completely useless!)
On the other hand our local feral cat, who was fed by my neighbour but was feral, successfully hunted and ate rats. So I think it really depends on the hunting prowess of the individual feline, probably tied to their own expertise (or lack thereof).
2 Likes
I can’t remember, do you at least cut it with tonic water?
for rats you need a Mink
2 Likes
You have to pee in a pentagram.
2 Likes
This is a cruel and unusual treatment for various critters:
Raisins, oats, any left over cookies, etc. Mix well with quick mud powder used in drywall finishing. They eat the coated fruit and oats. The moisture in their guts activates the drywall mud powder and turns it into rocks which block their gut > death.
I know it sounds gruesome, but when you consider what D-Con rat poison does to their circulatory system… I used this method to kill a family of skunks that had taken up residence under my house. Works on rats that like to eat things in your car’s engine compartment.
1 Like
Well snap, looks like mice use more context than ^(folders of) people do. I was looking for ’ Social Isolation Co-opts Fear and Aggression Circuits’ https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(18)30524-5 which is https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.04.031 but I don’t know how mice think about food inside the test area (and I’m not looking for a mashup with that YouTuber that makes superinsulated walls (fill with areosol caulk miasma, pressurize, let set 3 days, and sealed!) for YouCurrency.)
The House With Feral Fox News People In Its Walls…nope, noooope. No. nah.
From what I’ve read, it really doesn’t. It’s a matter of rats generally being too big for cats. So unless the rats are immature (and/or sick), or the cats abnormally large and/or aggressive, it just doesn’t happen on a regular basis. The exception being in places that have unusually small rats, e.g. New Zealand, apparently.
