Did you find them dead or were they sneaking around in your pantry?

 

I found a 1/2 empty ramen package where they'd snacked on it.

 

put em in mettle containers
l;ike num 10 cans

 

I always eat Ramen, before the rats get a chance. Love that stuff.

 

I would have eaten the other half....and the rat.:

 

Get some 5 Gallon buckets, throw your ramen in there, and seal the lids. Any food left out is fair game for critters in my storage area as well. Learned that the hard way...

 

I grew up in chicagoland with the famous chicago rats they will eat thru plastic !!!!!!!!! WE effectively use DCON the green pellets...Realize it may take weeks to get rid of them all...Plus the field mice but rats usually run them off...Good luck...

 

mouses will eat right through the cardboard cases and live happily in one for the food and shelter.
they are good sources of protein though so gut and boil them along with the noodles and add an egg, scallions, chili sesame oil and you have a feast.

 

These mice are getting awfully smart. Regular mouse traps just won't cut it anymore.

 

Rodents can chew through wood & plastic fairly easily.
Might consider a metal trash can. (a new, clean one)
I've seen stores store bulk feed, seeds, etc, in them.
You could also use the can to collect or store water if needed.

http://trashcansunlimited.com/galvanized_trash_cans.html

 

I agree. Keeping food in metal is about the only way to keep mice out. I'm in an area where we don't have problems with mice, but that might change in a SHTF situation. I store a bunch of traps and baits just in case.

 

Mice. Yes. They can go through any hole big enough for your pinkie, they'll nibble through anything but metal and concrete, and they are some of the filthiest and destructive creatures on Earth, soiling everywhere and ruining what they can't eat. They and their rat cousins are major problems.

Metal cans and boxes, stored off the ground (although height is only a minor protection unless there's NO way for the mice to climb up to where the food is), with cats and terriers and traps around, are your best options. Poison's a possibility, too, but not good if you've got carnivores around as pets.

 

I am ****T, pals. I found I had mouses in noodles. Anyone else have this problem?

How can I store them and keep rats out?

This is one of the problems with long term storage - especially at a camp, or somewhere you do not live all the time. Even at home, mice and rats can be a problem.

Here are a few of my suggestions:

Keep a few feral - semi wild cats around your house. Feed them on and off on a semi-regular basis. Give them enough food to keep them around, but not enough to keep them full. A cat with a full belly will not hunt.

Look into the "Barn Cat" project, something like that.

Keep rat poison out - but out of reach of kids and pets.

Keep a few mouse traps out - but where children can not reach them.

Keep food stored in metal containers. Plastic containers seem to work ok, but it has to be the heavy duty plastic, not the cheap stuff.

Buy food that is in secure packaging - ramon noodles, plastic jars of peanut butter, snacks in cheap plastic wrappings are easy to get into. I have yet to see a rat chew into a metal can.

The anti-freeze solution, use at your own risk:

If this is a camp, or somewhere you do not visit all the time - pour anti-freeze into the toilet bowl when you get ready to leave. Make sure its not the "pet friendly" anti-freeze either. Get the anti-freeze that has something on it about killing pets. That if your cat or dog drinks it - they WILL die. Pour a bunch of that anti-freeze into the toilets and it serves 2 purposes:

1 - it will keep the water in the toilet from freezing and breaking the toilet.

2 - it will help kill the rats and mice. If you leave the lid up on the toilet, rats and mice use it as a water hole. After they get finished eating your noodles and peanut butter, they will want some water. So off to the nearest watering hole they will go.

When you go to the camp, be sure to flush the toilets before the dog can drink out of it.

Leave a bowl of anti-freeze on the cabinet, next to some peanut butter or crackers.

Keep in mind that anti-freeze can be harmful, keep it away from children and pets.

 

Kev the chicago rats will live thru the anti freeze....Hopefully other rats won't....

 

Did it kill the rats? I bet at the very least it gave them a stomach ache. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Ramens.

