Dolls and Household Pests

If it was me, I would get some of those like giant plastic bins ie. steralite etc and store the dolls, box in all in there. They are pretty cheap and I don't see mice chewing them very easily

 

I'd look into natural repellants; mice will definitely chew through cardboard (they got into some stuff I own a couple of houses back; there's still things I have sealed up until I can figure out how to clean them) as well as anything else they can get their teeth through. They can also squeeze through any opening you give them.

There's a wealth of information about non-chemical ways to repel just about any pest online, with a little searching. I have a cat, and when the apartment complex I live in got hit with an infestation of roaches, I found several non-chemical ways to deter them from coming up into my apartment (once the ones that DID come up were dead, anyway). Luckily, they didn't get anywhere near the dolls, but I wouldn't want to use harsh chemicals of any sort near them, since they'd soak in, do who knows what kind of damage, and linger for a long time.

That said, be aware of how a natural deterrent might also affect the dolls. Something like mint oil could also have a long-term effect (some mint oils are damaging even to human skin, after all!); you'll want to poke around at the ingredients of whatever you use, and check around here as well as to what sort of effect there might be long-term.

 

Your safest bet would be a plastic tote, but be sure it's not Rubbermaid. Rubbermaid is a corn based plastic and mice can chew right through it.

 

I have a military foot locker that I use for long term storage. Try to get through that, varmints.

 

Mice don't seem to enjoy the smell of resin, luckily. I've had mouse problems before (unfortunately as I live in an apartment building, it's just one of those things that happens from time to time), which I managed to get rid of by leaving cotton balls soaked in tea tree oil everywhere -- they hate the smell of that stuff. But while they were in my apartment, they never seemed to come near my dolls. The few times I actually saw a mouse scurrying around at night, it actually circled around them, keeping some distance between itself and the dolls. So my guess is that while the 'new resin' smell dissipates for us, it's probably still noticable (and off-putting) to mice.

 

I didn't know mice could chew through rubbermaids! Ew! But yes, I would put them in plastic containers just to be self until the pests are gone. Don't take any chances!

 

I don't think the mice would bother the resin dolls themselves. It's the fluffy pillows, cardboard boxes, clothes and wigs that would tempt the critters into destroying and defiling them.

Doll boxes and accessories take up SO much room!!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Leaving your dolls in a box won't really do you much good. They can easily chew through any fabric or cardboard. I suggest you find some kind of mice-proof box to keep them safe. We used a glass aquarium to put our precious belongings in and sealed it with a very heavy sheet of glass that was bigger than the actual aquarium. No holes for them to crawl through and the glass sheet was too heavy to move for those little critters. Some kind of metal box will serve as well if you make sure there is no room for them to wiggle inside.

As for poison and mice traps, just no...that's cruel and useless. They breed faster than you can kill to be honest. I suggest using peppermint oil, they absolutely hate that stuff! Compare it to garlic and vampires, natural repellant you could say. To keep your dolls extra safe dab some cotton balls in peppermint oil and put it as close to them as you can.

Good luck protecting your precious ones.

 

I've always had a cat. The one week we didn't have a cat, mice showed up. So we got another cat. My furry guardian.

 

Best thing to do is have them in some kind of glass display or case when you're not using them. Mice can chew through a lot of things but not glass, then you get to nicely display them too!

 

I've noticed something really weird. Insects are mega attracted to my dolls. Like, every time I go outside with one, gnats, spiders, ants, they all crawl on them! I've also been to houses with insect problems and they always end up on my dolls too. In the summer, plenty of people where I live end up with spiders, centipedes, or ants during the summer. The bugs never bother me or my other things (except for my laptop), but they sure do seem interested in my dolls. I'll be honest. My dolls aren't pristine, because I always have one in my bag and they all go places with me, but I don't touch them with food-covered hands or anything like that. I've read before about insects being attracted to resin and I wanted to know if anyone else experiences this. It's weird. I've heard it could be the sealant they're sealed with. A lot of my dolls are secondhand, so I can't completely account for where they've been or what's on them, but they didn't arrive filthy either.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Do you have this problem too? What the heck could be causing it and how do I stop it? I'm always terrified that I'll bring insects in the house or they'll build a nest (I've heard stories) inside the doll.

 

I've just started seeing little moths in my room. I'm worried about damage to doll clothes and wigs. I remember my mom used to keep little blocks of cedar wood in her drawers and little bags of cedar chips hanging in her closet. It was a safe and harmless way to deter moths.
I looked on EBay and they are still available. I'm going to get some to place around my dolls. Hopefully that will keep the moths away.

 

My cat absolutely loves my dolls hair which is bad because she licks it and it gets all messy and out of control

 

I don't know what I would do, the idea of anything unpleasant like a pest getting near Nadeko freaks me out too much to even describe in words.
When we moved into this new apartment we had a roach problem for a while for a while and unfortunately the only area I have for my things is a closet that is less than a foot from the door (where the roaches come from), needless to say that I was mortified and Nadeko stayed in her box at a friend's house for about a month and then in her box on a high shelf in my closet, to this day the roaches that may or may not still be here have thankfully never gotten into the closet.
I routinely spray outside the apartment door to keep them away and we do have an exterminator come every few months for the kitchen (also by the door) but he only uses gels and powders behind appliances so no nasty chemicals in the house and close to the dolls or pets.

 

Thankfully I've never experienced this, but if it were a serious problem and my dolls were even remotely at risk of damage I would probably leave my dolls with my dad at his home until the pest problem was solved. I have a large safe that I could store some of them in if I had to as well.

 

We used to have a mouse problem in my old apartment. I just stored my dolls in thick plastic containers you can get from Walmart or Target and put them on the shelf in my closet where it would be impossible for the mice to reach. Then I adopted my cat and poof went the mice. Lol. xD

 

If you have anything that you even THINK might be made of wool, you should definitely safeguard them against moths. I forgot about this when I was storing an OT doll once. Her wool socks are now more hole than sock--and those were the ones she came with! I had to make her new socks.