Mice are very inventive. It is impossible to keep them out of just about anywhere. ;) So yes, you will incur some loss/damage to them but that's to be expected as it is a part of winter cellar storage. Hanging storage vs. sitting on the ground helps but doesn't eliminate the problem completely. Some elect to use bait or traps but just keeping the area clean and damaged/over-ripe food removed as much as possible will also help.

Dave

The floor, walls and top must all be tight fitting. Additionally, you can place rodent poisons in the cellar. I do this with my greenhouse during the winter months, as the rodents get into my wild bird seeds stored there. I take the bird food out in spring through fall. I also had placed many rat traps baited with peanut butter and that helped quite a lot too, as chipmunks also overran the area. In winter, I 'pick off' squirrels with a powerful pellet rife. As you can realize, I have declared war on rodents of all kinds, after my garden was almost totally destroyed by a big fat woodchuck. Believe it or not, I have removed almost 300 chipmunks from here, as my dad thought they were cute, and would hand feed them. The next door neighbors above ground pool had a sink hole, and when they drained, and pulled up the liner, many peanut shells were found in the hole. Voles are diggers too, and are also destructive for most any flowering bulbs, or anything else grown in soil. If you do make a cellar use the 4 inch thick solid concrete blocks as bricks and butt them close together, as well as filling any tiny holes with sand, or even using a calking gun with the cement 'looking' material. Rodents can chew through any plastic. I had 5 gallon paint buckets in my greenhouse, and they also had bird seeds, a squirrel chewed the plastic cover's edge, and through a 1/4 inch thick rubber O ring to get to the almost empty bucket. He got in from a roof vent that automatically opens when the greenhouse gets hot inside. The door for the cellar would have to be metal or at least thick wood and offer some 'serious' method of seal against any chewers..
Good luck!

keepitlow: Traps are better to use than baits in a root cellar. If the poisoned mouse crawls over your food and dies amid them... the foul smell and taste will permeate the food and ruin it. Keep the walls slick so they can't climb them. Don't leave food on the floor or where it's easily reached.

I keep most everthing in Rubber Maid containers with air holes drilled all over them (Small holes because mice can squeeze through unbelievably small spaces. There are a couple of things, like potatoes, that need a little more air circulation so I tie a piece of teflon window screen over the top of the contain (minus the lid.) I also use balled up newspaper or wood shavings to layer apples, potatoes, etc. They seem to do much better when they don't touch. Like Dave said, hang stuff also. No matter what you do, hungry mice will somehow find a way in (and I have a great root cellar that we have mouse-proofed (yeah ha...)
I put one bar of bar bait on the floor. Bar Bait IS NOT a secondary poson meaning that should a cat or dog eat a mouse who has consummed the Bar Bait, it will not hurt them.Short of putting in a cement bombshelter (which my root cellar nearly is)or making huge metal boxes for everything, the occasional mouse will come to dine.

Put the cat in the root cellar!!

HAHAHAHAHA

DARFC
Deanna

I wanted to add that I also use fifty gallon metal trashcans. These will really hold a lot and I usually put carrots or other root stuff in them. I don't leave anything just laying out except the stupid squash I grew this year for my son which I would not care if the mice carved a castle out of and moved in. My hubby leaves his pumpkins and King and Queen watermelons out (one of the few watermelons that stores well.)

I'm with Deanna...In the place we just moved from, I had no pantry, and so my husband made me one in the garage.

On first mouse-sign, I started leaving the back door between the garage and yard open so the cats could get in. No more mice.

Of course, your cats have to be of the "fierce jungle cat" type. :D

Mouse hunting kitty is working better than poison apparently on out hill.
Neighbor was over yesterday saying they have so many mice running around, used all the mouse poison.
I told him they must be dining there and going to my poolhouse to die I found 2 dead tiny mice so far in the poolhouse.
I found one my cat got, so far that's it, and no scratch n run noises from the attic at night either.

Has anyone tried hedgeapples? We've used them before as spider deterrents and they seem to help, but someone told me they're good for mice too. I have four in the canning kitchen already. More later.

hedgeapples?? is this a plant, animal, vegetable, or mineral?

Hedgeapples are the fruit of some big tree, fairly common here in the midwest, fall about this time of year. They're about the size of a medium grapefruit, bumpy, light greenish in color, and they emit an enzyme (?) that insects abhor. To me, they have no odor unless I get my nose right on them, but apparently insects and mice are more "nosey" than I am. Anyway, old-time repellent, but it's free and doesn't have ill effects like poison sprays, and it works for us. Long periods, even. All winter.

Also called Osage Orange and trees called "hedge" - burns very HOT!!! so used with care in the woodstove. They grow all along the fence rows and lake shore down here. Pic linked below. Common used as a repellent because of their odor.

Some places have hedgeapple chunkin' contests instead of pumpkin chunkin' contests. ;)

Dave

Check out Hedgeapple.com

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:958334}}

Interesting. It almost sounds like some kind of tropical citrus fruit..
Another option for catching mice is the glue pads. Once the walked on one, they are doomed. To help attract them, add a nice peanut to the center of the sticky pads. You will see the rodents evidence right off, provided you have the courage of disposing of them.

Dig Dirt: THANK YOU! for posting the link for Osage Oranges. I have been wanting to get some of these since moving to CA.... they have a link to a site to buy them. 8 are on the way. We always had these available in the midwest and always had them in our closets.

Dave, thanks for the info on burning! I had no idea these could be burned. We heat with wood (woodstove - in the house) and are always looking for those few things that give a burst of heat. (cheap paneling is one, and wood lath another. Who'd have thought?) I presume these have to be dried a bit?

gran - it is the wood of the tree not the hedgeapples themselves that get burned. Hedge (the wood) kindling makes great firestarters. Sorry for the confusion.

We too heat with wood. Can't beat it! ;)

Dave

Also known as the Bois D' Arc tree (we called them "Bo-Dark" trees as kids). Native Americans often chose this wood to make bows, due to it's flexibility. Never realized the fruit could be used as an insect repellent; I just threw them at my brothers & sister lol.

Dave -- glad I haven't fired up the woodstove yet! Shucks - should have known better.