Historical note: For about a year or so after it was published, this page was the top hit on Google for the phrase "how to catch mice". It generated huge amounts of traffic and many thousands of comments. I've pulled it out of the Wayback Machine and re-published it here, with some of those comments intact (as the Machine captured them).
Mice invaded our house. We sought professional advice. In the end, war was the only answer.
I'm usually a peace-loving person. I wouldn't hurt a fly. I'm a vegetarian, for heaven's sake.
But after a few days of living with our resident mice, I had to make a decision: it was either them or me, and I was the one who had spent thousands of pounds on the house. The mice had to go.
So here's everything I have learned about catching mice:
Hopefully, if you follow these basic steps, you can finally get some sleep and not be kept awake for hours on end by the scratchings of little mice.
Filed under: life
(25th January 2002)
| Dan Wed, 15th May 2002 |
Thanks for the advice. Hopefully American mice are not as smart as English ones. I put peanut butter on the traps last night and this morning it was all gone. Of course the mice were nowhere to be found. I tried a little cheese this morning and have already caught one. |
| Richard Sat, 8th Jun 2002 |
I'm trying the 'milk-bottle' approach first! Placing a bit of cheese in the bottle, sloping it against the hearth of the fire, and securing it - with training shoes! Once in, the little blighter(s) shouldn't be able to get back out due to the incline - and glass is slippery with no grip!!! If they do get out - on go my trainers and off I go after him (them)!!!!! I'll keep you posted if all goes well - or not. |
| Richard Mon, 10th Jun 2002 |
Milk bottle was a success - for the mouse!!! He ate chocolate - put in with cheese to spoil the little bugger! - in one bottle, then jumped back out and ate chocolate in other bottle before jumping out again! Smart little adversary this one. Anyway, I've increased the incline on bottle's and added more chocolate - Cadbury's fruit and nut - to both. Better luck next time - for me! |
| Richard Tue, 11th Jun 2002 |
I had to lay proper traps, as the wife was not willing to share the house with our guest - who the kids affectionately named Stuart Little! I insisted in keeping the bottle's though, as I remember seeing a mouse survive a trap as a child, and it was not a pleasant sight. I wanted to give the mouse a chance, by being caught in my bottles so that I could let it go in nearby fields. Earlier, I heard him scratching on the top of one of the bottles, so quietly reached for my torch to take a peek. I was not quiet enough, and he heard me coming. He ran straight to the trap in the kitchen and got caught. Unfortunately, the trap landed squarely across his back, breaking it. Still alive, I removed him from the trap and had to 'put it out of its misery' - which brought back the memories from childhood! Not very pleasant. If you have a mouse problem, consider some of the humane traps that are available, if possible. As much as my wife wanted the mouse out, even she feels terrible at the outcome. What a sad end to our weekend. |
| Richard Sun, 16th Jun 2002 |
Another week over, and 4 mice in total caught - well, killed. The traps were far more effective than the bottles, but at least I gave them a chance! The wife is just happy that we have had no sign of any more for three days. I intend leaving the traps down for another week just to be on the safe side. By the way, I used Jelly Babies on the traps - very good idea that one!! |
| Scott Fri, 21st Jun 2002 |
We've had mice in our Shed and Compost Heap for quite some time. They get trapped in the Chicken Feed Bin and can't get out. When I first found them, we let the children have a look. It became a regular occurance that we would find them; lift them out and let them go. However, my wife, Sheila decided to bring one in to the house, "for a better look"! How I laughed when she dropped it and the little blighter ran off into the living room. That was about 6 months ago. This morning while sat in the living room something caught my eye. You've guessed it, Stuart Little's Cousin - "Sid"! I have a humane trap which has been set in the larder with peanut butter. I have also tried Chocolate Spread. Sid is obviously a fussy little so and so. Jelly Babies next. I just hope he is still on his own. |
| Scott Fri, 21st Jun 2002 |
One further comment. Has anyone tried a cat? |
| Einstien Wed, 17th Jul 2002 |
I am working on making a better mice trap. 2 types One thats humane, one that kills. But both should work continuosly, not one mice at a time. I'll keep you posted. Regarding the cat idea, our cats catch them and bring them inside to play with them, then ofcourse they escape and live under the fridge. so much for cats eh:) |
| SSgtGweeDoh Sat, 20th Jul 2002 |
Instead, try drowning them. Place a 5 gallon bucket in a problem area. Fill with 1 gallon of water. Take a lid from a jar (i.e. peanut butter) and flip it upside down to use as a dish. Fill it with Peanut butter, chocolate, or crackers, and place it floating in the 5 gallon bucket. Now place a 3 foot long ramp leading up to the bucket (a 2 by 4 will work nicely) and leave it alone for a few days. I have caught 50 mice in the last year with this. It will work quite well, and disposal of the mouse is easy. |
| Me Sat, 10th Aug 2002 |
Is there anything to be afraid of...i mean is it safe having a mouse in ur house? |
| Giles Sat, 10th Aug 2002 |
Me: well it can't really hurt you. The problem I had was being kept awake at night by the scampering noises. But, if you leave the mouse long enough for it to become many mice, you could find the colony causing some damage to the house itself - which might end up hurting your bank balance a lot more. |
| Steve Mon, 12th Aug 2002 |
Well I've read all your advice and I'm off to catch the little buggers who have been in my kitchen - forget the humane way, it's Jelly Babies and traps for me. I'll let you know how I get on. |
| Ally Wed, 14th Aug 2002 |
Got home from holiday, and the most disgusting smell hit me as I walked into the house.....I knew it instantly....dead mouse! Found the little bugger uder the kitchen sink. After I plucked up the courage to dispose of it, it exploded into magots. Trouble is, I can still smell it even though I've completely disinfected the entire kitchen. Someone please tell me the smell will go away, I've got guests coming for dinner at the weekend! |
| Scott Fri, 23rd Aug 2002 |
We finally disposed of our entire mouse population with 2 cheap wooden mouse traps and some cooking chocolate. We still leave them rigged in the larder just in case, but havn't had any more for weeks and weeks. |
| paul Thu, 29th Aug 2002 |
great ideas on how to get rid of the buggers....were do get metal traps from b + q ? |
| amoore2465@aol.com Thu, 29th Aug 2002 |
I live in a small, small, apartment and I am trying to get rid of them myself. I purchased posion and I am now wishing I had not because what if they die and I can not find them. what should I do? I bought the posion yesterday should I throw it away. |
| Giles Fri, 30th Aug 2002 |
amoore2465: I'd throw the poison away if I were you. It's almost certain that you will not be able to find the dead mice, and the smell of their rotting bodies will drive you crazy, especially if you have a small home. I'd say traps are the best thing for you. |
| Darla Mon, 2nd Sep 2002 |
We have tried thoes so called humane glue traps. They are anything but. Talk about a horrible way to go. The traps work best. Today I caught 4 young mice with my hands I missed the mom and 3 other babies, and was going to put them outside when my kids gave them to the ferrett in a box. It was a bloodlust frenzy. I felt bad afterwards but she, Scerino had a great time killing them all in less than a minute.I had no idea they were such profecient killers. Too bad I can't leave her in the house all the time to hunt. She is too messy for that. But I love her anyway. |
| Rachel Tue, 3rd Sep 2002 |
I bought some traps and jellie babies on Saturday after seeing a mouse run across the floor Friday night (was using my laptop and used Google to find this site!) I put the traps so that the jellybaby end was next to the wall (apparently they run along the wall). The one in the kitchen down beside the kitchen cupboard went off at 3am. It is now 4.11am and the mouse (which is a big one ) has got itself caught, but is not dead and is moving the trap around - I forgot about the string! I can't think of how to kill it other than lifting it out into a bucket of water, but I'm worried it would fall out of the trap Unfortunately, the trap is down beside kitchen cupboards, so is not very accessible. It's been twitching there for an hour now! Am not sure what to do |
| Rachel Tue, 3rd Sep 2002 |
It's 5.06 am now. I've been surfing the net hoping to find a suggestion for a humane way of disposing of the mouse. Best tip I've found is to put the trap on newspaper (wish I'd read that earlier!). In the end, the mouse hadn't made much noise for 20 minutes, so I put on disposable gloves, filled a plastic bucket with a plastic bag, then newspaper, and put another plastic bag over my hand to pick up the trap. The mouse still wasn't dead, but after some anxious prodding, I managed to pick the trap up and swiftly drop it in the bucket, mouse still wiggling with the bag in after it. I pushed down the paper and plastic bag - hopefully it will now asphyxiate. I took it down and put bucket in all in our covered wheelie rubbish bin - will ask the caretaker to do something appropriate tomorrow. I don't know about you, but until last Friday, mice were my biggest irrational paranoid fear - spiders, bugs, bungiejumping and public speaking hold no terrors - I've lived here 3 years and had even thought, in the back of my mind that if a mouse showed up I'd leave! My handling of this hasn't been ideal, but at least I'm still here. Am too keyed up to go to sleep (my heart is still pounding) Good luck everyone - thanks for your help.. |
| Jeni Sun, 8th Sep 2002 |
Today, I have set up the trap that SSgtGweeDoh suggested, using a piece of chocolate tim hortons tim bit, peanut butter and some cheese. I also placed one traditional trap with peanut butter and cheese. I am very afraid of what will happen if anything does get caught. I do not want to catch anything, but i found droppings today when cleaning today, and my son has twice now told me of sightings. We live in a very small apartment. ACK! I will let you all know how the two different traps fair in our apartment! |
| Jeni Sun, 8th Sep 2002 |
By the way, I must say this is the most informative website for catching mice I have found! |
| Jeni Sun, 8th Sep 2002 |
Also........ I got a new roomate today who has guinea pigs in a cage that is open on top, and a bird, in a cage..... what things should i be thinking about there, or is it free season bc animals need openings for air and such things, yet they also have feathers, fur, feces, food, water, etcetc?????? |
| Jeni Sun, 8th Sep 2002 |
2 hours later (11:19pm) i checked the trap......... the cheese is gone, and even some of the peanut butter......... but no sign of mouse! ok so cheese baits well, but mouse gets off with it! bad, unless you can make the cheese stick! i will go out and buy gummy bears, as you guys say and see how it works, consider it done as of right now.... i will let you know! |
| Jeni Mon, 9th Sep 2002 |
well, next night,,,,, i watched the mouse check out - run back and forth around - the gummy bear, but did not get caught...... who knows how many hours that went on last night.... still, no mouse caught in either trap...... :( i switched back to cheese, this time, it mashed onto the trap, so the bugger wont be able to run off with it so easily! i am sure ti will go on like this...... i will stop in again to say how i finally do catch or any mistakes (not already listed here) i come up with along the way,,,,,,, |
| Dave Mon, 9th Sep 2002 |
Mouse trap assingment for school, gotta find its uses, explain why the mouse trap is a machine, what type of machine it is, and what advantage there is for my family by using it, need a piccy of a mouse trap, labeled and dats it? anybody know a good site for this? |
| Johanna Wed, 11th Sep 2002 |
We.ve had mice for a good few weeks now. I've stuffed all possible known little entries with wire wool and have been setting traps all this time. I've caught none and in the meantime they've just been going for sealed food. Yesterday I found this site so I tried the bucket/peanutbutter trap last night. No joy. These mice seem to be too educated... I'll keep setting the traps, though what else can do? Please, is there anyone with anything worth saying that could help me? I'm getting pretty desperate! -Thanks. |
| SCARY Thu, 12th Sep 2002 |
IF I HAVE LIGHTS AND MUSIC ON IN MY ROOM WILL THE ,OUSE STAY OUT UNTIL THE MORNING |
| SCARY Thu, 12th Sep 2002 |
IF I HAVE LIGHTS AND MUSIC ON IN MY ROOM WILL THE ,OUSE STAY OUT UNTIL THE MORNING |
| Giles Tue, 17th Sep 2002 |
Scary: the mouse will probably stay away from any noise or activity. Mice only come into rooms to forage for food. They spend most of their time under the floorboards, or inside cracks in the walls. You sound like you're scared of them, but there's no need to be. They won't hurt you. They just get annoying after a while. |
| LL Thu, 19th Sep 2002 |
My two very smart mice do not like cheese or peanut butter and do not go near any type of trap I've tried. I'll try the gummy bears. Thanks Giles, for an interesting and informative site. |
| Mark Sat, 21st Sep 2002 |
I love this site - I'm coming back even when we get rid of the mice. Its great!!! Rachel is superb and I know exactly how she feels - we hear the little buggers at night, then worry about where they are - then we worry about the amount of noise they create - are these mice rats? |
| Laura Sun, 22nd Sep 2002 |
My husband asked me what type of "bait" to use to check our unwelcome "Poop machines" that live in the ceiling/walls of our very old house, so I thought I would surf for the answer. We first noticed droppings in the clear covers for our flourescent light fixtures in our kitchen (we have a drop ceiling with about a foot clearance to the real ceiling). I thought that since our house is old, and we had never actually seen or heard a mouse or its droppings anywhere but in that light cover that it was old, and that we didn't actually have mice (wishful thinking!). So we cleaned up the filter and like 2 days later there was poop in it again!! Well, to make a long story short, I found droppings in our bathroom cupboard, which was the same morning I saw "It" in our garage. So, we, like many of you are joining the MBG army (Mice Be Gone). This is the best site (and funniest) I have see so far. In fact, I will probably continue to visit it after we catch these little buggers, just for a laugh!! |
| Irene Tue, 24th Sep 2002 |
Well I am sickened by mice. I first found them a few months ago and bought a cat....he has caught one. He sleeps all night so he isn't too useful. But glue traps catch them very well and I don't care how inhumane they are. I am fuming today. My 10 year old daughter picked up a glue trap that had a mouse on it to throw it away...and it bit her!!! It was hanging off her thumb and I am so worried about her now. I don't know what to do. I washed the bit really well with soap and water and antibacterial cream and put antibiotic lotion on it. Mice DO bite if scared. |
| Irene Tue, 24th Sep 2002 |
Johanna...do you lay the traps along the walls? Mice love to stay along the baseboards ....I only use glue traps because they work every time. Tried posion and snap traps and had no luck. Good luck. I am desperate too as its getting depressing.... |
| Laura Tue, 24th Sep 2002 |
