Rodents in Barns, Sheds and Outbuildings
A lot of El Paso County lives on acreage. Black Forest was zoned in 1965 for five-acre minimum lots, and east of the city, from Falcon out toward Peyton and Calhan, there's plenty of land with a barn, a loafing shed, a workshop and a stack of hay.
Outbuildings get rodents first and worst. They're full of feed, bedding and clutter, nobody's in them at night, and the doors don't seal.
What lives in outbuildings
Deer mice and house mice in the feed room and the tack room. Pack rats in the workshop and the hay barn, building stick nests in the corners. Norway rats around grain and livestock feed, digging under slabs and along walls.
- Droppings in the feed room and on the grain bins
- Stick nests in corners and on rafters
- Chewed feed bags, saddle pads and blankets
- Burrows along the foundation of the barn
Feed and storage
Put feed and grain in metal cans or bins with tight lids. Sweep up spilled feed every day. Store hay up off the ground on pallets and away from walls so you can see along them. Keep the area around the barn mowed and free of junk piles. All of that takes away food and cover, and it makes traps and stations work better.
Cleaning out a barn or shed safely
The CDC's instructions for barns and sheds: open the doors and windows for 30 minutes and leave while it airs out. Then wear gloves, wet down droppings and nests with disinfectant, and clean them up without sweeping. Move stored items that may be contaminated outside to a sunny, well-ventilated spot. Bag contaminated insulation and throw out contaminated cardboard. Heavy jobs need a respirator and more protection, and that's when a provider should do it.
Ask the provider about a regular program for the property: exterior stations, traps inside the buildings and sealing on the house so the barn's mice don't move in for the winter. Deer mouse control and pack rat removal cover the two species you'll see most.
Questions people ask
Are bait stations safe around horses and dogs?
Bait should only be in locked, tamper-resistant stations, placed where animals can't reach or knock them over. Tell the provider about every animal on the property.
Do barn cats solve it?
They catch some. They don't close gaps or protect feed, and they can't reach nests in walls.
Available in Briargate, Rockrimmon, Black Forest, Monument and Tri-Lakes, Falcon and Peyton, Broadmoor and Cheyenne Cañon, Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City and the West Side, Fountain, Security-Widefield, Powers and Stetson Hills.