More than 1,200 readers of TheHorse.com responded to a poll asking, “Do uninvited guests bunk in your barn during the winter?”

• Mice/rats: 60.27% (751)
  
• Stray cats: 33.15% (413)
  
• I don’t have any problems with uninvited guests: 20.47% (255)
  
• Raccoons: 16.85% (210)
  
• Other: 16.21% (202)
  
• Opossums: 12.52% (156)

Readers shared their preferred pest deterrence systems—including some Viszlas and one deadly Manx kitten!

All comments submitted by poll respondents are listed below.

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• Pigeons!
  
• I had a raccoon move in once, but my cat chased him off and he hasn’t been back since!
  
• Hungry cats
  
• Get a couple of big dogs.
  
• I have only had one fox (sickly) euthanized and a black snake (one alive, one skin) in 9 years
  
• I have a SKUNK
  
• Fox
  
• I got a Manx kitten – deadly
  
• Our problem is deer hanging out in the barn and eating the hay.
  
• A toad come each fall to reside in my horse stall .I take her out then by mid February back again
  
• But the cats are very good at getting the mice
  
• Tom Cat large traps with peanut butter, none of the natural traps and sound makers worked
  
• Lice
  
• Skunks, too. Cage & release or discharge.
  
• Live trapping
  
• I use to have mice until this summer when I got a couple of barn kitties!
  
• Dogs now sleep in the barn, along with a new barn cat
  
• Our cat helps with the mice/rats and trying to trap and relocate a raccoon.
  
• Since Skunks are the other- I leave them alone. They do steal the straw to line their nests- annoying
  
• Rabbits
  
• I hope my cats will at least control population; also considering a new Rat Zapper
  
• All would be welcome, all are creations of GOD
  
• We have a bobcat that naps in our barn and keeps all the little critters away!
  
• I’ve got a great and smart cat so they don’t bunk very long
  
• MOTHBALLS! Most mammals seem to hate them. They will keep cats out of gardens too.
  
• To keep rodents away I adopted the stray cats ..got them fixed and a rabies shot. they eat the rats
  
• our resident gopher snake hibernates in the barn flooring
  
• Chickens!
  
• trap/neuter/vaccinate/feed stray cats, they’ll rid you of mice/rats
  
• We’ve had a skunk try to den in a storage area behind a barn.
  
• skunk!
  
• I maintain a weed and grass barrier of 14 feet and cats on free choice feed and water
  
• barn cats and birds of prey work wonders and beats poison
  
• my jack russell terrier is vigilant!
  
• birds, lots of birds
  
• cats take care of them, so usually never see any
  
• An “uninvited” cat has joined my current barn cat, which is fine. Cats = no other pests!
  
• skunks hibernating under floor of old barn!
  
• Used a live trap and relocated possum to natural preserve.
  
• We had skunks try to move in…keeping the cat food on a high shelf seems to have solved the problem
  
• Several Deer have been staying in an empty stall
  
• peanut butter on traps
  
• cats
  
• Possums and stray cats visit but don’t bunk. Big dogs help deter permanent residency.
  
• I have jack Russells that love to help keep them ran out.
  
• We have a cat that lives in the barn & takes care of the mice.
  
• we employ our family cats, they do an excellent job!
  
• dog had fight and killed one and the others left
  
• I don’t have a barn, but last year a rabbit moved into the hay shed.
  
• All year round you’ll see them coming for the cat food and such. Not a MAJOR problem though
  
• D-con placed where domestic animals can’t reach it.. Our cat’s a good mouser, but she’s outnumbered!
  
• Love the cats, hate the rats. feed the cats, trap the rats
  
• I have good barn cats
  
• Little problems with mice but not bad do have cats
  
• get yourself a couple female jack russell terrier. Mine kill a couple rats a week!
  
• loud obnoxious music, lights on all night…our horses live outside.
  
• Having 6 cats (all neutered) and a GSD sleep in the barn keep out all unwanted visitors.
  
• Rabbit.
  
• snake
  
• But that’s ok, we have a couple of really good mousers who also get fed, go to the vet and are loved
  
• I use sticky pads and have a lazy barn cat
  
• We don’t evict barn cats. They keep the mice/rats away!!
  
• We have several good ratters.
  
• I don’t want to evict a bunny rabbit that the dogs are occupied with trying to catch.
  
