Old Cabin: Mice, Ants, Smell

[AaronM]

My family has two cabins with the older one rarely being used. On account of that, it's acquired a "musty" smell, what ways are there of getting rid of that old cabin smell?

The second problem is mice. We've used poison and traps, but the traps get a mouse caught and are done, and the poison gets spread out and who knows where those mice go to die (dead mice maybe adding to the smell..?)

Finally, ants have deemed the cabin appropriate for a colony and can be readily found, though usually in the kitchen area. What are good ways to get rid of these critters?

I know it seems like much, but this is really a great cabin when you get passed the mice, smell, and ants It was built in the late 40's early 50's and has a wonderful nastalgic touch to it. If I could figure out a way to get rid of the few problems, hopefully it could get used a bit more! Thanks for any help!

[Sandmannd]

Don't use it!!! It's beyond repair. You would be better off giving it to me

Seriously, I would try ant traps unless you have a lot. Then maybe an exterminator and find out where these critters are getting in and get that fixed.

[Pleasant]

Hi I have an old 10x50 lot trailer I use at the lake for a shack. I have found that Peppermint 100% Pure Essential Oil (I put a couple of drops on cotton balls) repels mice very well. As far as ants go I don't know of anything that works better then putting out Terro and letting them carry it back to the nest to kill off the colony. They will come in hordes for awhile to eat it and then disappear. As far as the musty smell goes that just seems to go with the fact that things are closed up for a period of time I have found that fabric softener sheets hung around seem to help but nothing is better than a good airing out.

Hope this helps and I am sure others will chime in.

Lynn

[vermilionfox]

Terro will work well on the ants.

DampRid will probably help otu with the musty smell. You can buy it at at most big box retailers and many local hardware stores.

[slick814]

Terro or Grants Kills Ants will take care of the ants... mice, I'd do the D-Con thing. One thing to check on an older cabin is if you have any kind of pipes or wiring that go through the floor or walls is if there's even a TINY space for them to squeeze through. I've found that steel wool stuffed in those kinds of spaces helps keep them out once you've got them out.

As far as the smell goes, I have to second Pleasant's comment. The best thing for that smell is to air it out. Open the windows & doors, maybe some Fabreeze air freshener or something along those lines to help it get started, but the best thing is to let the breezes blow through. I'd be willing to bet that it would start to smell fresher in a couple of days if everything is open and there's decent circulation.

[MuleShack]

For Mice, another option is the poison blocks. They are about 1" sqaure by 2" long and from what i have witnessed, the mice dont make it very far once they taste it.

I put one of these out in front of a mulch burm where a mouse had a hole going into it. When i came back a day later, the mouse was laying dead next to the block. The best thing about these is there is no mess...

You would want to make sure that the cabin is closed and no kids or pets were in there while you "baited" the mice.

I dont remember the name off hand but i got them from a Lesco dealer. "Bait-Tox" maybe??

[Rogue Hunter]

For mice, I've seen the experts put out 1/4x4x6in plastic dish filled with very sticky substance. Once the mice step in it, they're stuck. Should be able to find some retail. I'd put a couple out and come back in a week and see what you have.

Terro works very well...just takes a few days.

[UdeLakeTom]

For ants, spray the outside of the threshold with "Home defense", bought at HD. It is a spray and lasts the whole summer. I have used it for 2 years now, applying in the spring and don't have to use it again. You can also spray directly on the colonies and it works there also.

As to mice, I don't like the decon as I have found they will carry it away and store it. Decon does have 1 inch square blocks that work and Menards is supposed to have a chocolate block that works also.

[MikeYager - Suzuki]

If possible find out where the critters are coming in and seal those spots. We had mice for a short time when I left a small hole open in floor. Once I covered it again ZERO mice.

[captshorelunch]

Quote:

---

If possible find out where the critters are coming in and seal those spots. We had mice for a short time when I left a small hole open in floor. Once I covered it again ZERO mice.

---

You never will get rid of mice 100%. no matter what you do, some manage to still get in. Terro sweet syrup for the ants. For the smell, start smoking stogies

[magnum mike]

You need a "Finlander self-resetting mouse trap". It requires a 5 gallon pail, a quart of antifreeze, some tie wire and an empty pop can. I have a camp in Canada and this works GREAT. If you are interested, I can send you a drawing of the setup.

[NEANGLER]

For the mice you can use glue boards which is the plastic tray that the mice stick to and can't get out, you can get numorous mice and insect(ants, cockroachs spiders with these. You can also get waht is called a Ketchall mouse trap. Try a local exterminator to get these. It is a metal box that winds up once the mouse runs through the hole a trigger trips it into a holding bay. They can hold up to about 20 mice - no bait needed. Just put along major traffic ways of the mice. Ants - what has been listed above it good and also look and spreading coffee groounds around the foundation, don't know why it works but it does. Main thing is if you can find the colony and knock them out. Are they carpenter ants? if so you may have a bigger problem. With the musty smell I would take a bleach and water solution and go over the entire interior of the cabin(cabinets, floors, etc) this will kill a lot of bacteria. Then air it out for a few days. I would also try to find the source of the smell(dead mice, water leak, etc). Good luck.

[lookincalifornia]

you could also try the 'stensland self resetting mouse trap'. it's basically just a cat.

[1DIRTBALL]

My fishing buddy and I were staying in an outpost cabin on Pipestone Lake in Ontario that seemed to be overun with mice. We used the "Finlander self re-setting trap" with a few variations. We just put about 2"of water in the 5 gallon pail, ran a wire through a beer can, and mounted it across the top of the pail. Now if there is anything that a mouse cannot resist, it has to be peanut butter! Works far better than cheese anytime. So we liberally coated the outside of the beer can with peanut butter. Then to make it easier for the mice to commit suicide, we leaned a small stick from the floor to the edge of the 5 gallon pail. Then to make sure the mice were tempted, we put a little dab of peanut butter at the bottom of the stick, again half way up, and finally at the end of the stick. We went happily off to our sleeping bags secure in the knowledge that we had solved the mice problem. Our score when we got up the next morning? 53 mice and a chipmunk! All drowned! We dumped the contents of the pail on a rock down by the shoreline. By the time we came back from fishing the seagulls, eagles, and various other critters had made off with them. Problem solved! 1DIRTBALL P.S.- To get rid of the musty smell in your cabin, try hanging a few of those air fresheners that you put in your car to freshen the air.

[magnum mike]

Dirtball has the design correct. The anti-freeze will eliminate the smell of decaying vermin if the trap is not checked frequently. If the mouse problem is that bad, you may want to make a couple of these.

[Catcherman]

If you do use antifreeze, though, don't dump the bodies for other animals to pick up. The antifreeze will poison any animal that consumes the dead mice.

Also, for the smell, make sure your carpets get shampooed if you have them. Mice will urinate all over your cabin if they're in there and that will add to the bad odor.

[DeeDee]

Are they carpenter ants? I had a run in with them. Unfortunatley they eat termites. You should have a pro check the cabin.

[1DIRTBALL]

If they are carpenter ants, you will need to apply diazinon crystals all around the outside of your cabin. 1DIRTBALL

[NEANGLER]

Diazanon is good and Reldan granular works well too.

[papabear]

You can have our cat, please. Pretty please.

The best thing for the smell is a good cleaning and use the cabin. Going in and out and cooking will remove and or cover the smell.