HOORAY!! we caught our first (actually 2nd) mouse. The real 1st one we caught early in the morning the night that I wrote my last post. We set glue traps. At 4:00 yesterday morning i was woke up to some flopping around above the kitchen ceiling. I turned on the lights and the glue trap was HOPPING acrossed the light filter. Well, that mouse got loose (and is now missing a LOT of hair!!). we rearranged the glue boards last night, and at about 10:00 last night our cat was sitting on the kitchen cupboard staring at the ceiling. Sure enough, we caught another on (or maybe it was the same) . It was still alive, and my husband asked me what he should do with it, I told him, I didn't care, didn't want to know, just get that bugger outta here!! it was a big ol' field mouse with huge eyes!! hopefully my mouse adventure is done, but I doubt it. |
| Anonymous Wed, 25th Sep 2002 |
This board is hilarious. Mice have been storing dog food in the bottom of our oven and now we're trying to get rid of them. We're starting off with the cheap wooden traps and some peanut butter. I hope this works! Forget "humane", I just want the bastard(s) gone. |
| Laura Fri, 27th Sep 2002 |
Well, an update to our mousey situation. Left glue pads in ceiling for 2 days. Today, we caught a FREAKIN' BAT!! No kidding! He was alive and VERY angry!!! |
| Magnus Fri, 27th Sep 2002 |
When she was 14 one of my friends insisted that her Dad use 'humane' mousetraps to catch mice. Unfortunately, they laid the traps down and forgot about them. So instead of the poor mouse having it's back broken instantly by a conventional trap, it was locked inside a plastic tube, with enough food to keep it alive for a further week. Cats are good, although I remember having to drown a mouse after the cat had paralysed it from the waist down. |
| Bkim51 Sun, 29th Sep 2002 |
I have been trying to catch this one mouse for a week now. It is one very smart mouse! I (we) have put out half a dozen glue boards and he goes right (over?) them. He was in the pantry eating my dried beans! I have never seen anything move so fast. We have a new house and this is just killing me to have to share it with this RODENT! |
| Lucy Sun, 29th Sep 2002 |
What are Jelly babies? Glue traps don't seem to do the trick - only found mouse poo on them (I he did this think for spite) We've escalated to "humane" live traps that work on balance/gravity with the bait in the back - we shall see - they are set under the fridge and range - the spots he seems to run from and too when we enter the kitchen (how lovely!) Do these kind of traps work? And the better question is "can you have just one mouse?" please say yes. Jack Russell Terriers are worthless mousers, FYI. |
| Giles Mon, 30th Sep 2002 |
Lucy: Jelly Babies are a popular confectionary here in the UK. They're chewy, baby-shaped sweets. Pretty strange, now I think about it carefully. I mean, eating children is wrong, isn't it? Anyway. They (Jelly Babies) are very tasty. See this page: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/aafood/jellybabies.html |
| Jo G. Mon, 30th Sep 2002 |
What are jelly bellies? Becuase am despirte. My daughter seems to be the only one to see this little sucker. I have tried mouse traps and they dont work but maybe jellies will help if I knew what they where? |
| Laura Mon, 30th Sep 2002 |
We used Corn Pops cereal on our glue board. We got the one mouse/and bat. Haven't caught anymore, but I haven't seen any poop around. |
| Mark Tue, 1st Oct 2002 |
I've still not found the dead mouse that's under my floorboards/the ceiling below. Our bedroom was smelling so bad that we had to sleep in another room for a couple of nights. Trying to find is costing me a fortune in insulation. I keep pulling out lengths of it from under the floor, getting covered in mice poo (its an old house and I don't think we're the first to experience them). I'm only hoping that when we do find the mouse - its not a rat if that makes sense?! We've got a cat - he's great at catching mice. He's got a great way of catching the ones that live outside and bringing them in!!! I started off browsing the web to find ways of dealing with mice, read some pretty boring sites and then sutmbled on this one. Its great to hear that other people have mice. I'VE GOT MICE AND I'M PROUD!!! |
| Stuart Wed, 2nd Oct 2002 |
Just nearly soiled my pants when I shuffled into the kitchen and saw a mouse scurrying about the floor, so I thought I'd check out the best way to catch it without killing it. I'm going to try a milk bottle tommorrow night. I was thinking of putting at an angle next to the skirting boards with a load of Jelly Babies inside, and dribbling just a wee bit of cooking oil down the inside so it can't get out. I will update in a couple of days. Do you think it'd be ok to just get rid of it in the garden, or will it try and come back? |
| Giles Wed, 2nd Oct 2002 |
Stuart: yes, it will come back all right. You need to take it a *long* way from home to make sure it doesn't. |
| Jo G. Wed, 2nd Oct 2002 |
I tried some pellets and noticed that some where gone does anyone know how long it will take before my house starts to smell or maybe do you think the little mice that only my daughter see is gone? I have never seen the mice only my daughter and we have glue boards and a mouse trap and we still havent caught him so I decided to get some posiones pellets. Has anyone ever tried those, they are green little things. |
| curt Thu, 3rd Oct 2002 |
okay, we've got mice. So far they have gotten into the dog food, some pop tarts, and a bag of peanuts. This was all a week ago. I cleaned everything out of the cabinets, and set about 10 different traps with different bait (peanuts, peanut butter, dog food, poptarts). It's been a week, and still none caught! I don't want to use poison, since I don't want the little b*st*rds dieing in the wlls and stinking. Any abvice? |
| curt Thu, 3rd Oct 2002 |
After reading all the posts, I thought some of you might appreciate this small piece of a trip report I wrote: Day 10, Monday: Up around 8am and were at it again. This morning for some reason Sage is fixed on the dash of the motor home. Gil notices that one of the heater hoses has fallen out from the dash because of the bumpy road. He grabs it and shakes like a snake, and Sage is going nuts. Goofy dog thinks it?s a snake, were having a good laugh over that when Gil yells, "DUDE! There?s a grouse under your seat!" Well the music was up kinda loud, and what he actually said was there?s a mouse under your feet. So we stop and look, can?t see a mouse so we press on. A few miles later, sure enough, I see him. A brown field mouse, and pretty damn big. Well, I guess he rides with us, we?ll pick up a trap when we can, then Gil yells "DUDE! There?s two of ?em!" . Sure enough, but wait, I just saw one over here too. That makes three, we have the whole Stewart Little family riding with us. We come up with a plan?get one of those glad ware tubs and put a hole it it, throw some cheese and sunflower seeds inside, when the little rat bastard goes for it, grab the whole thing and chuck it out the window?seems like it?ll work. Gil goes to work. Trap built and in place we wait. A couple miles down the road, and this is what I hear: "Oh, dude, he?s coming. He?s right there. Oh he want?s it, yeah go inside there you little bastard, oh, oh, oh, c?mon, oh there he goes he?s going?OOOHHH! The little mother fucker got our cheese!". Gil had missed the chance. After Gil loaded the trap, he put the hole on his side, where he could just stomp on the mice as they got close. This, somehow evolved into stuffing cheese into the tread of his boot, waiting until the mouse get?s under his boot, so all he can see is the tail, and STOMP & HOLD, till they quit squirming. He killed 3 and seriously injured one with this technique, I was pretty impressed. The whole time Sage had to be thinking, "you stupid fuckers, I was trying to tell you there were mice up there, but you wouldn?t shut up about that damned heater "snake." This entertained us for quite a while. |
| JO G. Thu, 3rd Oct 2002 |
IT HAS BEEN A COUPLE OF DAYS SINCE I PUT THE TRAPS ON FOR THE MICE BUT HASNT SEEN OR HEARD HIM ANYMORE. DO YOU THINK IT IS POSSIBLE HE COULD BE GONE OUT MY HOUSE? |
| Laura Thu, 3rd Oct 2002 |
LOL Curt!! too brutal! |
| curt Fri, 4th Oct 2002 |
none in the traps yet, but caught one rummaging through the bathroom waste basket. |
| Karin Fri, 4th Oct 2002 |
Does anyone know if cloves will keep mice away. Someone told me mice don't like the smell? |
| Stuart Sat, 5th Oct 2002 |
Laid out a trap for my mouse the other night - a big jar tilted at an angle with a little ramp running up to it. Left a trail of Jelly Babies running up to it, and put LOADS of Jelly Babies in the jar just so he's definitely smell it. I can confirm that they do love Jelly Babies, as when I got up in the morning and checked the trap, it was as clean as a whistle. Only problem was - no mouse! I've sent off for a professional humane trap. I will prevail. |
| Lucy Sat, 5th Oct 2002 |
Nothing like starting your day by finding two little mice flopping around on a glue trap in your kitchen! Tooooo gross - FYI folks - this is NOT a humane way to catch mice (we ended up having to drown them due to the injury they had caused themselves flopping about all night - AND drowning them is not easy - the glue trap acts like a little boat - it was HORRIBLE!) We had SIX glue traps spread throughout the kitchen and two mice on one trap - how weird is that! The "live catch" traps don't work either - even baited with loads of peanut butter - so don't waste your money. If I had to do it again, I'd probably just do the old fashioned spring traps - more humane in the end - not to mention all the angst and destruction these damn little things have done to my kitchen! How do they chew through kitchen cabinet wood in one night and WHY! And the kicker is that even with them flopping around our kitchen floor all night, I was the one to find them, NOT our Jack Russell Terrier - some hunter he is! So my advice is, give up on the "live catch" methods and just catch the buggers and get them out of your house! |
| Lucy Sat, 5th Oct 2002 |
I forgot - thanks Giles for the tip on the Jelly Babies - that was a fun website - I might indulge my sweet tooth and order some just out of curiousity! Too funny! |
| Starbuck Sun, 6th Oct 2002 |
I set two wooden traps last night and had one capture! I put choc spread on and it took it straight away! Do they always hang out in pairs or could there only be one? I would appreciate any advice from my fellow mouse catchers. Thanks This site is really good and does anyone know |
| skipipip Sun, 6th Oct 2002 |
Sun. Oct. 6th mice again, at least it's not the sewer rats we had a few years ago (the whole town had them). this is WAR!!! snap traps are set, glue traps in place. And a bucket of water and a ramp is going in the basement today. They seem to like my dresser drawers. |
| Sally Sun, 6th Oct 2002 |
Found mouse droppings in our cupboard and heard them in the ceiling over the past several days. Bought those tube houses where the door snaps shut when they enter to get the cheese. Caught one that way the first night but no luck with the other(s). I've learned alot from this website and I have read every entry. Tonight I will try putting the traps back to back along the wall so he will approach it from the right angle regardless of which way he's coming. It was great to read everyone's adventures...I'm glad I'm not the only one with smart, resourceful mice. |
| Patty Mon, 7th Oct 2002 |
We have mice.. glue traps work for us. Had an exterminator come out and he used the snap traps with tootsie rolls. They like the tootsie rolls so much they walk over the traps. I have had more success with the sticky traps...I caught 28 last winter and 4 2 weeks ago and 3 since yesterday. And damn if I dont walk in my kitchen and there is another one heading behind my stove. Now mind you there is 5 stickies in my kitchen and 2 near my dog food and of course and empty bait box thet the exterminator left here. Have 2 cats outside but they cant get in under my house because the male species in my home refuses to uncover the opening so they can go get them. These are all babies and I dont know how many more we have....I really hate mice |
| Karin Mon, 7th Oct 2002 |
Some mice are really stupid, caught two mice in the bottom of our garbage can under the kitchen cupboards. The garbage was empty so they couldn't climb back out however they scared the shit out me when I opened the cupboard and they started jumping. We bought humane traps and have caught one but thats it, seems they learned their lesson. I keep telling my husband to check the garage for holes in which they get in because I sure thats where their coming from but he doesn't seem to be as disturbed about the mice as I am. |
| Patty Mon, 7th Oct 2002 |
Since my last post caught 2 more on my back porch by my dog food can. Caught them with a sticky pad. However there is a foul odor by my water heater,could be a long dead little enemy huh. |
| Toni Mon, 7th Oct 2002 |
Gil, you are too funny! Thanks everyone for their comments. Well this whole mouse thing has got me quite pissed off. My latest episode was about 10:00 p.m. last night, Dwight when in the kitchen and found one of those sneaking little suckers face down in a glue trap. Thank god for boyfriends, he put his ass in a box and escorted him outside the the trash dumpster. I hate waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of those varments trying to get off a damn glue trap! But Im wondering where the hell they are coming from! Everything that is sealable is sealed! Can they be coming from the patio door I live on the 3rd floor in an apartment building, can the damn things climb up concrete. Me and Dwight pulled the stove out where they have been leaving their poop, found 2 that have been there for god only knows how long. So we discarded them. Then the other night I thought I heard something, actually thought they and there family had moved to another part of town. The little sneaking bastard licked the peanut butter off the trap and escaped! Cuz you know I kept looking at it wondering was I going crazy or what I thought dah! it was evaporating, only to realize the mouse was still in the house (pardon the pun)! Everything has been sealed up but when will the misery end...I have glue traps and some expensive traps they sell at the store. Hopefully this was the last of the mothers! What should my next plan of action be???? Help !!!! |
| Toni Mon, 7th Oct 2002 |
Curt, you are hilarious! |
| Sally Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
UPDATE... Caught another one last night using jelly babies. What a great idea! Giles...thanks for such a great website. What a fantastic resource for us poor wretched mouse hunters. Thank God I found this website before I used Rat Poison. |
| tasha Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
i will try the jelly tonight and tell about my sucess when i catch the little mouse but so far peanut butter did not wirk |
| Biccy Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
It's good and slightly comforting to see others having the same problems as everybody else. As I sit here reading through these posts, there is the "scratching", going on above my head as I write this, (between the floorboards). It started a few days ago when I heard my daughter say out loudly, "Mummy, there's a mouse".I rushed out to the upstairs landing to see the little bugger sitting there staring at us all, which really surprised me, and caught me unawares. For usually, they do a runner. I was able to grab it in a towel, and took it outside to release it, but it turned out, I had squeezed it too hard, and it could not run away. I set a really cheap wooden spring trap as an after thought. I nearly died when my wife informed me there was another one caught in the trap next morning. I disposed of this one without telling the kids, in case they freaked out. Now I hear scratching upstairs, and all family are asleep unaware of this, I don't know what to do, I don't feel like going to bed, even though it is 2.20am as I write this. I just would not be able to sleep, knowing the little buggers are about. I'm sure a good few of you know what I mean. For those that don't care, how do you cope with it at night trying to sleep? I have set one more trap, (cheese). The other one that had the catch had (Snickers Bar). I'm starting to wonder how many there may be, and it is stressing me out. It's mostly the bedtime noises that bug me, during the evening & daytime, I don't mind too much, because you usually can't hear it. Can't wait till morning, so I can get out to work for the day, and forget about it for a while. Anyway I'll update as soon as anything happens! |