• I board, and the barn owner has several rescued spayed/altered cats that do a great job as mousers.
  
• dachshunds
  
• NO CLUE!
  
• electronic pest repellent
  
• snakes like to curl up in the horse blankets. Surprise!!!!!!
  
• keep the food source to a minimum
  
• even our dogs won’t keep the skunk away, Just have to go skunk hunting in the night,
  
• If we have a hard winter I feed the foxes, and allow them in the haymow.
  
• mean people dump their unwanted cats and kittens in any barn they see!
  
• We adopted 3 feral cats from a shelter
  
• Evict ? . . .Why would I want to evict them ?!
  
• cats for the mice and a 22 for the coon and possum
  
• Rescue barn cats clean up rodents & chase off stray cats. Opossum benign guest. Coons destructive
  
• Birds also fly in at night and out in the morning
  
• Biggest problem is packrats in our truck engine compartments
  
• I don’t evict them. They deserve to be warm on cold days
  
• I use vitamin-K antagonist poisons
  
• rattlesnakes
  
• Our Feline Security System has kept the rodent at bay!
  
• I have a couple of resident (well-fed) barn cats that keep intruding animals away.
  
• Mink, no mice that winter
  
• occasional skunk visit, and mice in spite of cats!
  
• mice- but the cat gets ’em
  
• Stray cats are welcomes winter guests, comes summer the dogs tell them to leave or else!
  
• I don’t care about the first 3 but I don’t want RATS …I put out bait for them…
  
• these cats come in my barn every night I even found a dead one
  
• We live trap and remove unwanted animals. The cats keep the mice down.
  
• I have a great barn cat and several Ginny hens who love baby mice, no rats that I can tell as yet.
  
• Sometimes you just have to live with some, for others a hungry cat is an excellent deterrent
  
• we have 5 barn cats and a son with a pellet gun that seems to keep the problem in check 😉
  
• I have 6 spayed and neutered barn cats that keep uninvited guests away
  
• How can I get rid of Sparrows? Is there a poison available? The pellet gun makes the horses nervous.
  
• We have a fully enclosed barn where we keep feed and set live traps, so no problems.
  
• Tomcat brand bait stations work well for mice. My dogs alert me to raccoons and opossums.
  
• Feed cats free choice twice daily removing uneaten food after each meal. Varmints love cat food!
  
• voles and the occasional moose
  
• Barn cats are the best!
  
• We’re in the country – deer, elk, moose – everything comes to our shed!
  
• It’s useless to fight it, but I do have my 22 for the groundhogs and raccoons
  
• bats
  
• tons of mice in barn, bunnies in hay shed
  
• I feed them well though with “Bar Bait”. They love it & are dead in 3 days!
  
• Keep grain in tight lid containers.
  
• I have two cats assassin # 1 and assassin # 2. They eat what they kill!
  
• Get good cats
  
• rabbits, skunks, a fox passes thru
  
• I have a lot of (spayed and neutered) cats
  
• Mice, rabbits and birds.
  
• Keep feed in rodent-proof containers
  
• birds- I hate them – noisy and dirty
  
• Who says they’re uninvited?!
  
• Lots of chickadees
  
• Opossums seem to be calm creatures, sneaking up on them with the nearest handy tool isn’t a problem.
  
• I don’t understand how there can be both, but there is!
  
• the cat is not unwelcome, and will become part of our family as soon as I can tame her.
  
• Squirrels, bats, and snakes
  
• last barn overrun w trainers dogs, raccoons, cats and mice. Poor horses.
  
• I have birds in my run in shed along with mice and rats that live under the hay pallets.
  
• birds are a messy problem!
  
• Once in a while a raccoon
  
• Birds are biggest problem
  
• My barn kitties take care of any unwanted guests.
  
• my feral cat guest is great-why would I want to get rid of him?? He keeps everything else out!
  
• my 3 German shepherd love to bunk up with the horses too. That is pretty effective!
  
• chipmunks… turkeys…
  
• Keep food storage area clean, lids on grain.
  
• I have problems with birds in the barn year round.
  
• Bounce sheets around the grain area discourage mice from coming in
  
• I like the raccoons, the do not carry rabies in our state! Cats keep mice away
  
• Employ the use of a trained hunting Jack Russell Terrier on several occasions.
  
