So, I been dealing with a mice problem for a while now. I store my base malt, in my garage, in 5 gallon buckets and just noticed today that the remainder of my base malt has been totally compromised. I’m ready to just toss all of the malt, about 30 pounds. :'( That’s probably the only solution, right? I didn’t know mice could chew through plastic like that.
Any suggestions of how to store my grain? I have no room to keep it inside our little apartment. I’m thinking some sort of metal containers. Please help!
Definitely going the trash can route. Great suggestion!
I’m wondering if all of the grain should be tossed? Any thoughts? Err on the side of caution? Or will any thing the mice could have done survive the boil?
Unless there are turds and piss in the grain it is probably ok. Guess no-one really wants to know what’s going in in granaries right?
I like to vac seal specialty grain and store it in the freezer. Bulk grain in a metal trashcan sounds like an excellent idea against rodents but be sure to use it up on a consistent basis or weevils will certainly appear. They won’t hurt the beer though.
And for extra defense, set up some traps near where you store your grains. Or better yet, set them near where they may be entering the area. We’ve used these to get rid of any mice that like to enter our garage during the winter:
I use airtight plastic containers and have traps always baited. I haven’t had a mouse in a while though, I found all of the holes I could and sealed them up. When I first started I would sometimes get three in one night. Now when I get them I’m pretty sure it is because they have come in through an open door. Peanut butter on the traps works great, it stays in place for a long time and the mice will still go for it if it is 6 months old.
Personally I wouldn’t tolerate the mice where you store food. Get a cat if there are too many holes to seal.
I get pails at work. I’ve never had mice that were tough enough to get through 'em, but if I thought there were that possibility, I’d probably nest the sealed bucket inside another one, making the barrier twice as thick.
My grain is in the garage w/a lot of the food for the kitchen, so I usually have some baits out as soon as I see any droppings.
The trash can will definitely work and is cheaper. You will not get the seal you get with the Vittles Vault but you’ll get mouse proofing!
As for tossing the grain, for me it depends on the entry point. If they chewed through a corner of the bag and were not inside, then I would dump out a half pound and go with it. If there was ANY chance they were inside the bag, I would toss it all.
These traps are great…no more snapping my fingers on the old style traps :o. Problem is I forget about them sometimes and when I go to check them, they have a dried on mouse. Much easier to dump them when they’re fresh.
I was looking at those Kill & Contain traps. I may have to give them a try. I usually just use glue traps because they’re cheap and you can just throw them everywhere.
And +1000 to a cat. The wife freaks out, but I love watching them catch mice. Even cooler than a laser pointer.
I’m envious. I have defective cats. Had mice in the kitchen once – the cats were quite interested, but always maintained a 2-foot radius between them and the mouse, including backing up when said mouse decided to leave the pantry and hide under the oven instead.
It can get rather gory when they are successful. I put out a couple of the little trapdoor “catch & release” style traps once. Little did I know, my cats could easily get their paw in the opening. Looked like it went through the blender by the time I found that mouse. I also discovered that entrails stick rather stubbornly to tile floor. Sometimes having a lousy hunter of a cat as a deterrent is a more palatable option.
Vittles Vaults seem thinner than buckets and they are not going to stop a rodent that will chew plastic. Those crappy Gamma-Seal lids they use also don’t seal like people want to think they do. If you do get the tiny seal in the spin-on lid to seal the one between the lid mount and the vessel will usually be leaky. Been there with these, and they are mostly hype. Unless you just have to have a square vessel to fit a certain space, buy buckets with o-ring lids (very common), or metal containers (for rodent issues) and use liners that you can seal. Trash bags work well actually for inside any larger bucket. You can buy a lot of good buckets for the price of a Vittles Vault.
Regular bucket lids with o-rings are much more reliable, cheaper and easier. I gave away two of the overpriced Vittles Vaults as I think they are of limited use, and still own one to remind me not to buy gimmicks again