| Biccy Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
Finally went to bed at 4am, got up again at 7am, no luck ith the traps this time. Still hearing the shuffling between the floorboards. Away to work now, fingers crossed. |
| Lucy Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
I've decided that this site is like a support group for the infested! For all of us who can't sleep soundly at night wondering what the little vermin are getting into and what we will wake up to face in the morning (like yesterday, another one in a sticky trap that I had to put out of its misery - those traps are effective but so torturous!). I always feel better knowing there are other people facing these issues! I was in the supermarket the other day, buying more sticky traps, and there was a nice guy about to buy the poison pellets and I advised him that they'll die in the walls with that stuff - he switched to the sticky traps and thanked me! Too funny - I am a rodent killing afficionado now! I hate to jinx myself, but after catching three, is it possible we are finally free? No further evidence this morning of activity - but time will tell! P.S. Grossest find yet - I am a total neat-freak and just two weeks ago had all the furniture steam cleaned, only to reach down on Saturday to find the love seat, behind the cushions, crammed full of DOG FOOD! Gee - I wonder how that got there.....? |
| Lucy Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
Question - does anyone know if those plug in things really work at repelling them/keeping them from coming back and setting up shop? |
| Toni Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
Update - all is clear on the home front, but heck that is just one night, I am not going to get to darn happy. Lucy, good question, If they do I might go by once for each outlet! soooo please let me know! |
| Biccy Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
Update! Back from work, nothing! Reloaded traps with jelly tots this time, couldn't get the jelly babies. I need a good nights sleep, so I'm not going to let the wee buggers anoy me tonight. Fingers crossed, (again). |
| Stuart Tue, 8th Oct 2002 |
Bought a couple of those ingenious humane Rentokil traps and baited them with Jelly Babies the other night, and guess what - I got my mouse!.Then there was the dilemma of where to take it. So I decided to get a little revenge on the hairdresser up the road who slagged off my hair after a friend cut it, and let the rodent out at her salon's back door. Hehehehe. My granny gave me a tip for sealing up mice holes - to make sure they don't chew through the hole again, squash up some soap and use it like Polyfilla - the mice won't chew through it for obvious reasons. |
| Dave Thu, 10th Oct 2002 |
Is there a difference between a field mouse and a "regular" mouse? C'mon, I'm new at this. We moved in last December and my wife and I are just starting to see the little visitors. We live on the edge of woods. Any long-term hope for getting rid of them? |
| John Thu, 10th Oct 2002 |
You guys are too funny. Can anyone tell me about cloves and how mice apparently can't stand it? Does it work? I have the smartest mice in the world...If they were rats I'd think they were Pinky and the Brain. |
| curt Thu, 10th Oct 2002 |
still not a single mouse in a trap...these guys are rally pissing me off! Am going to change all bait tonight and try another approach. I've just caught the one in the trash can, I might try working something from that logic. Will update later. Liked the comment about this being a support group for the infested...fitting. |
| Fixo Thu, 10th Oct 2002 |
Try dried fruit,sultanas,currants as bait.I have had many a victory with it.Just one sultana on the spike of the trap is all that was needed and it is still effective after months on the trap so you can set it and forget it. Now as for the smell of the deceased rodents that have come in to die(they think my underfloor region is their warren)is there such a thing as a rotting corpse detector?My nose can only narrow the pong down to 2 rooms and removing floorboards needs to be done.Well you can get wood detectors,electrical current detectors gieger counters etc etc why not a smellitector?Thanks for setting up this site but is it not possible to screen out the occasional swearwords? |
| Lucy Fri, 11th Oct 2002 |
Stupid question - are you supposed to "bait" the sticky traps? |
| lynn Fri, 11th Oct 2002 |
im at war days go by and no sign then they are back i think they go on holiday,im going to kill them all i think they invite all their mates over for a party,caught five last night. |
| curt Fri, 11th Oct 2002 |
Lucy - I have heard people say that some times it helps. I have some set out and in a couple I put a dab of peanut butter in the middle. Of course with no results so far. |
| Lucy Fri, 11th Oct 2002 |
Thanks Curt - I will give that a try - can't hurt (though I think with all this damn peanut butter all over the place, next thing I'll be battling ants by the millions!) |
| Jan Fri, 11th Oct 2002 |
Lucy - I hate the sticky traps because they are so inhumane. However, I'm at my wits end and will have to use them again. This is what I did the first time. For three days, I placed broken pieces of Quaker Oats Squares cereal at an area where I know the mouse visits. (You can try with whatever cereal you have in the house.) After three days, I placed Q.O. cereal on the floor leading up to and in the sticky trap. Good luck! |
| Derek Sun, 13th Oct 2002 |
Found this site last night - excellent. Had mouse in our kitchen for past three weeks - wife treatened to go, if mouse didn't! Tried expenses metal traps-useless. Then purchased inexepensive (4 for €1.29) wooden traps. Put cheese on them, bacon rinds etc etc etc - everyone I met had a new suggestion. None worked but he liked choclate-cleaned traps on several nights. It was so clever I named him "Mensa the Mouse". On reading your suggestions I headed off to the shop tonight at 10pm to get jelly babies for the traps - caught Mensa less than 2 hrs later. Suggestions: 1. Jelly baby secured with thin metal wire-they will eat through tread. Also, the extra weight of JBs seem to make trap more "trigger happy". 2. Experiment and have several goes at setting and releasing trap in your hand to see where release point is-so it's whiskers will set it off! 3. Our mouse was choclate mad - I melted some in spoon and put it on jelly baby. 4. I put trap in a corner behind tumble dryer; then put a small block 4x3x6ins. on other side so there was only one way in. Hope this can be of some assistance - happy hunting and thanks again. Mensa RIP. |
| Lucy Mon, 14th Oct 2002 |
I've tried baiting the sticky traps festively (my husband actually joked that I was decorating for the mice for Halloween) with candy corn - thinking the sweet smell would entice them - nothing! Empty traps two nights running. The one(s) that is/are left is/are elusive - I see the evidence down in the basement, but no food is missing and no evidence upstairs - can't figure this out - unless they are going up into the neighbors house to eat (we live in an old townhouse) but have made a home here in our place...they have me really scratching my head - and the dog too - he senses them and sniffs like mad, but we've not had a sighting in a week now...we shall see. Thanks for all the advice on the baiting of the sticky traps! Also - Giles - off the website tip - just for fun ordered some Curly Wurly's you all get over there - my husband loved them (like the old Marathon Bars we had here!) Thanks for the tip again! |
| Gregor Mon, 14th Oct 2002 |
well am I glad to find you. I have been losing the mouse war and they have gone for reinforcements - now there is either a rat or the largest mouse in the universe. If I catch it I will apply to that record book. Well anyway, I think this site is from the UK, and I am from the US. Jelly bellies are an American brand of jelly beans that was dearly beloved by then-President Richard Nixon. I am quite amused to think of his favorite candy as mouse bait. I have had a couple of traps and a few glue thingys out and have not yet gotten one. I will get serious and take all the advice I saw on this site. Thanks so much. . . |
| vitamin snc Mon, 14th Oct 2002 |
I don't have mice....But everyone I know seems too!- I have friends in the States and here in the Uk...All with the same problem....Mice Mice everywhere!- Anyway..Useful advice from you all..I shall send a link to my vermin victims both near and far- |
| Laura Mon, 14th Oct 2002 |
I have heard that hedge apples will help deter mice (though I don't know from experience) I think our mousey is gone!! Only caught the one, and the bat. Haven't seen any poo around in the light fixtures either. We used Corn Pop cereal on our glue traps. I'm feeling very victorious over those nasty things. (Swishs cap over her shoulder and exits stage left) :) |
| Gregor Tue, 15th Oct 2002 |
Well, what with Silicon Valley so close and all (I actually used to live there before I moved to this teeny town in central CA) I should have thought of this before: Has anyone successfully used an ultrasonic pest repeller? I also have cockroaches..... Thanks |
| Peter W Tue, 15th Oct 2002 |
Been catching mice for over 50yrs... was raised and lived in a country cottage for 25!... My comments for waht they are worth are... - The best trap is the old wooden 'little nipper' but after baiting (I have found moistened raisins or sultanas are the best) you have to place and then CAREFULLY tease the release wire to the very verge of triggering! - Removal of the catch is easy, slip a freezer bag over your hand, pick up the trap/mouse, and turn the bag as you remove from hand, then unspring the trap through the bag. an old cardboard milk or juice carton makes an ideal disposal box (pop in the bag, roll over the top, staple up and bin). - When setting trap, try and 'force the mouse to enter directly via the open spring end, by locating trap against wall and other objects (bricks/boxes/blocks of wood?) this way the trap usually gets the neck for an instant kill. - If you find a pretty, chubby, large eyed, bushy tailed mouse it's probably a 'glis glis' or edible doormouse, they are quite common, (don't be fooled by it's nice face, it's still vermin! - Try to work out where their food source is! as that's why they are usually about! waste bin with no lid? Cat food left out? kids leaving biscuits/apple cores/peel etc in the toy cupboard? - Don't forget if they have been on your kitchen work surfaces, they can carry most of the food poisening bacteria on their fur and saliva! |
| Carrie Wed, 16th Oct 2002 |
What a great site! I've learned so much from all you nice folks. I'm off to Walmart to buy traps and jelly babies.That is as soon as I suck up enough courage to get down off this chair . |
| Carrie Thu, 17th Oct 2002 |
I'm back from Walmart loaded down with sticky traps and plug in devices. Will let all you fellow sufferers know if they work. They say it takes 2 weeks for them to take effect. In the meantime I'm really dreading going to bed tonight. Just when I was in a deep sleep last night I heard noise in the kitchen. There he was,sitting in the middle of the kitchen table eating my dog's dry food. I swear I saw a little grin on his furry face. I looked for something to bean him with but of course he scooted away. Back to bed for a little snooze untill 2 am when "Mickey" and his little pals decided to rummage around my bedroom! I may never sleep again. Hope I can report a capture by tomorrow. Happy Hunting! |
| deohen Thu, 17th Oct 2002 |
Our mice are very smart and it's taken us weeks to get them all. Here's what we've learned so far: 1. mice like to eat different things at different times, so we put out different bait. 2. they like fritos and peanut butter the best. old stale fritos and we soak them in the pb for a few days. 3. tweak the trap to hair trigger... it's easy to do and very important. 4.tie the trap down. 5. use the cheap wooden ones 4 for a buck at walmart. this is a great site and thanks for contributing. |
| Danny Thu, 17th Oct 2002 |
are jelly babies the same as gummi bears or at least similar? |
| Nina Fri, 18th Oct 2002 |
good advice... like carrie, i will do these things once i can actually get out of this chair. also, are mice attracted to messy rooms? should i clean now? |
| Carrie Fri, 18th Oct 2002 |
Nina,as much as I hate to admit it, I thinks it's time we decluttered! They don't call us" pack rats" for no reason. By the way fellow sufferers , I haven't caught a mouse yet with all my assorted traps. However, I bought 4 of those "Victor"sonic plug in things and heard no night noises since I plugged them in. Also am seeing a lot less poop. Am hoping they are checking out!! |
| Lucy Fri, 18th Oct 2002 |
Danny - I asked the same question - as best I can tell by the website Giles directed me to, they are the Brittish version of Gummi Bears. Good luck |
| Lorrie Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
We have at least one mouse in the attic where we have some storage. I hear it scratching in the ceiling above our bedroom. I am a light sleeper and we have an older home so it wakes me up and I can't go back to sleep. We've pulled up the insulation in that area and set traps. Any thing else that we can do? |
| Gregor Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
I still have not caught any, at least that I could find. I heard a flopping in the middle of the night and was sure I had one in a glue trap. When I went into the kitchen s/he was nowhere to be seen. I moved the refrigerator and the stove and couldn't find it. But I did find where they had been coming in. An electric outlet was not really attached to the wall and there was a large space where they had been coming through. So now I will glue that outlet to the wall so they can't get through. I also purchased one of those sonic thingies. Hope it works. No takers on the gummi bears, or the peanut butter, or the cheese, or the apple. I tried that after I found an apple with a large bite out of it, looked more like a large series of small nibbles. anyway I hope the sonic thingy takes the cockroaches away too. Happy huntin'! |
| Julie Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
I bought an Electronic Mouse Repeller over a month ago, and have had it plugged into my wall over my kitchen countertop. THIS DOES NOT WORK, the mouse still gets up on my counter top and leaves droppings right in front of it. I have traps setup too but nothing seems to work. I am going to buy some jelly beans today to put on them and see if that works. Great website I have learned a lot. |
| kathy Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
our mouse has a $50.00 bounty on his head and my 14 year old son is trying but no luck yet. my husband said its worth it not to hear me scream at 5am (my 1st sighting he thought I found one of the kids dead) im going out to get more traps and gummy bears. |
| Mice watchout Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
Now that it's getting colder in the UK I thought I'd set 3 traps last night in my shed before the little bastards get a taste for the morsels that I've been leaving in my fishing bag - they've already ate through 1 bag and 2 nets !! I baithed the traps with "Penguin buscuits" and BINGO I caught a small one. |
| Mike Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
Just yesterday, I've had encounters with what I believe to be 3 seperate mice: one I chased into my room, one I chased into my empty mom's room, and one that apparantly licked the peanut butter off the traps I set & left in the hallway. I'm going to try that trick with the traps & the jelly babies/gummi bears today, but I'm also going to try some new traps - there's these new ones that look like fat clothespins, are easier to bait & set, plus they're more sensitive. Wish me luck! I wanna move back into my room in the WORST way. |
