# Can rat/mouse poison go stale?



## Wildbill7145 (Sep 26, 2014)

So, just about made my semi-annual foray into the crawlspace under our house to check things out and add mouse poison as we've had a few problems in the past.

Got under there with my 500w halogen, peeked around, everything's nice and dry and looks as it should. Noticed that the containers of poison I put under there in the spring are pretty much as full as I left them the last time I was under there. Usually, there's at least some missing. First few years I was doing this, they'd be empty. Last few years, less and less goes missing. Never just seen the same amount as when I left it.

Getting to where I put the containers is seriously painful. You have to crawl on your belly under the plumbing, through the dirt, get wrapped in cobwebs, etc. Then back out as there's no way of turning around.

If I haven't noticed any evidence of mice around the house, except having seen a few outside in the wood pile can I just leave the existing stuff under there? Will it still be effective? If I have to change it out, I will. I'd rather decide on this now rather than when the access door is buried under several feet of snow.

Anyhoo, thanks in advance for thoughts on this.


----------



## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

As far as I know it does not go stale.

Sounds like you're winning the mouse problem. They can develop bait shyness though so you may want to change it up a bit to make sure that's not going on.

We have a mouse from hell living with us right now. It's developed bait shyness on top of trap shyness so this thing is driving us crazy. It's become a war of survival..... between us and it!


----------



## Yodaman (Mar 9, 2015)

Wildbill7145 said:


> So, just about made my semi-annual foray into the crawlspace under our house to check things out and add mouse poison as we've had a few problems in the past.
> 
> Got under there with my 500w halogen, peeked around, everything's nice and dry and looks as it should. Noticed that the containers of poison I put under there in the spring are pretty much as full as I left them the last time I was under there. Usually, there's at least some missing. First few years I was doing this, they'd be empty. Last few years, less and less goes missing. Never just seen the same amount as when I left it.
> 
> ...



Maybe instead of mice, now you have snakes. :wink2:


----------



## Yodaman (Mar 9, 2015)

Bob Sanders said:


> We have a mouse from hell living with us right now. It's developed bait shyness on top of trap shyness so this thing is driving us crazy. It's become a war of survival..... between us and it!




get a cat Bob :devil3:


----------



## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

Yodaman said:


> get a cat Bob :devil3:


Yeah, see if your mouse develops cat-shyness in time to survive.


----------

