- Joined
- Jul 22, 2002
- Messages
- 3,783
... or how to set back a thriving B. dubia colony 3+ years:
I've had some mouse problems this winter. Thought I might have gotten rid of them when I discovered a mouse nest in some excess insulation in the basement that they were also using for easy access to the kitchen for night raids.
Nope, I simply drove them to concentrate on a different food source. Threw some orange scraps in the roach bin this morning and noticed that the stuff I put in last week was still there, hmm... Then I noticed there were very few adults visible. I thought maybe I'd done something stupid like a few years ago when I left something dangling within roach reach and had quite a few escape before I noticed, so I started looking around for escaped roaches. Didn't find any roaches, but I found a large pile of legs near the radiator the mice were using to travel within 8 inches of the roach bin. Since I'd left the bin open because I'd had some phorid problems in the fall and just never bothered to close it again, they've been having an all you can eat smorgasborg in my bin.
Now I'm worried how many mice I've got because, at the least, they consumed a couple of hundred adult B. dubia (also seemed to prefer the large females ). I'd estimate they reduced the colony by at least 80%. DOH!
I've been sticking to no kill traps in an attempt to be more kind to my fellow mammals; I'm breaking out the snap traps as soon as I get to the store.
I've had some mouse problems this winter. Thought I might have gotten rid of them when I discovered a mouse nest in some excess insulation in the basement that they were also using for easy access to the kitchen for night raids.
Nope, I simply drove them to concentrate on a different food source. Threw some orange scraps in the roach bin this morning and noticed that the stuff I put in last week was still there, hmm... Then I noticed there were very few adults visible. I thought maybe I'd done something stupid like a few years ago when I left something dangling within roach reach and had quite a few escape before I noticed, so I started looking around for escaped roaches. Didn't find any roaches, but I found a large pile of legs near the radiator the mice were using to travel within 8 inches of the roach bin. Since I'd left the bin open because I'd had some phorid problems in the fall and just never bothered to close it again, they've been having an all you can eat smorgasborg in my bin.
Now I'm worried how many mice I've got because, at the least, they consumed a couple of hundred adult B. dubia (also seemed to prefer the large females ). I'd estimate they reduced the colony by at least 80%. DOH!
I've been sticking to no kill traps in an attempt to be more kind to my fellow mammals; I'm breaking out the snap traps as soon as I get to the store.