| James Sat, 19th Oct 2002 |
I've caught 3 mice in less than a week behind the fridge using regular victor traps...I used peanut butter as bait and made sure to remove any excess peanut butter around the bait cylinder...Can someone please tell me if I have a litter of these pesky little rodents or can I possibly have only 3? |
| Carrie Sun, 20th Oct 2002 |
James, I think it's possible to only have three mice. Years ago I had a one mouse incident in another house. I found the hole he came in and plugged it with plain steel wool and that was the end of that. I caught 2 here last night within ten minutes via glue traps. I put new ones around today but I'm hoping that's it for now. Good luck! Oh by the way, all sonic thingys are not alike. I researched them and the Victor ones seem to have a a good reputation. Not a lot of the others do. |
| Lee Sun, 20th Oct 2002 |
I wish I would have visited this site before I bought the mouse/rat posion. Now I have this serious fowl odor in my kitchen. The mouse died under the floor board... HOW LONG WILL I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS SMELL??? |
| John Sun, 20th Oct 2002 |
My wife has a real phobia about mice. I mean real real phobia, her whole way of life has been geared around checking we have none. It dates back 10 years ago when i chased them up and down the hall with a spade! We moved from that house and our next house had them as well, we opted for the rentokil boxes of poison, it comes as a cube so you know if they have tried a bite and they go of and die someplace, who cares. well we have been mouse free for 5 years and our approach is now to put expanding foam in every possible entry point or if its a place that can be seen for example around skirtings ect then clear silicone any hole thats just about the size of your thumbnail then fill it up. Make sure around your doors are tight and if you do get them you will have a fair idea what room there coming into and from where. An expert once told me your house would have to be like a tin before you would stop them coming in, thats only true to a point you can close up many gaps in the home. so next time your at the diy store buy some silicone sealant and some expanding foam and remmember when you put the foam down it grows to 5 times its size. |
| Carrie Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
Thanks for the tips John! Will try the foam and the silicone. What amazes me is that this is the first time we have had mouse troubles since we bought this house four years ago. I sure hope it will be the last. I know how your wife feels. You feel you have sort of lost your control of your home. Not a good feeling to have. |
| Carrie Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
I forgot to ask.........does anyone know if a mouse can come thru a doggie door? Are they strong enough to move the vinyl flap to get in do you think??? |
| deohen Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
Re. infestation, I've read that they have 4 to 6 litters 4 times a year. Do the math. If you have a couple of them you can easily have a litter and then... Re the size of hole they can find thru, I understand that they can squiggle thru a hole the size of a nickle... or if their head can fit thru then they can. I wish I knew where they were getting in! I've checked everywhere. BTW, I'm not sure the wooden ones are working here anymore. Gonna try those plastic ones you referenced. Thanks. |
| Mice watchout Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
I've read with interest about how mice get in to your house....... Last year I caought about 10 mice in my garage in wooden traps and then I started to play. I was making some minow traps out of used coke bottles and I put some KitKat biscuits in side. The next morning they'd gone. This means that the mouse got through a hole 1/2" Dia - and that was after eating some large chunks of KitKat. Maybe I've got Houdini in my garage !! |
| Mice watchout Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
Does anyone know how to add photo's to this site ??? |
| Nina Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
Thanks, Carrie. I cleaned my room. It's now neat as a pin. However, the kitchen STINKS. I have a sinking feeling that the bastard mouse is dead and its disgusting little body is somewhere... ewwww, yuck. Any tips on disposing of a dead mouse? Pest control put little blocks of poison. At least the mouse is dead, but it smells absolutely awful. |
| Bern Mon, 21st Oct 2002 |
Well, after reading through this list, I am glad that my cheapest approach of wood traps and PB is the #1 advice. Over the last 2 nights I have caught 2 mice (1 big one small). I am sure are living under my kitchen sick cabinets, so I plugged all holes I could find w/ steel wool (I think they my actually be able to eat this stuff?!?) but they still come around. My apartment is in a 25 stroy building - I know there must be hundres of them running around - just hope to get rid of them in mine. HOWEVER - if I assume they can't get in from outside the aprtment, can anyone guess how many could possibly be hiding under my sink? I am hoping the big and small were a husband wife team, not a mother daughter (ie more daughters to come). Oddly enough, I caught the small one first, and naively assumed it was the only one - set the traps againjust as prevention, and imagine my surprise when I caught another one the next night. |
| Carrie Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
Good for you Nina! Now you must find that dead mouse in the kitchen.......I know,I know I'd rather have root canal but it has to be done. That's the problem with poison. I'll stick to the glue traps. By the way I caught a mouse climbing up my window screen in the garage this morning. I quickly closed the window and had him captured between the window and the screen. Coward that I am, I ran to get my husband to dispose of him. Guesse what? No Mouse.....just a hole in the screen the size of a nickel. I think I may have cornered "Mighty Mouse" Think I'll catch a nap before the "Mouse Follies" begin about 4 am. I can hear their little tap shoes in my sleep. Good luck everyone! It's nice to know you"re all out there. |
| Giles Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
Mice watchout, re your post above: You can't add photos to this site. Sorry. |
| Bern Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
Ha! Well it sure was foolish to think that there were only 2. I caught another big one last night w/ the peanut butter. BTW, when I say big I mean about 2 inches long on the body. Regardless, here is another weird thing. I have 3 traps. They are all w/i about a foot of one another, yet on each of the last 3 nights I have only nabbed 1 mouse. Why wouldn't all 3 get caught on the first night. I am starting to think about complaining to the super to fumigate - I can't possibly catch all the mice in the building. I am so sure I have plugged up all the holes, but I guess I better double check that. |
| stevie j Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
hi. ive had mice for a few months. spent big bucks on traps & posions to rid my home of them, but they are v resilient. thus far, the poison has seemingly done v little, the traditional traps have caught nothing, while the "humane" traps have managed one catch. I have two lovebirds and, the other day I spotted one mouse merrily climbing up the bars, on the outside of the cage!! The birds did not seem to mov, or even notice it. The vet has said they could pass on infections to my birds, what would happen if a mouse actually got inside the cage, or do you think this could ALREADY be happening? How come the mice are not scared of the birds? I have arranged for soemone to look after the birds for two weeks. I am borrowing my friends cat, hoping that the scent and presence will scare the mice off, for good. Any help with my other queries would be greatly appreciated |
| stevie j Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
hi. ive had mice for a few months. spent big bucks on traps & posions to rid my home of them, but they are v resilient. thus far, the poison has seemingly done v little, the traditional traps have caught nothing, while the "humane" traps have managed one catch. I have two lovebirds and, the other day I spotted one mouse merrily climbing up the bars, on the outside of the cage!! The birds did not seem to mov, or even notice it. The vet has said they could pass on infections to my birds, what would happen if a mouse actually got inside the cage, or do you think this could ALREADY be happening? How come the mice are not scared of the birds? I have arranged for soemone to look after the birds for two weeks. I am borrowing my friends cat, hoping that the scent and presence will scare the mice off, for good. Any help with my other queries would be greatly appreciated |
| mousehunter Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
As one who abhorred the idea of killing mice, I've reached the point where I'm tired of finding nests made on my tool shelves, stains and peanut shells in an old car in the basement garage and a nest made in a storage box with part of its contents shredded. During the past few days, I've caught four mice using those black plastic d-con mouse traps, which appear to be extremely sensitive. The traps have been baited with peanut butter, but I'm also thinking of using some horse feed, as mice appear to be rather fond of that as well - perhaps it's the molasses in the feed that helps to attract them. |
| Disko Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
Finally have something to give-back to my current favorite website!: Had mice in the garage for years but never in the house until just few weeks ago (coincidental to death of our dog earlier in summer or the weird weather patterns??) Caught a couple but then no takers at the traps even with peanut butter, gummi bears, raisins, snickers --both victor wood snappers and stickys. Genius mouse or mice drove me to rent "Mouse Hunt" --great comedy about 2 brothers(Nathan Lane & Lee Evans), an inherited house and genius mouse. Wife and I well-compensated by laughs --had to pump up resolve to really "get" our own bugger or buggers. Noticed that altho no takers at the traps, the little pest was leaving black-pellet calling cards(aka sh--) in area where we ate our popcorn and didn't perhaps clean up every last crumbl. Thought maybe this guy was a popcorn freak and baited with nice puffy kernel stuck on with some sticky-trap stuff I pulled from one of those. Put snapper ON couch where droppings were seen (newspaper underneath in case it squirted), sticky trap on floor other side of room, and then as an afterthought another wooden snapper w/stickum-popcorn under the very same couch. Next morning checked couch and floor traps -- untouched. Then almost as afterthought, under couch: GOT HIM! Lesson: Maybe you have to find out your particular mouse's favorite dish. Trial, error, and observation. I've re-set to see if he was a lone ranger. |
| Disko Tue, 22nd Oct 2002 |
addendum to mine of few minutes ago: Noticed I left out "cheese" as part of the earlier menu. It didn't work, either. Viva la Popcorn! |
| Gordon Wed, 23rd Oct 2002 |
I've put expanding foam in every nook, cranny, hole etc. after having seen a mouse run across the kitchen floor (scared the living daylights outta me, I hate the little buggers!!)...However, does anyone think the mouse or possibly mice can chew or gnaw through the foam??...It's comforting to see that there's a lot of people in my rotten situation...The worst part of having mice --having to hear them every night scratching and running while I'm asleep! |
| The Exterminator Wed, 23rd Oct 2002 |
Here's how to kill mice: 1. Use cheap wooden victor traps 2. Place bait (use peanut butter because it's sticky) BUT DO NOT SET THE TRAP FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. The mice will become comfortable with it's surroundings and available bait. 3. Repeat # 2 BUT NOW SET THE TRAP. You will now kill all your mice - gauranteed! This is what exterminators charge $40/ hour for. |
| Carrie Wed, 23rd Oct 2002 |
I don't know if they can eat through foam Gordon, but as I mentioned the other day,I had one that managed to make a hole in my window screen. I thought about the foam but it seems difficult to control. I was afraid of creating a mess I couldn't clean up. I'm depressed today,I guess it's lack of sleep. Last night was really bad. They were out on my porch(carefully avoiding all the traps)trying to come through the doggie door to my bedroom. I finally barracaded the door with wood. What did we do to deserve this? It's all I can think about all day. I read they don't like the smell of peppermint. I've got dried leaves sprinkled everywhere. Hope it deters the little creeps. Will let you know. Glad you're all out there. Nina,did you find the little corpse yet? |
| Chelle Wed, 23rd Oct 2002 |
Wow, figured that with all that everyone had posted that I wouldn't have anything to add. Never had meeses before, until Henry. I was told that since I have kids I should get sticky traps. I knew I didn't want poison because of the smell. Laid one out which after a couple of nights *disappeared!* I can understand him getting HIM in lil openings, but Where Did My Trap go?!? I kept picturing this lil jerk with a trap stuck to his head being made fun of in Mouseville. No smell. hmm. So last week, after a month of seeing nothing, he comes haulin across the kitchen. Guess he ditched the trap somewhere under the cabinets. I keep my apartment immaculate, and he isn't eating out of the cabinets. So last nite I left a fat dallop of chunky peanut butter on the trap, it hasn't even been licked on. I've moved the sticky traps around to ..guide.. him.. I think after the first Henry figured out not to go Near one.. hoping using them to guide him to the snap one will work. Living or dead, one morning I am going to find him on one of the traps and escort his carcass to the dumpster via plastic walmart bags. Or next week I will smuggle a friends mouser cat in (Very against my lease!). If I do, I will buy her 2 cans of the very best tuna..... Oh and thanks, the site is very entertaining! |
| Courtney Thu, 24th Oct 2002 |
I've got a wooden spring-loaded trap in my cupboard and the mose is in it. I'm trying to get the nerve to look at him and figure out whether he could even survive. If he can, I'm not sure how I'll get him out and release him.. |
| Carrie Thu, 24th Oct 2002 |
Courtney,I know how you feel but this is war. If you don't remove him the smell will be awful. Use plastic gloves! If he is still alive you will have to drown him in a pail of soapy water.Don't let him suffer. It's terrible I know but there is no alternative. JUST DO IT! We're all rooting for you. |
| Disko Thu, 24th Oct 2002 |
Carrie: For your depression: rent "Mouse Hunt". |
| Disko Thu, 24th Oct 2002 |
Exterminator: I'll give the baited/unset-for-a-few-days method a try but will it be as effective since I've used alot of those same traps set? You're implying the mice are "discerning" enough to see/sense the difference between the same trap set or unset. Wouldn't this carry over and either keep them from biting at it either way? Or will they see the trap is unset, get in the new "habit" of eating the bait and then not notice it's been re-set and get caught? Let me know since time is of the essence: I'm trying to catch them before they breed more (nuclear capability in the family sense?). |
| The Exterminator Fri, 25th Oct 2002 |