On a more constructive note, I haven't had any problems with plastic 5 gallon buckets with mylar bags. Yes, I know rats can chew through them, but it hasn't been a problem.

~JohnP

 

put them in 5 gal pails or something. if there not sealed, mice will find a way, they always do.

 

I have used two 55 gallon steel drums with a locking seal to store food such as bags of beans, noodles etc. etc.
Insects, mice and even the bear could not get into those strong steel drums.
Look at my pic threads such as the one at the top of the wilderness section for more info and pics....

 

Thanks,pals. I guess I should have put this in the urban survival area as I store this in my garage. I have a well tank/hot water heater room I've got shelved up for food.


I'll get some 5 gallon buckets to store them in. :thumb:

 

My stuff is in the basement crawl space, so my dog can't get up to it. That in mind I have everyting in #10 cans, or buckets. And Rat poison all around it. I put new poison down about every 6 to 9 months. So far no rats/mice or dead bodies. but if they do show up, they'll die before they eat my supplies.

But, what I fear much worst than mice/rats, are mold and insects. The mold issue I hope is OK because of where it's stored, the way it's stored, and I run my dehumidifier (sp?) year round. For insects...well it's all sealed, and I have Seven down (away from my stuff, but close. But I worry about insects the worst. Might not even know you have them till it's too late.

 

If you really want to get hard core - get some air tight rocket launcher cases - the ones that are shaped like a rectangle. Sometimes you can find these at government auction sites, and GI surplus stores.

Their metal
Their air tight
Their portable
Built in grab handles so they can be carried by 2 people.
They have a slim design so you could store them under a bed.

 

Throw out any packages of food that the mice actually got into, take the rest and wash them with soap and water and spray with disinfectant. Dealing with Hantavirus during a SHTF event will not improve your odds of survival. To secure your preps, use either metal containers (as already stated) or create a storage are with wood framing and use hardware cloth to keep the mice out. A mouse can get through an opening as small as 3/8 of an inch, so build it tight. I'd also use some poison bait, the stuff does work to quell the rodent population quickly. Inspect your preps for droppings on a monthly basis.

 

When you lay down traps like the old fashion rat traps or sticky traps always remember mice/rats prefer to run along walls. Thats where you need to stick your traps. If you find where they are getting in put down some sticky traps so they are forced to move across the sticky trap. You might want to put some ramen noodles in the middle of the sticky trap too it might intise them in. Be careful though, sticky trap glue is hard to get off a cat. Speaking from experience its a three man job. :thumb:

You might want to lay some the sticky traps right on your 5 gallon pails. If your ramen noodles are still in the bulk wrappers then put a sticky trap on a pack.

 

I use popcorn tins along with other shapes and sizes that food will fit in. you can get them at thrift stores cheep I also put the word out at the gun shops that I was looking for popcorn tin and got a few for free that way. 1 large popcorn tin will hold 20# of food. I wash out the popcorn tin and put a food grade plastic bag in them that put the stuff in that, close the bag then put the lid on the tin. I have 2 big popcorn tins full of zippers and 5 smaller tins full or buttons. In tins I have matches, zippers, buttons, first aid supplies, candy, toys and food.

 

This is good advice for food in general--heavy plastic, metal, etc--but it's a moot point with Ramen. The stuff goes rancid pretty quickly, and what doesn't spoil will come down with a case of the woolies when the moths hatch inside. You have to keep the stuff in your pantry and rotate, but keeping ramen fresh isn't the best for your health!

 

Do you know what the shelf life is?

(sorry not trying to hyjack)

 

Wolfe just discovered noodles. Hmmmm. Thank you survivalism.

 

Metal, use #10 cans. Now you know why super pails aren't such a great idea.

 

Wolfe, those are loaded with sodium but still good. Back to the post, I didn't realize fxjohn like noodles that much (grin).

 

Mice like Raman.... just as I have always suspected, Raman is RAT FOOD! LOL

 

lol my 2 cats decimated the rodent population