On May 23, 1:49 pm, "Don White" wrote:
"Michael Plog" wrote in message

m...

I own a little john boat and store it in a private garage in a "nearly
rural" part of town. Mice come into the garage from the surrounding corn
field. I have noticed mice pellets in the boat and once after bringing the
boat to my house, noticed a dazed mouse moving down the driveway and
finally finding the grass.

I do not want to kill these mice--I am afraid if they die in the
insulation under the flooring, the boat will stick of rotten mouse for a
long time. I do want to make the boat unpleasant for the mice--get them
to leave.

Thanks in advance for your ideas.

I don't know about the 'stick' part but they sure will stink if they die in
a hard to reach place.
I'd talk to your town animal control officer or a pest control company for
some 'live traps'. You could then release the mice back into the
country...far away from
houses.

I'm not so sure about the stink aspect - I just moved and I found a
dead baby mouse behind a very dusty book case - it was so covered in
dust that it must have been there for a while - never noticed any
smell - but prevention is the best. The best prevention is a cat - I
moved into an apartment above a pizza shop (bad idea) - and man my
place was a friggin mouse highway - got a cat - less than 24 hours she
had herself 2 kills, though when I came home and discovered her\them
she looked at me like she was in trouble.

But, you can't just buya a cat and leave it in a garage - that's
crueler than killing mice - you could occasionally have a friend who
owns a cat come to the garage and sniff around leaving it's scent -
but the scent wouldn't last long. Then fool the mice - I know that
gardeners have problems with deer and\or rabbits - and other varmits -
eating their vegetables. Believe it or not, doing a #1 or #2 around
the garden leaves a scent that will scare of the varmits - but it
could also scare off your neighbors if they see you copping a squat -
so some tricks are to put hair around the brounds or to go to a store
and buy shtuff that leaves a scent of dogs and or cats - from a pet
store maybe, or maybe a nursery - not sure - human hair may work - ask
the barber to give you some - or even better, is there by any change a
dog\pet grooming shop near you - spread cat\dog hair all around.