Hi Disko, fortunately for us the mice are not smart enough to sense the difference between a set/unset trap or us poor souls with rodents would be in big trouble. Mice always work on instinct. Unsetting the traps for a couple of days will instinctively tell them to go back for more . Thus, once set, trapping the mice will be much easier. This method takes patience and must be repeated over a substantial period of time. Eventually you will catch most or all of your mice. Everyone with mice should keep in mind that now is the peak season since most mice are instinctively seeking shelter from the cold. Although hard to do sometimes, we must also try to plug all exterior holes, crevaces, cracks. Also get rid of clutter in sheds, attics, closets and keep a tight lid over garbage cans. Good luck! |
| Unhappy Host Fri, 25th Oct 2002 |
Disko you are right about finding out what your mice like to eat. Wednesday, while preparing lunch for the kids, I noticed something had been feasting on our bread. I freaked!! My husband said rat. We set glue traps with peanut butter scooped on the center. I put several on the kitchen floor and one in the cabinet. When I got home from work the cabinet trap had been tipped. I had another panic attack. I emptied the cabinet and found droppings. They were small and we figured it was probably a field mouse or more. I set a maze around the same cabinet with the glue traps and peanut butter - but this time I put bread on the p/b. I scattered some cans and boxes around the traps, shut the lights and hoped to get some sleep. My husband woke me to say we successfully cought a big, big mouse and a little one. Just to be safe I left the last glue trap in the cabinet. I drove my daughter to school and shockingly discovered another mouse. I think it must be a family. Maybe the big one is mama. Hopefully we will be lucky and that is the last of them. The bread did the trick - thats what they had been living on : ) |
| sick&tired Fri, 25th Oct 2002 |
2 nights ago i heard a scratching noise in the restroom, noise ive never heard before. today i heard the same noise in the kitchen. i know what the noise is and just out of curiousity does anyone know if the mice or mouse are in the house or are trying to get in the house... |
| sick&tired Fri, 25th Oct 2002 |
2 nights ago i heard a scratching noise in the restroom, noise ive never heard before. today i heard the same noise in the kitchen. i know what the noise is and just out of curiousity does anyone know if the mice or mouse are in the house or are trying to get in the house... |
| Mice watchout Fri, 25th Oct 2002 |
sick&tired........... why don't you set up a web cam and we can all watch !!!!!!! |
| unhappy Host Fri, 25th Oct 2002 |
Well woke up and all traps clear. Could I be lucky enough to solve the visitor problem within 24 hours????? |
| sick&tired Sat, 26th Oct 2002 |
well night # 3 and its/they(?) is/are still scratching.... sorry Mice watchout but all I can do is hear it/them (?) im not even sure if its one or two any suggestions...last night i set up the 5gal. bucket trap under the house and no results yet. now i am going to try mouse traps.....does anyone think they/it are/is in my home???? |
| losing sleep..... Sat, 26th Oct 2002 |
ok....they are in the walls and i am freaked out.....how do they get there and how do i get them to leave? i have found a few droppings here and there and i have plugged up all the holes i can find...this is maddening.....hhhhheeeeelllllppppppp..... |
| little bit Sat, 26th Oct 2002 |
I've lived here for 1 1/2 yrs. and had never had any problems. Now in the course of two weeks I've caught two mice using glue traps and I know there is AT LEAST two more! I'm going nuts!! I have no clue how they are getting in or what else to do. Thanks to you guys I now realize that they can come through even smaller holes than I imagined. In little holes I am going to try the foamer but does any one know if they can gnaw through it?? Any other suggestions?? |
| unhappy host Sat, 26th Oct 2002 |
Little Bit I got a tip that may have worked. A friend told me that when she had mice they were getting in through the opening where her gas line came into the house. Since my mice were getting into a cabinet where my stove plugged in I checked my propane line. And sure enough we found scratch marks and clues that they could be getting in through the tiny little opening. We stuffed the opening with steel wool and siloconed around it. No mice last night. Our fingers are crossed. |
| Canadian Mousehunter Sat, 26th Oct 2002 |
What a great site! Just what I needed. Our great mousehunting expedition started about a month ago when I saw a mouse scuttle underneath the refrigerator. Since then, we've caught only two of the little critters and we just saw another one last night. We hired an exterminator, who came over, looked around and said Yep you have mice! Then charged us $60 for traps which haven't caught a single one yet. We're using the cheap wooden traps now and, being the hopeful sorts we are, both times we've caught mice, we've hoped the problem was over. But the mousehunt continues... We were just laughing today about how two normally peaceful, animal loving people have turned into bloodthirsty mouse killers over this. Good luck to everyone! |
| Gordon Sat, 26th Oct 2002 |
Not sure if the mice can gnaw through the expanding foam but keep in mind that the foam expands to 5 times it's original application...that's a lot of chewing and gnawing!! When I first applied the foam it was messy but well worth it. Remember to wear gloves when applying. What other advice did the exterminator give you Canadian Mousehunter? looks like you could of saved $60 and catch them yourselves using the traps. |
| little bit Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
I think I know where they are coming from finally. I stuffed the holes with steel wool but I haven't sealed around it yet. I set up glue traps just in case there are a couple of them loose already. If I do catch one how should I dispose of it since it will still be alive? |
| Nina Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
Carrie, yes, we found the dead mouse on a glue trap under the kitchen sink. Ewwwww. The smell is the worst thing ever. The kitchen still smells of it, though not as bad as before. Disgusting smell, though! And, yes, Courteney, just get rid of the bugger ASAP. Believe me, the smell is absolutely awful! They don't like peppermint, eh? Oooh. Every little rustling sound I hear has gotten me on edge. And my eyes are playing tricks on me, because sometimes I swear I can see things darting past me. Bah! I hate mice! |
| Carrie Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
Well mouseketeers I think I've got them all. No mouse poop around. No scratching,no sightings in 2 days. I'm convinced that if you don't put all your food in plastic containers and take up the dog food at night and put it in a container, it will never end. Save all your large glass jars for this purpose. They are great. Bottom line, the sticky traps caught all (I think)the mice. I bought 4 of those Victor sonic things and they may be helping also. It's hard to tell. Will keep checking back to see how you are all doing. Good luck! |
| Carrie Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
Nina I'm glad you found the little corpse! I know exactly how you feel. I've been checking out every little noise and could swear I saw something running around my porch yesterday. I guess we'll get over it eventually. At least I hope so. |
| Canadian Mousehunter Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
The exterminator said not to use poison unless it's a serious infestation or they are nesting outside. She checked for spots where they could be getting inside the house. But other than giving us some glueboard traps, it wasn't worth the price. They do offer a good service for the squeamish. They will come empty and reset your traps...for a fee, of course. But if I have to deal with it alone, I think it may just be worth the money. We seem to catch one, then nothing for a week. I'm starting to think the mice are just taunting us. Just when we think we're safe...they're baaa-aaack! |
| Laura Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
Well, I was too confident in my victory over the little buggers. In the week we have caught about 7 mice. The little bugger are walking behind the cupboards and climbing into the bread drawer. Ours seem to like walnuts. We got new glue traps that are really like glue trays. They work MUCH better than the regular pads of cardboard. This morning I was woke up by my 4 year old whispering "MOM, we caught a mouse... and he's blinking at me" Get up to check and that little sucker was good and stuck, so I just left him for my husband to deal with. |
| Laura Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
little bit, I know this is not the most humane way, but my husband puts them in a ziplock bag and squeezes the air out, then seal the bag and disposes of it in the trash can. we have had |
| Disko Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
Thanks Exterminator for the explanation. I've been leaving them unset for 2-3 days but maybe it'll take longer for their "instinct" to relax. One interesting observation: The droppings have been remarkably repetitive in same spots, sometime exactly the same. Are they marking territory? It's not the spot's odor or residue because we clean up after each "deposit." One favorite spot is the kitchen counter adjacent to the sink. Another is the couch in the family room. They never miss a day there but seem to limit it to only once a day., a dropping or two. Almost makes them seem either considerate, discrete or just looking for a ritual spot. And of course the weird thing is that no matter what you leave out for them to gourmet snack on (popcorn,gummi bears, snickers, granola, cheese etc. they'll never touch it. What're they subsisting on? And is my house only a "rest room" for them? Funny thing is that with all the scarey crap going on all over the planet (snipers, suicide bombers, planes of Democrat senators crashing etc.) you almost want to adopt the little varmints as pets. We know they can break-in a house but are they house-breakable? Does anyone have a line on whether they carry disease and what kinds? |
| Canadian Mousehunter Sun, 27th Oct 2002 |
Picked this info up from another site... "Mice can spread more than 20 kinds of organisms that can cause diseases of humans and pets. These include a variety of food poisoning bacteria like Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli, and others; tapeworms, mites, ticks, and rickettsial pox. Other rodents, which are widespread and may also come indoors for the winter such as deer mice, can carry and spread other disease organisms like hantavirus and plague." Scary stuff. I hope mine are just plain old house mice. |
| The Exterminator Mon, 28th Oct 2002 |
- Try setting the traps at right angles to the wall with baited end of trap towards the wall. -Set a large number of traps ( 1 per yard) along the walls closest to where the droppings are visible -Try peaunut butter mixed with oats, raisons or gummies -Mice will die of stress without food or water, so there must be a food source somewhere. Also check for leaky pipes since they are attracted to water -be patient. It can sometimes take more than 2 weeks before successfully killing mice using traps. As far as mice-proofing your home: -use weatherstripping under doors. Also weatherstrip all windows. -patch all cracks in foundation -stuff steel wool around pipes - rodents hate steel wool!! -cover dryer vents, attic vents with metal screening -Remove ALL CLUTTER around the home -cut tall grass around house -secure garbage with tight lids -woodpiles should be placed at a good distance from the house -ELIMINATE ALL WATER SOURCES such as leaky taps, sweating pipes, and open drains. Mice are attracted to all water sources. -Absolutely NO crumbs on the kitchen floor or anywhere else in the house. Put all dry goods including cereal, grains, pet foods in containers or tupperware. When cleaning mice droppings: -always wipe up droppings. Never sweep or vacuum the droppings -wash hands after cleanup -Always use gloves to dispose of dead mice -wrap the dead mouse in a plastic bag, then put it in the garbage About Ultrasonic devices: -do not use them in areas where the traps are. In the short term, it will drive them into areas where the traps are. -but remember - THEY WILL ADAPT TO THE ULTRASONIC DEVICES OVER TIME AND WILL RETURN EVENTUALLY. Using traps, in my opinion ,is the most effective method. |
| unhappy host Mon, 28th Oct 2002 |
O.K. day 4 and no sign of any mice. No droppings. We put steel wool wherever we should and filled he cabinets back up with our canned goods and bread. I believe they were definately coming in through the propane gas line, feasting on our bread and exiting the way they entered. Fingers are still crossed. |
| curt Mon, 28th Oct 2002 |
update to our mice story...been about 5 weeks since we saw the signs. Still have only caught the one in the trash can in the bathroom, and none in any traps. We put everything back in th e cuboards about 2 weeks ago and have yet to see any more signs. As hard as it is for me to believe, we may have only had the one mouse, unless it was the only one that was getting into our food...hard to believe. I'll update later if anything changes. |
| unhappy host Mon, 28th Oct 2002 |
Day 5 - Still haven't seen any signs of the little unwanted house pests. |
| Heeven Mon, 28th Oct 2002 |
I just caught 16 meeces this weekend. I used those covered traps (it's black and I don't even see the mouse inside) and baited them with peanut butter. I knew exactly where the mice were coming from so I positioned the trap directly at the hole in the baseboard and snap, snap, snap. As soon as I caught one, I replaced with a new trap and half an hour later ... snap again. I was carrying little corpses out to the dumpster for two days! The sonic thingie doesn't work. I watched one of my furry friends strolling underneath it without a care in the world. Now I just need to get rid of the smell of all those little dead bodies - specially since the radiator was right beside the mousetrap and it enhanced the smell. Any suggestions? |
| stevej Tue, 29th Oct 2002 |
would just like to say, i got a kitten in for a week and, there has been no sign off the mice, or any further droppings for over a week. the cat hasn't caught any, but maybe it's presence is scaring them off. Also, another quite cheap and easy option for blocking holes - kitchen foil? |
| Stevie Wed, 30th Oct 2002 |
Caught six within a few days baiting cheap wooden traps with chocolate. (Hersheys Kisses work great) You can soften them a little in the microwave. Mice love chocolate!! I've tried cheese, peanut butter, but chocolate is the answer. Give it a try. |
| Carrie Wed, 30th Oct 2002 |
They're back! At least one is for sure. We found poop on my husband's chair on the porch. They seem to love that spot. Haven't caught him yet. Will get more sticky traps and put them everywhere. Thanks Exterminator,for all the good suggestions. You are absolutely right about using metal screening. I saw one eat right through my non metal window screen when he was trapped between window and screen. I keep hearing little noises all night long. I guess it's battle fatigue. Could be my imagination as well! Good luck everyone. |
| Cameron Wed, 30th Oct 2002 |