• I use a good mousetrap, plus two dogs to keep mice out of my barn, but it’s a constant battle.
  
• Cats come and invade my tame fixed cats but not more trouble with rodents so I welcome them.
  
• I use an electronic repellant and a darn good cat
  
• They are very fat and healthy on my hay!
  
• The Barn is kept very clean, particular attention to the feed room being cleaned every evening
  
• Rats always come when it starts getting cold.
  
• I have a cat to help with rodents but he doesn’t seem to be able to keep them out of the feed areas
  
• red pepper around barn
  
• Our barn cats keep the uninvited out!
  
• mice/rats – cats; opossums – dog
  
• had sick coyote in their once
  
• WE have a jack russell who
  
• Birds
  
• Had a skunk last yr. Previously raccoons. Kept feed secure & ignored them.
  
• We have 7 barn cats that take care of the small rodents and two dogs for the larger ones.
  
• nasty little rodents!
  
• 3 rows of hay stacks allow dogs space to deter critters from staying long.
  
• I have a German Shepherd and Lab that go to the barn with me so they keep critters run off!
  
• We feed the cats & hope they rid us of mice.
  
• A really good barn cat!
  
• We have large barn cats and Cairn Terriers that guard our barn of the varmints
  
• We feed them and have then neutered and spayed. They’re all welcome!!
  
• wild bunny, and a deer has come in to the front part of the run in shed
  
• We set live traps for Raccoons and Opossums
  
• owls like my barn too
  
• I used to have all the above, now I have 2 well fed barn cats & shut the doors at night.
  
• wish I had some ideas… at least most get neutered/spayed but some can’t be trapped and breed
  
• Professional Barn Cat
  
• And not just in the winter! The mice are everywhere & the cats can’t do anything about it
  
• You can live trap opossums using chicken flavored wet cat/dog food as bait
  
• Our barn is very easily accessed and we have all kinds of visitors during the winter
  
• We have flickers and sparrows roosting in the rafters of the horse sheds.
  
• keep all food for barn animals in old freezers. Keeps critters out and food fresh!
  
• Traps for the few mice; our dogs keep away any larger pests.
  
• Besides the feral cats, we get birds, and the neighbors dogs!
  
• I do not have a barn
  
• birds
  
• The barn cats, once strays, now welcome residents, keep down the mouse population.
  
• W use a live trap to catch the occasional skunk, coon and opossum.
  
• Barn cats and farm dog
  
• no wild animals – only 1 way in/out of barn for cats & cats control mice
  
• cats & dogs
  
• I get a stray cat or two coming in for food – but no critters
  
• I wouldn’t mind a cat taking up residence
  
• No problem, 2 cats in barn
  
• Use “live” traps for raccoons. Barn cats learn to avoid them after the first capture!
  
• Cats
  
• Squirrels-I’d rather mice. They are very destructive.
  
• For the most part, but I have a very active and agile mouser so they don’t stay to long!
  
• We keep a set number of cats to keep down vermin. All possums are killed ASAP
  
• My 2 barn cats take care of the problem. I supplement their food, but they are still happy to help.
  
• Invite your woodsy trapper friends to come for a “Hay-Day”
  
• The dogs keep the varmints at bay and the cats are great mousers/ratters…No problems.
  
• I have barn cats
  
• what uninvited guests I do have (mostly field mice) my cat & Jack Russell tend after
  
• Get a Jack Russell the are the best mousers!
  
• short and sweet- A REALLY MEAN #*## CAT!
  
• When 1 girl left & took all her tack, the mice population dwindled drastically. Keep everything clean!
  
• What barn would be complete without a few mice?
  
• I have 4 barn cats that are great micers
  
• just got cat to get rid of rats
  
• Common English sparrows year round.
  
• Neighbor’s cats
  
• got a jack Russell for the ground and a cat for the roof! Don’t use decon the rats will die in water b
  
• Love the stray cats that got rid of the mice! (: The kitties come & go.
  
• not since we have 5 cats in the barn
  
• I use plug in sonic rodent/insect devices. They really work!
  
• We have two skunks that live under our hay. They come out at early evening and eat with our cats.
  
• coyotes, rabbits, deer (!), and muskrats too – good barn cats and a good dog run them off
  
• I keep cats, fed and watered, in my feed shed/barn area and have NO unwanted guests. Dogs take care
  
• LOTS OF CHIPMUNKS
  
• traps, not poison
  
• If they show up they don’t stay long – the cats police the barn.
  