Great Message Board, and a heaven sent. I have the smartest mice I've ever seen in my house right now, but I'll talk of that in another post. For now here's a highlight of my history with mice. Let me tell ya. Every place I've lived (2 houses growing up, 2 apartments, 1 carriage house, current house) I've battled mice. Hand to hand combat was in order on 3 occasions. 1. Poisons are a bad idea. Once lived in a townhome and the neighbors next door apparently had a mouse that fell victim to the poison they put out. Make a long story short the mouse(now sick from the poison) apparently flees to our side of the building. I didn't know he was around till one hot summer night. I remember it well. I was sleeping with my shirt off, the windows were open, we had fans blowing in the room and I had a bit of perspiration on my back from the humidity (good ole Midwest USA). All of a sudden I feel somethin like the tips of fingernails run down the small of my back. At first I thought maybe it was my wife but I knew better, she's not kinky like that(unfortunately). sure you'll appreciate the improved shoulder strength. After a few years, you'll really appreciate the pain-free and healthy shoulders. Then I felt something between my legs ever so slightly move. (Near my crotch mind you!). I knew it was a mouse, I couldn't believe it. A fuckin mouse getting that close to a human being is very rare. It had to be sick. I was lying on my stomach , so I flipped over quickly to see that my wife was still sleep and that a little mound was poking through the sheets moving around between my legs. I GENTLY woke my wife to tell her to turn on the light for me. Her first question of course "what's wrong?". "Just turn on the light!" I said. Hell if I told her a mouse was in the bed with us she would have freaked to no end. I slide out of the bed slowly while my wife keeps yellin at me "Just tell me what fuck is goin on!" No time to argue w/ her now. I'm pissed and I'm zoned in. The innate animalistic instincts have taken over and this mouse is 'bout to get an ass whippin. I'm thinking to myself "the audacity of this little mutha fucka" I manage get out of the bed w/out startling the mouse out of the bed. So it's still under the covers. Right where I want it. Of course my wife knows whats goin on by this time, blames me, and then goes to check on our daughter who was 2yrs old at the time. I slip on some hard sole dress shoes and go into stealth mode. My strategy was to yank the covers up fast and whack the punk before it had a chance to scamper. There was no plan B. So that's what I did. Yanked the covers straight up into the air, but the mouse went aerial too. I watched it do a triple somersault and twist in the air before landing on the bedroom floor and running back under the same covers I just threw off the bed. As soon as I saw an inkling of movement come from under the covers my instinct took over. I jumped up way up in the air toward the mound in the covers and landed smack dab on that little bitch. The heal of the dress shoes I had on is what made contact. Optimum impact to say the least. I'll spare you the details of the cleanup afterwards. Guts were everywhere. I hate mice! |
| At-Risko Thu, 31st Oct 2002 |
I've changed my name from Disko after hearing the CBS Evening News report tonight. Dan Rather had a report on Hantavirus which is showing signs of replacing WestNileVirus as the plague of the day. There have been a few hundred deaths and apparently some flare up mostly out west. Go to "Hantavirus" website for vital information. Above all: stop using vacuum cleanersor anything else that could get them airborne. hat's apparently the main way of spreading and catching it: an aerosol effect. Clean the turds up with as little break-up as possible: a damp tissue lightly adhering to them and then disposed with as little contact as possible seems the way to go. Or STAY! |
| The Kel Fri, 1st Nov 2002 |
Wow. I've just spent a good hour reading the contents within. GREAT SITE! My Mousey Joy began two years ago, when we moved into an old house in a quiet neighborhood. By all outward appearances, it looks like an ideal place to raise a family, kids running around outside, friendly neighbors, little evening noise, etc. Then, most suddenly, it happened. I was laying awake in bed one night when, to my suprise, I heard rustling upstairs. Light rustling mind you, I thought maybe it was the wind. I shrugged my shoulders, put a pillow over my head, and attempted to drift off to sleep. Just as I was about to doze off, I hear this incessant pounding right over my head. Sounded like the damn thing wieghed over 5 pounds. Being the Kansas Boy I am, I thought it was a possum, and set out to destroy it. The house is an older one-story model, with an absolute maze of an attic. I asked my neighbor if I could borrow a ladder, I was venturing into the unkown, a black space very few men had seen in their lifetime, a space completely devoid of logic and understanding.. I was headed for rucous room of doom. My neighbor, being the friendly native Californian sort, looked at me like I was on drugs when I told him I suspected a Possum was in my roof. He advised me that there were many mice/rats in the neighborhood, and that they loved to hop rooves using the trees around our homes. He had no ladder, so I went to plan B. The only way to access the roof is via the garage, where an earlier house fire and subsequent re-build rendered the ceiling open. I pulled the car into the Garage, climbed on top, and with my trusty high-powered BB gun in one hand, and a flashlight in the other, set out to DESTROY whatever mouse/rat had invaded my house. Too smart. Didn't see a single pest. Found many droppings, and found myself covered in Grime when all was said and done. Fine. Lived that way for a while, even came to referring to our mousey friends as 'Our neighbors upstairs'. The kids were scared of the pounding, squeaking, and other noises at first, until I told them the mice were having a party upstairs. I nearly fell over laughing when our three year old asked if it was a birthday party. Mice and people co-habitating, as they had done for thousands of years, no big deal. All that changed three weeks ago, when I was suddenly suprised by a furry intruder in my house! Unbelieveable. They were finding their way to the seed we keep for the birds. I sealed up their entry point with thick particle board and duct-tape. Next, I set out to completely obliterate my home of these 'neighbors'. I'm a smoker, my biggest vice, but never smoke in the house. I usually step out into the Garage, enjoy my horrid habit, and head back in. One night I was out smoking, and I saw the little guy run up an old bed frame we have against a far wall, and escalate to the ceiling via a bicycle we have hanging upside-down. Determined, I armed myself with my trusty high-powered BB-gun, and waited patiently for a few hours. After taking several shots at various vermin, I decided that my shot needed practice, and that I needed a more traditional way of disposing of the rodents. I bought three heavy grade rat traps. (These mice are particulary large. They're definitely mice but a body length of a good 3-4 inches long) and laced them with Peanut Butter. On the first night, I nailed One. Reset the trap that sprung, and have been monitoring them over the past few nights. PB licked clean, but no kills. I replaced my traps to different locations, and nailed my second last night. I'm on a mission my friends, These rodents have had me sleeping with a pillow over my head for the past year now, and I'm sick of it. It would be quite pleasureable to witness one's head come clean off at my expert shot, but for now, the spring traps are doing the job. Heck, I'm not insane, but very patient! To this my friends, I have lost my patience. I can't deal with it anymore, and it is Truely WAR. I think i'll be alittle more adventerous and try some DOTS on my traps. I will say, the two kills happened in exactly the same place, and the dead seem to be exact mirrors of each other. BIG mice, no patience, big problem. Again, GREAT SITE! Will keep you all advised of my progress. |
| Sue Fri, 1st Nov 2002 |
I live in an old farm-house, have two young children (4&5) and keep horses therefore you could say that my problems are self-inflicted!!. The house is large, old, rambling and surrounded by fields and livestock housing. The kids are pretty free range as well and have a habit of abandoning half-eaten food of all descriptions in the most unlikely places (found a part packet of crisps in daughter's dolls house last night........) My only allies in this constant struggle are a number of feral cats that live in and around our outbuildings- but I'm still not sure if the mice move into the house to escape the cats!!. Over the last 8 yrs I've tried live capture traps (and spent an hour watching a family of baby mice playing tag/hide & seek around, in and on top of the trap. I've tried the pre-baited (chocolate essence) V-traps. These seem to lack sensitivity - the only mouse I've caught on these had been emptying the trap (of added chocolate) for about 10 days prior to capture - I think the amount of weight he put on eventually led to his downfall!. The only sucessful baits I've found are chocolate, popcorn, roasted peanuts or dried peas (flaked or whole). Peanut butter was a total dead-loss and just made a mess. Has anyone had any luck with the bucket of water and floating bait tray yet - this might be useful in the outbuildings to keep the numbers down generally. Any further ideas or solutions eagerly awaited, good hunting everyone! |
| The Kel Fri, 1st Nov 2002 |
I guess he thought he was a pilot! I was sitting in my living room last night, when I heard the distinctive *Snap*. I took a deep breath, and headed out to the garage. The little &$#% came in on the wrong side of the trap, (which appeared empty) he set it off, and went flying! I was checking the trap, it was empty, and just as I was thinking, "How in the hell did you do that?" I saw him. Huddled in a ball, obviously stunned from his flight. This is where a high-powered BB Gun is helpful my friends. One shot to the back of the head. He twitched for a bit, but died soon after. I disposed of him, and reset the trap. That makes three. I can't say I heard rustling upstairs last night, but I'll reset them all just to be sure. Happy Hunting! |
| Cameron Fri, 1st Nov 2002 |
These mice I have won't go for anything! I've got quite a few too. I live in an older house where there are lots of ways to enter the house. These menaces' are in my air and venting systems (the registers and air returns are on the floor) and use them as an underground highway in my house. I have 2 young daughters(2 & 6yrs.) too. I don't know what I'm gonna do. These chumps won't go for spring traps (used peant butter and gummy bears) and the glue traps have failed. And when I set the traps I put them in the pathways I've seen them at. I chased one with mop. It was running along side a wall where I had 2 or 3 glue traps. I thought that as it tried to run from me it'd run smack into a trap. But nope! This little bugger ran sideways along the base board everytime it got close to a glue trap. These mice in my house have seen all the tricks man. That incedent alone really discouraged me in terms of my chances in catching these rodents. Now reading about the hantavirus outbreak I'm thinking of just havin pest control come in and fumigate the place one weekend and take the family on a little vacation. But I really don't want to do that if I don't have too. Any suggestions? |
| The Kel Fri, 1st Nov 2002 |
Cameron, You may have an old house, but your first step is to seal up their entry points. This means that you will have to get grimey one weekend, go buy some solid kitchen gloves, and a quality dust-mask. If Haunta is a concern in your area, take a small spray bottle with you. This can eliminate small amounts of dust which may contain the bug, and your mask will help. It's hard this time of year, at least in the states, where the mice may stay inside all day. You HAVE to seal up your home before you even consider the Trap Route. After sealing up everything, think about your traps. If they aren't even touching them, then their food supply must be very large. Check pantries, cabinets, and other food-storage areas to see what they're into. Dry rice and beans are attractive to some mice, but it stands to reason that if they aren't even going for what seems to be 'Free' food, they must have a lot to eat from elsewhere. Make sure that rooms are clear of food particles, and keep the girls from dropping food on the floor, if possible. (I've got two young lads myself, and training them to clean up EVERY SPECK after themselves took time, but well worth it.) Once sanitation isn't an issue, and food sources have been eliminated, put your traps out for a few nights in 'non-lethal' positions near their nesting sites. Mice only have a living radius of around 10-30ft, so you'll want to set traps in and around this area. (You might see them move outside of this area, especially if you're chasing them with a mop...) Put your traps in dark areas, and if you find evidence of a food source, put that same food-source on the trap near where it used to be. Make sure you tie your traps down somehow. Small hooks and fishingline work well. I personally have a high-powered BB gun to finish off any that are still alive, but this may be overboard for some people. (I've simply had it. Read above.) If you take these precautions, and plan your attack, you're likely to be more successful. Hope this helps! |
| Cameron Fri, 1st Nov 2002 |
Thanx, The Kel. Yeah I don't know what's goin on. I know there must be quite a few because I've seen tiny mice runnin around late at night also. I sleep on a futon and the frame is fairly close to the ground. I've seen them (in numerous occasions) come in to my room late at night when I have the light off. I Leave the hall light on and my door cracked too, so I can hear when my youngest daughter gets up to use the bathroom. One night I was just drifting off to sleep, I mean my eyes were probably closed for about a minute. Instinct told me to open my eyes. What I saw pissed me off so much I couldn't go to sleep the rest of the night. One of those little fuckers was right in the middle of sneakin in my room and as soon as it saw that I wasn't actually sleep it took off. These damn things have our schedule down! This is where your bebe gun suggestion will come quite in handy. Cause when I keep my door cracked open I see at least one of them runnin the halls at least 3 nights out of the week. I've chased 2 out of my girl's room before. If I've got that bebe gun by my side, I'm sure I can snipe a few. How powerful does the pressure of the bebe gun have to be? Will a bebe pistol work> |
| The Kel Sat, 2nd Nov 2002 |
Mine is a .177 caliber and can be used for either BB's or Pellets. I find bb's are easier to load, but Pellets would be much more effective at quickly killing the little bastards. The type I have is a pump-action, much like a BB-rifle, but it's a pistol, and very powerful. 10-13 pumps put enough velocity on the BB to sent it half way through the white-pages. I wouldn't pump more than this, as the air reservior might rupture. I wouldn't think that a standard spring pistol would work very well, My adolescent days of 'BB-Gun War' (a very stupid thing in retrospect) taught me that the velocity of the projectile from these guns is very low. The bb is visible in flight, and markedly dips soon after shooting, much like tossing a small pebble. I guess I'd recommend the model I have. It's not likely that you'd see more than one at a time, but if you're absolutely infested, there are CO2 models available that use small gas-filled cylinders to power the BB. Some of these are semi-automatic, meaning that every time you pull the trigger, a BB is expelled. The problem with these is that only the first two or three shots are effective. After that, the compression in the CO2 cartridge is significantly lower due to cooling. The nice thing about the type I have is that it isn't lethal to humans, but is very effective against smaller animals. The mouse I shot last night was quickly killed, and there was very little evidence of the shot. They're as loud as a spring trap, and you have some control over what's happening. IF you get a BB gun, keep it out of reach of the kids, and PRACTICE. You're not going to hit much of anything out of the box, and you'll likely have to adjust the sights. I'd recommend going online to find resources on shooting technique, but these are too extreme for me, so a basic rule of thumb is to control your breathing, don't hold your breath as you shoot, but shoot as you exhale. If possible use something to support your shot, A futon frame should work nicely. Practice makes perfect! Certainly puts a whole new spin on 'Happy Hunting' eh? lol |
| The Kel Sat, 2nd Nov 2002 |
The one I have is sort of like this: http://www.airgunstore.com/PISTOLS/DMOD747.HTM But it's a bit older, and didn't cost as much.. :) |
| The Kel Sat, 2nd Nov 2002 |
In fact, this IS the one I have: Crossman 1377 Uses BB's and Pellets, and the projectile travels at 600 ft per second. |
| Cameron Sat, 2nd Nov 2002 |
Very nice! Thanx The Kel! I don't even believe in having guns in households but, like you I had my share of bb wars when I was a youngin too! Thanx again! |
| John Sat, 2nd Nov 2002 |
I use TWIX and MARS BAR to bait traps. I reckon if the little blighter, I call him Hugh ( as in Hugh Dini), keeps getting away with the bait and doesn't get caught in the trap it'll eventually rot his teeth and he'll starve to death, MAYBE |
| Heidi Sun, 3rd Nov 2002 |
We just started having a problem with these darn mice, in fact, I am sure I hear them in the duct work right now. We got our first "victim" yesterday morning with a Milk Dud on a glue trap. With Halloween having just passed, we had more candy in the house than usual, and the little pests ate a bunch of Milk Duds, so that I what we used for bait. Hope we are done with this problem soon. Good luck to all of you. |
| The Kel Mon, 4th Nov 2002 |
I'm designing a TRAP for these little Sh*ts... I suspect it'll work well, as soon as I set about building it. The problem is that these pests are in the roof. The roof is open at the garage, and this is where i've killed 5 of them so far. The trap consists of three main parts: A spring-loaded wheel that rotates on axis in the middle. This wheel is approximately 1 foot in diameter, and 4 inches wide. There is a 3.5inch hole through the middle of the wheel, made of cheap plastic plates and several plastic soda bottles. The wheel's 'entrance' is made level with one of the rafters, (the one that killed two of them) so that the mice enter at one end to retrieve food from the other. When the mouse enters the trap, their wieght causes the wheel to swivel downward, essentially dumping the mouse into a funnel, created with 5 gallon buckets. The funnel leads directly into a cage, complete with wood shavings and lots of food/water. A spring on the wheel rotates the device back to 'Ready', allowing multiple mice to be caught in a night. After I catch them, I think i'll take them to a field 3-4 miles from home and dump them out. I think this will do better for my conscience, let the snakes/hawks/owls get em, instead of the lethal BB Gun shot. Halloween is over, and we too have lots of candy in the house. I'm finding that Tootsie rolls are ideal. They have the consistency of un-chewed bubble-gum, and can be molded into practically anything. Their chewiness prompts quick set-off of the standard spring traps. (for those of you failing with Peanut Butter) I've nailed 5 already, and the rucous room is more active than ever. Time to try a 'quick catch' solution. Warmest Regards, & Happy Hunting! |
| Don Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
Question I recently discovered that I had rodents in my house and have set traps that have caught two of the pest. I thought it was over but no such luck I have found more dropings. Although, I rent my flat I quite like it and dont really wish to move (but it may be an option). So i am wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of the mouse urine smell. Does the fact that I am being overwhekned by the smell mean I have a very serious problem? |
| losing sleep..... Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
Hi....First off, thank you Giles for this site...It is wonderful and a lifesaver, emotionally anyway... I have had the exterminator in and he set some Protecta Bait traps and I have noticed some greenish coloured mouse poops showing up which makes me feel that the poison is working. I have spent countless hours plugging up the tiniest of holes with steel wool and silicone and yet I still have something LOUD looming above overhead in the ceiling making skibbling and thumping noises....Could I possibly have RATS on top of the mice??? Do they live side by side? I am nearly about to give up all hope here...I MUST get a good night's sleep soon....Any help or ideas anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and good luck to all. |
| james Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
god bless you, giles, and all of you other participants for the support and comraderie. i love this website. i'm up in the middle of the night, having been awakened by the sound of a mouse in a have-a-heart (plastic tube) trap. i didn't realize he'd actually been caught because sometimes the traps shut on their own. i picked up the trap to see if it had worked (i've only been aware of the mice in my house for a week or so), but the trap felt so light in weight i assumed that all that was in there was the bait -- cheese. instead, i opened the trap (stupid, stupid) and the dark grey so-and-so jumped out, startling me fairly well. my girlfriend, who doubted the traps were big enough to work at all, says she still won't believe the things work until she has proof. i hope the little rodent is dumb enough to return. bottom line: the plastic, so-called humane traps work. when you think you've made a capture, you probably have. |
| Bill Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
My Mice have been living in my false ceiling for about 3 months now a so far I haven't been able to catch the little SOB's, but I have gotten some excellent info from this site!!! Thank you all! I will let you know what works... |
| HeidiS Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
Has anyone ever had just one mouse? We caught one Friday morning and have NO evidence of mice. No droppings, etc. I heard there are almost always at least two though. Is there any truth to this or could we have lucked out with only one? |
| The Kel Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
Don, I suspect you may have a serious problem, or the natural air entering your house is coming in from where your mousey neighbors hang out. You should be able to smell it more strongly in one area than another, use Baking Soda or Borax to lighten the smell. Losing Sleep... I would NOT let the exterminator put poison bait down to eliminate the pests. Yes, they'll eat it, and Yeah, they'll likely die, but WHERE will they die? In your walls? ceilings? floors? You may find yourself surrounded with the rather unpleasant odor of decaying vermin. Also, Poison contaminates the mouse while it's still alive. If a neighbors pet decides to catch and chew on one, they too can become sick and die. Bill, my 'Neighbors Upstairs' are as annoying as ever. I've set many spring traps with much success in my Garage, where the ceiling is open. I place these traps on the rafters themselves, elevated. When the traps go off, I know immediately, either I hear them, or I see the carcass of vermin when I step out, as they fall to the floor. HeidiS, possible, but not likely. I suppose it has to start with One mouse, so it's possible that you've had the last of it, but if they got in one time, they'll do it again. Seal things up so they don't make a return appearance. Hope this helps! (Oh, and if you have particularly large mice, the small traps don't seem to work. I set eight in the rafters last night, and two have sprung, with nary a vermin to be found.) |
| sleepless in hull- Tue, 5th Nov 2002 |
ok "losing sleep"- right seems there is a reply to your query- YES i am sorry to inform you that it is possible for miiiccee and mean ole rats to live side by side- take my advice- bite the bullet get in the exterminator and get some rest and relaxation..... |
| Don Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
That it is I seen another two. Estate Agent either gets rid of mice or loses a tenant as the smell is unbelievable (which I hope is do to the lack of ventalation in the cuboard |
| Susan Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
This site is hilarious! I never thought I'd be able to laugh at my mouse situation. I too have gone from an "they're so cute - I'll spend $5 on a humane trap" phase (which caught nothing) to the "this is WAR" phase. I've bought some good old wooden Victor traps, and am ready to distribute liberally around my apartment, but I can't seem to set the bloody things. I'm embarrassed to admit this, since everyone else seems to be able to do it. Can anyone help? I really am an intelligent, resourceful, tool using person. (Maybe I'm just "mousetrap challenged"). I live in Alaska, and up here we have really cute little voles which get in, as well as the generic house mice. My guys are tiny with black fur, and I suspect voles are what I'm dealing with. |
| Jesse Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
I saw a mouse peek out from behind the bookcase last week. Damn thing looked me right in the eye and ran off. I've put poison down but with no luck. I keep finding droppings everywhere in my small apartment and it is grossing me out so will try the glue today. Someone told me to get a cat because the mouse will smell it and go away. True? |
| The Kel Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
Jesse, would not recommend poison, you never know where they'll die. (it takes 4-5 days for it to work) Re Cat, whether that's true or not, if you can stand a cat, get one. You'll want to get an adult though, a kitten won't do much for a while. Your cat will catch the mice though, so poison is NOT a good idea. |
| Anonymous Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
Susan, Check out this site for instructions on setting your traps: http://www.victorpest.com/mouse_instructions.htm Hope that helps! |
| Jesse Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
I should clean up the poison before acquiring the cat. I don't want this to backfire. There are many methods these days (including the plug in electric zapper and the ultra wave sound thingy). But it seems like the best is the old school snap trap. I am willing to try them all just get these mice out of my house! |
| The Kel Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
I just found this idea for a trap... I think i'll try it! My mice are 'Trap Smart' now, they won't go near em. I suspect this *may* work... ;) http://www.apemen.com/clubhouse/fixit/better_mousetrap.html |
| Susan Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
I found the victorpest site after I posted, and it did help. (Still feel very dumb) I found out that my problem with setting the traps was that I was too rough with them. After having a mouse come out from behind my refrigerator and stare at me while I was watching television, I decided I had to try one more time dammit! I put out six traps, and no sooner had I gone to bed when I heard the first one snap. "Ahh, success", I thought. HAH! I felt sorry for the mice, but when I looked this morning 2 of the 6 traps had been sprung - and no mouse. ARRRRGH! PLEASE all you cat buyers out there, make sure that if you commit to a cat it's because you want one, not just a mousecatcher. (Not all cats even know what to do, by the way). If you're not a cat lover, try to borrow one from a friend. If you get a cat, please allow a week or so to go by since cleaning up poisons. If mice have ingested poison, you don't want them to be caught and eaten, thus making the cat sick. One more thing, it is possible for cats to catch toxoplasmosis, ring worms, and other nasty things from eating mice. Have them checked up by the vet after they've "done their duty". Happy Mousing! |
| The Kel Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
Susan, I'm having little luck with the small mouse traps myself, but managed to nail 5 of them with the heavier grade 'Rat Traps'. Give this a try if they keep making off with the goods. I suspect their reaction time is suberb. Years and years of spring traps, and a need to be agile from their predators ensure that they're reflexes are honed. I suspect that a small trap is just small enough to allow them to skirt the lethal position, resulting in a painful 'slap in the face' but no catch. The bigger traps don't give them time to escape. They have to venture further in, and thus, when it does snap... B-Bye! |
| The Kel Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
Another Mousetrap suggestion, one I might be able to easily modify for my 'neighbors upstairs': http://surfboard.surfside.net/prussell/Mousetrap.htm |
| The Kel Wed, 6th Nov 2002 |
I'm still searching, came across this Humane Trap: http://www.smithsax.btinternet.co.uk/products.htm |
| chrissie Thu, 7th Nov 2002 |
we had a mouse in the loft , being vegetarian & an animal lover there was no way i could even think of hurting it , i bought a humane trap called ' trip trap ' from a pet shop , it suggests baiting with chocolate so a few bits of mars bar were used , you put a piece in one end & there is a plastic door mechanism whereby the mouse trips in when it walks over it to the end of the trap & you put a piece in the entrance way to entice it in , it works marvellously & although my one mouse ( as i thought ) turned into five mice it has caught every one with no problems & in only one night , so only one sleepless night & a few trips out into the garden / field to let it go . go on give it a try , its better than having to scrape up dead mouse , seeing it suffer & much more friendly to the mouse who after all is only looking for a nice warm place to kip. well wouldnt you ? |
| The Kel Thu, 7th Nov 2002 |
Alas Chrissie, I really do have a heart.. I love animals, and am particularly fond of mice, I used to have them as pets! The problem is that these mice are wild, and thus, have the potential for spreading all kinds of diseases. If it were only a matter of getting the common cold, I might let them scurry about, and listen intently to try to clue in on their adventures! The range of diseases however is much more severe, and with small children in the home, I have to protect my family. For me, the lethal approach is the only way, for now. I have looked at some 'humane' traps of the home-made variety, and will certainly give it a try, after I nail the mouse that's trying to dig it's way into my bedroom, in the wall right over my head where I sleep at night. There are rules however, I refuse to use poisons. This is too horrible a way to go. My methods are quick, painless, and proven! I must say that this site has taught me a great deal, I'm very glad I found it! Chrissie, it's quite possible you're going to catch the same mouse over and over again if you release it too close to home... just something you'll want to consider. :) Anyways, for all you fellow mousers out there, the 'small' mouse traps don't work. I heard yet another spring last night with nary a vermin to be found. I have these traps hanging from the ceiling, with buckets under each one. The bugger that tripped the trap last night hit the bucket, but didn't land inside, and scurried off into the night. I think i'll invest in more of the larger traps. They're much more effective. |
| DaveM Fri, 8th Nov 2002 |
More then a problem with Mice..... Ok back in Feb 02 our Lazy cat Brought a small mouse up from downstairs ( then when we decided to set traps) OK for starters our crawl space downstairs was basically used over the years just for storeing stuff.. we never really went down there till the cat brought the mouse upstairs the day i went down there i reaslized we have more then just one mouse because you could smell the leftovers from the mice ( pretty stick) so we started out setting 3-4 traps per day and of course all teh traps were filled everyday the odd time wed even get 2 mice per trap ( is this odd !?!) ok come around March we didnt get anything in the traps anymore so we thought we had them all. We then started going threw everything down in teh crawl space and ended up throwing everything out well most of it because it was eaither chewed or had urin all over the stuff.. so now the basement is totally cleaned out besides a few boxes that the mice didnt get into and some camping equipment we use every summer. YUP May the cat starts to bring mice upstairs again.. so we set more traps... still till today we get bewteen 3-4 mice per day.. we have replaced the dryer vent ( becaue we thought they may be comeing in from there. we bought a few cans of teh "GREAT STUFF" expanding foam and went around the entire exterior of the house and filled every single tiny hole we could find we eve did under the sideing were it meets the ground to make sure we had every hole filled.all the windows and doors are 5 years old in the house and are sealed really well... any ideas were the mice are comeing in? or any other suggestions for getting rid of them TOTALLY? otr just keep setting the traps? thanks Dave |