• A fox took up residence in an empty stall one winter. He would leap over the Dutch door in the AM.
  
• havahart traps (small and large) work most safely
  
• Juvenile rat snakes – not a bad thing
  
• my 2 jack Russell terriers take care of most of my mice/rats. One sniff of vermin and the are persist
  
• I have Buddy an awesome orange barn cat, he keeps the barn and the surrounding areas clean.
  
• don’t know what but it’s big & smart, I find tunnels
  
• Open-wall pipe rail barns pretty much eliminate the problem for us
  
• birds
  
• bait bar
  
• My barn cat keeps them away
  
• two cats keep the varmints away
  
• keep all doors shut at night
  
• My couple of 7-foot black rat snakes keep things in balance….
  
• We have great feline mousers!
  
• I have two barn cats to keep the mice out of the hay and keep the grain in plastic garbage cans.
  
• live trap and relocate
  
• 11 barn cats, an occasional stray, no mice/rats
  
• Cats! I’d rather feed 10 cats than a single rat!
  
• I have dogs and cats, so other guests don’t come.
  
• We use spayed female cats as mousers.
  
• I shoot them…
  
• We get shrews sometimes
  
• skunks, too
  
• The Blue Cookie
  
• I have a bird problem…Brown house sparrows…they are like flying rats!
  
• barn cat (do not feed the cat )
  
• They are strays in need of a home, and they get along with the horses very well.
  
• I board and the barn cats live and eat in the barn.
  
• We have cats…cats eat mice…so we have no mice
  
• I have several I
  
• Keep doors shut at night; horses stomp varmints; cats get rodents
  
• We keep feed in barrels and have barn cats to keep the hay in the loft intruder free.
  
• pigeons(cute, but messy)
  
• I have a freeloading cat that’s NOT a MOUSER! Lives right along side the mice!
  
• I have a small colony of fixed/vaccinated feral cats that keep everything else out.
  
• I trap the cats and take them to the humane society.
  
• I have 3 barn cats and they keep varmints out!
  
• D-Con
  
• sometimes skunks, but no mice or squirrels because of barn cats
  
• mouse traps around area where feed is stored
  
• Mostly they stop by to munch on cat food and then move on. Those who stay are removed!!
  
• new, they need to get out of the weather too. They hurt nothing.
  
• The “other” part of this is Rat Snakes. They help with the mice and rat problems.
  
• I have 12 cats in my barn, no room for unwanted guests!
  
• I have 2 barn cats that take care of the small rodents
  
• I NEED A CAT
  
• Keep the stray cats…but spay/neuter them
  
• a new boarder adopted a cat for us had it shots done and fixed and our mouse population is now half
  
• we have a barn cat but he can only do so much but he eats all he catches both birds and mice
  
• Birds. They poop all over!!!!
  
• A large male coyote uses the lean-tos at night! no mice/rats due to extra cats!
  
• You have to keep bait or glue boards in place to prevent the pest.
  
• These are year-round for me.
  
• Get a Jack Russell Terrier to prevent these guests from populating
  
• Bounce dryer sheets! Put them between blankets, saddles, anything! Mice hate ’em!!!
  
• But not for long if I can help it!
  
• uninvited guests bunk in my feed shed all year round not just in winter.
  
• I have too many cats
  
• I have 2 barn cats that do a good job of keeping pests away.
  
• my dog keeps away all who aren’t to be there
  
• Part of family now; cozy beds; warm milk; wet and dry food; no signs of mice
  
• Plus voles are seen at the barn where I board summer and winter. Perhaps not setting feed out would
  
• we have 2 cats and no mice or other guests
  
• Own four outdoor cats that are worth their weight in gold – no rodents!
  
• Keep bags and boxes of brushes and bell boots
  
• pigeons
  
• Cats
  
• A good shotgun.
  
• Just comes every 2 weeks to “mark” my barn as his territory!
  
• The occasional chicken, chipmunks pass through now and then. It’s a large three-sided barn.
  
• We just all try to get along
  
• I have barn cats that keep the mice down
  
• The barn cats have it all under control!
  
• Cats and ‘One bite’ poison hidden from other animals.
  
• a good barn cat is worth is keep
  
• My dogs run off most of them but that’s only temperary for some of the invaders.
  
• We put out D-con as soon as we notice the tunnels being made—that takes care of the problem.
  
• No mice/rats/snakes – have cats
  
• cats &/or a good rat bait
  
• Really mean stray kitty upsets barn kitty so we chase him out regularly to visit elsewhere!
  
• Please Spay & Neuter
  
• We have two house cats that act as guard dogs against any type of vermin. Others don’t move in.
  
• Today it was foxes that jumped out at me…LOL
  
• I trap the coons and dispose of them and fix the stray cats if they stay healthy .. cats keep mice I
  
• My own cats and Jack Russell Terrier kill any rats or mice stupid enough to try to take up residence
  
• I have more problems with coons in the summer when my barn is left open at night.
  
• Mice, but I got all the buggers! 2 new traps. We put out dog food to keep the raccoons occupied.
  
• Despite the cat and mousetraps, I know there are mice, no rats. Can’t get into the metal cans.
  
• Rabbits
  
• take the momma home and get her spade!
  
• Rats like crazy, sometimes squirrels, and a few cats.
  
• we live in SW Louisiana so we have snakes a long with many other crawling yucky things
  
• I set mousetraps baited with peanut butter where my horses can’t reach them!
  
• Rabbits love to move in and eat Alfalfa
  
• people dump cats here: I trap, spay/neuter, vaccinate, release!
  
• I have 2 great barn cats that keep EVERYTHING else out!! So far. 🙂
  
• Desert Pack rats, cute but sooooooo destructive!
  
• store food properly and make barn less friendly = no pests and no poison
  
• My super-cat fends of all would-be encroachers!
  
• barn cats keep unwanted critters away
  
• We close our barn up at night and use Bird-X to keep rodents and birds out
  
• no idea what to do!
  
• my mighty barn cat takes care of all intruders.
  
• shrews
  
• Have had a few mice, a cat or 2, but it’s a run-in, so they don’t hang around long. Also birds
  
• A nice cat took up residence. He is welcome as long as his relative’s don1t move in with him!!!
  
• Barn Cats are our answer. Find a good Hunter!
  
• I have cats to keep everything away
  
• Keep barn doors closed day (horses outside) and night to keep out wild cats.
  
• My 4 neutered barn cats keep the mice and rats to a minimum
  
• Barn cats!
  
• Harry the cat
  
• I use a water pistol to encourage wandering cats to look for a “friendlier” place to set up camp. I
  
• I just have 3 cats, not nearly enough, but mouse poison would make me feel bad, cause of how it kills
  
• I put rat poison behind the kickboards in my arena to get the mice/rats. I find the dead remains!
  
• My resident barn cats and dogs keep unwanted guests under pretty good control!
  
• Bait stations & live traps help keep visitors under control
  
• poison pellets
  
• Cleanliness is extremely important to keep critters away
  
• We bait the rodents and live trap any others and release them at the park a few miles down the road
  
• The mice and chipmunks also bunk the walls of our house – a log cabin built in 1833!
  
• I have a great barn cat!
  
• Got some cats and they have taken care of running the rodents off. Good kitties!!
  
• CHICKEN WIRE
  
• dog does a great job keeping them away. I once found a fox in the hay . Toads in the summer!
  
• lock up feed cans with metal chains that those sneaky coons can’t get into
  
• mice present year-round, despite barn cats
  
• the dogs and cats really keep the barn empty. and keeping things clean
  
• tomcat locking rat bait stations are the best I have found yet for rats
  
• cats keep mice under control, husband keeps raccoons, opossums and skunks under control
  
• I try to keep barn as clean as possible, feed is in airtight containers, helps some
  
• people dump them when its cold they retreat to barn with the Barn cat.
  
• No rats so far, but mice, opossums, and cats
  
• Leaving the radio on seems to help with the raccoons.
  
• barn cats take care of all winter pests
  
• use of rat bait under the floorboards
  
• The Vizsla’s keep them away.
  
• Sam, the mighty huntress
  
• Raccoons have found the pail of dog food and pried the lid off!
  
• I don’t have a problem because I don’t feed grain hay and any grain or supplemental pellets are in s
  
• I think that we have now eliminated the cats but of course that increases the mice! Arrrrgh
  
• Havoc works well to get rid of the varmints
  
• also skunks!