| Unhappy Host Sat, 9th Nov 2002 |
It's been a couple of weeks and still no signs of the pesty little visitors! : ) |
| Disko-Risko Sat, 9th Nov 2002 |
Chrissie, are you sure that mouse that turned into 5 of 'em isn't the same mouse coming back for more TLC?? I think The Kel is on the right track. Hantavirus (check website) isn't an equal opportunity deployee: The mice are fine with it but it kills people! |
| Carrie Sun, 10th Nov 2002 |
Hi fellow mouse haters. Just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing. This is such a frustrating war we wage. Haven't seen or heard any mice for about 10 days now. Have electronic zappers in every room. They say they take about two weeks to work. Caught all three mice with glue traps. Have no food left out anymore.....especially dog food. Everything in covered containers. I hope you all are winning your battles and getting some sleep! It was great to have you all there as support and for all that great advice. Will check back from time to time. Thanks for sharing. |
| Rachel C Mon, 11th Nov 2002 |
We realized we had a mouse when we saw a hole chewed into the plastic top of a can of nuts. We promptly set out glue traps, caught two, and then thought our problems were solved. But another one, a crafty one, has been plaguing us for over a month, leaving its droppings everywhere, and does not seem to respond to the glue traps, whether we put cheese or nuts or peanut butter on it. After reading this site I'm going to try buying more glue traps and putting out some jelly beans. Poison didn't work either, and the idea of a sprung trap really grosses me out... This morning the mouse had torn up a kleenex it found and left it in a big heap in the kitchen, but it doesn't seem to like cheese! I wish I had a cat!!! |
| The Kel Mon, 11th Nov 2002 |
Hey Rachel, Sorry to hear about your misadventures! I'd think the Glue is far worse, especially for the mouse, than a Snap Trap. The snap trap quickly breaks the mouse's neck, is rarely bloody, and makes disposal a breeze. It sounds like it's nesting, if it's going for the Kleenex.. Try using a cotton ball on your traps. If the mouse isnt going for what appears to be free 'trap food' they they must have a great deal to eat from elsewhere. Poison and Glue are excessively inhumane, and only effective some of the time. Hope that helps! |
| claire Mon, 11th Nov 2002 |
Jelly babies work! I read someones advice on here and caught my first mouse after 3 months of trying with chocolate and jaffa cakes! I have turned in to a mean, lean, mouse killing machine! Every one try jelly baby's (and no I dont work for Bassetts!) |
| The Kel Mon, 11th Nov 2002 |
From what I understand, Jelly Babies are a rare find in the States, so I'll be baiting with Gummy Bears this evening. Will appraise you of my progress! ;) |
| Rachel C Tue, 12th Nov 2002 |
Thanks, all. I didn't know that wooden traps worked without a lot of blood. Maybe I will try those. What do you all think about getting a cat? I read in an earlier post "don't get a cat just for killing mice," but what if you want a cat for a pet anyway? |
| The Kel Tue, 12th Nov 2002 |
Rachel, by all means, if you WANT a cat, get one! :) I personally will never own a cat, unfortunately, I'm allergic. So, for me, the Traps will have to do. I'd rather get a dog, and depending on the breed, these can be pretty effective mousers too! (Our neighbor swears his Pitt Bull catches and kills upwards of 3 a week.) But as pointed out earlier, you have to keep up on their shots. Wild mice are nasty things with lots of diseases/fleas/etc. Keep your pet spayed, nuetered, and vaccinated! ;) |
| Grossed Out.... Wed, 13th Nov 2002 |
Hello all. I have a dead mouse/mice/rat, who knows, in my wall. The smell hit me like a brick when I walked in tonight and I tracked the smell to a wall -- no dead carcass on either side of it so it has to be inside of it... This is a very old house....Does anyone have any idea how long it is going to take this rodent to decompose completely so the smell subsides?? Short of tearing down the wall (which isn't an option) what else can I do??? If I had the dosh I would move out for a bit but that is not an option either....This is disgusting.... Any insight is appreciated. Thanks... |
| Lynn Wed, 13th Nov 2002 |
This is great!! We recently moved into a new home of which we paid a pretty sum of money for. What do we have? MICE. I am scared shitless of them and have been driving my husband crazy since we have caught one in the attic. Now something is in the wall of our bedroom and I am going mad. Today I plugged in the electrical units and I am anxious to see if they work. I felt so dirty before reading this site, so invaded, but it's nice to know I'M NOT ALONE IN THIS WAR. Will keep you informed. Oh, we also have a Jack Russell who is about to tear through the wall to get to our rodent friend. Thanks for the info! |
| Rachel C Wed, 13th Nov 2002 |
Still trying to trap the mouse, who has grown so bold that he scampers around late at night in front of the TV and still shows no interest in the bait... On an unrelated note, to Grossed Out-- I had a mouse die in the air conditioning vents in my car once and it was the most awful smell. I can empathize, can't say I have a solution, especially when they're inaccessible like that. |
| The Kel Wed, 13th Nov 2002 |
Hey Grossed Out, from what I understand, it can take up to three weeks for the smell to subside. If you just can't take it for that long, I'd recommend some exploratory surgery on that wall to find the culprit. (If you dare) Using a sheetrock knife, cut a slot around the area you think the little pest may be hiding. This will give you access to the inside of the wall, allowing you to retrieve and dispose of the stinky fellow. After you've cut a hole in your wall, go to the hardware store and get some patching compound. While there, (take the old peice of wall with you) have somebody match the paint and mix you up a quart of the same color. Patch the whole with the compound, sand smooth, then paint the hole with the pre-mixed quart. If you do this carefully, you won't even notice where the hole was. When it's all said and done, it won't cost you more than $35 and a few hours, and it'll save you 3 weeks worth of stinkyness. Hope this helps! |
| Phil Wed, 13th Nov 2002 |
My sure fire way to catch a mouse is using a wooden trap and Cheerios as bait. The secret trick is to tie the Cheerios to the trip mechanism with a piece of fishing line. The mouse tries to pull the Cheerios off the trap, and "snap goes the trap". I am 10 for 10 the last two years using this method. Good luck. |
| Grossed Out.... Thu, 14th Nov 2002 |
Thanks Kel for your comments. I am a bit too squeemish to attempt your ideas alone but I have a man coming tomorrow to see what he can do about the smell. I got home tonight and it seems there must be at least one other dead bugger near the back of the house so I have decided to pamper myself by checking into an inn for the night. God this is heaven compared to "home" and this is rather budget....I will keep you all posted and I wish everyone great luck with their pesky "guests". Thanks again Kel. :) |
| Marybeth Thu, 14th Nov 2002 |
I have been trying to catch these pestst for two weeks! I kept bugging my husband to do something, and he kept forgetting. He bought humane traps, and they went in, ate the bait, had a party and left! My neighbor suggested these new plastic traps. They look like one of those big paper jaws. They are made by Tom Cat. Anyway, finally caught one, and thought I was in the clear. Now another one or more is leaving me gifts in the morning on my couters!!! I think they even took a swim in the dogs dish! They eat the peanut butter out of the traps! Will Try the gummie bears. Maybe if I soak them in water first, they will be even harder to get off and .......wham! Oh, by the way, I had a cat and he moved next door when we brought our daughter home from the hospital. I have seriously thought of locking him in my sink cabinet over night though! Will keep you updated. Thanks for all the advice. |
| Mike C Thu, 14th Nov 2002 |
Well, my mice are really smart... they took the whole lot of cheese off the trap. The guys probably think it's a buffet or something! I didn't have any jelly babies, so I put some rasins (from the rasin bran cereal) as a substitute... we'll see how that works. |
| Carrie Thu, 14th Nov 2002 |
Still no mouse droppings or sightings. It must be 2 weeks now. But I still keep hearing little noises. Were they there before the mice and I just didn't pay attention? Have the mice returned and just not leaving any droppings? Do you think that's possible? Maybe the stress has just made me a little crazy. What do you guys think? By the way, thanks Giles, for this website. It's such a comfort. |
| Dave Fri, 15th Nov 2002 |
Mice, or "stelth" mice as they seem have invaded my loft, finding their way in under the felt, making a din and many restless nights. Still yet to see one, I laid out poison and it was eaten for a week, the traps were baited with Mars bar, as recomended by a workmate, ... "thanks" came the reply from the loft as I spent another restless night wishing the traps would snap as the mice scurry across my bedroom ceiling, apart from Wednesday night when I thought that i was rodent free, no such luck, these are northern working class mice and always go to Bingo on Wedensday.... over a week now and still no kills, no mars bar left and no traps sprung, plenty of poison gone but still left with the little buggers .So its off to the village shop to buy some Jelly Babies ... and some vodka to go with the beer, I need some sleep, tomorrow i will tackle sealing the loft from outside in the daylight... Ahgggh, its not like this in the movies.great to get some fresh ideas thanks you guys |
| The Kel Fri, 15th Nov 2002 |
Carrie, Same here! Creepy, are you living in my house? j/k I suppose it's just the house settling. I've left rather enticing prizes out in open areas where i've seen them, and they're still there in the morning. None of my traps have been sprung in the past week or so, and the scampering noises are gone, having been replaced with eerie creaking from the roof. I can't say I noticed the sounds before, although I wasn't paying near as close attention as I am now. Thanks to Giles, the inspiration, ideas, and research this site has allowed me to undertake have, for the moment at least, ridden my house of 'The Neighbors Upstairs'. I'll keep checking in there though, smugly smiling as I read, 'Yep, been there!' Happy Day All! ;) |
| Rachel C Fri, 15th Nov 2002 |
How intelligent do you think mice can be? Have any studies been done? Do you think some of them have actually figured out what the traps are? I still can't figure out why the mouse plays in the kitchen, leaves evidence, but does not eat bait. Is he intelligent? |
| Jimbo Sat, 16th Nov 2002 |
This is a great site. I haven't yet read through it all, so apologies if I'm repeating anything already said. We had terrible mouse problems for a while, but seem to be free of the little blighters at present - in the house at least. If you can stop them getting in, that's half the battle - or possibly the whole battle if they're not infesting your outbuildings. We checked the exterior of the house for holes etc but found nothing, so wondered how they were getting in. Then a professional exterminator told us that mice could actually squeeze through the tiny holes in a house's air-bricks. We purchased some very fine wire, of a size sufficient to prevent a mouse squeezing through, but not so thick that it would block the air-flow. We then tacked it around the edges of all the air-bricks. That was six years ago - and we haven't had a mouse in the house since, though plenty in a garden shed, so the buggers are still around. From time to time, we see what look like attempts to dig their way in at certain points around the house, so they obviously haven't given up all hope of dining in our kitchen again. Anyway, I mention this in the hope that it helps - for those of you who live in houses and acn't work out how the sods are getting in. But you do have to be very careful, of course, and not block the air-flow. A house riddled with damp is too high a price to pay, even to rid yourself of V. Ermin and family. Good luck to everyone. |
| Jimbo Sat, 16th Nov 2002 |
Me again. We've had a lot of success catching mice with a plastic/metal mousetrap. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what it's called. It has a red 'V' on the top and used to be sold at B&Q. Does anyone know the name or where they can be purchased? Are they the 'Victor' traps referred to in earlier posts? They're very easy to set and, perhaps more importantly, easy to reset once you've caught a mouse. As I mentioned above, we no longer have a problem inside the house, but our shed is home to many mice at times and we prefer to keep them down if we can, so as not to run too great a risk of them finding their way into the house again. Cos a mouse in the house is a louse! The so-called 'Advanced Mouse Trap' by Bio, which we're using at the moment is rubbish. It has such a fine hair-trigger action that it takes forever to set it. Yet the mice can lick the trap dry and not set it off. We've been trying peanut butter, but the 'jelly baby' tip sounds good. I'll give that a whirl - and try not to eat too many of them myself. Well, not after they're in the trap at any rate. Cheers. |
| Claire Sat, 16th Nov 2002 |
I got another one with the jelly babies! But now i dont feel as tough, the trap was outside my bedroom door and the SNAP! woke me up the there was a terrible squeeling for about 5 mins! I thought they were meant to die instantly, not thrash about for ages. It was like waking up in my own nightmare. But it has to be done they are not allowed to share are houses do they pay rent? No. So they must suffer the consequences of there squating. |
| Gregor Sun, 17th Nov 2002 |
Well, I got one. Maybe it was the new trap. It has a big yellow platform that is the trigger. It is yellow and has holes in it. To humans it looks like swiss cheese. Since I didn't really know what it would look like to a mouse (after all you can only see the holes in it from above and the mice are sort of down there near the floor) I decided to put some cheese on the swiss cheese-like trigger. and it worked! It is such a peaceful mouse now, laying their with its neck held firmly by the metal bar of the trap. I am glad I wasn't here when it was "caught" (see above Claire Sat 16 Nov). Maybe it was the very special Dutch Gouda cheese that I used. Now to get the rest. and the rat too, I hope |
| Mousinator!!!!!!!!! Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
I'm glad i found this site, lots of helpful hints. I have a mouse that is terrorizing the h*ll out of me. I have tried wood traps, but all this is done is gone off on my own finger and the mouse has no interest whats so ever in it. I bought a plastic so called better made mouse trap and well it was able to get past it and get the bait so. Today I was sitting at my desk and the bugger came up on my desk and looked me in my eye then ran off. So now I'm p*ssed. I went out today and bought a glue trap, and another fang dangled trap.....This all out war to catch this bugger. I swear it was humping my mouse that's attached to my pc like it was some long lost love. |
| Mousinator!!!!!!!!! Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
....and whoever said they would stay away from activity...i was sitting in a well lit room with the tv on at my pc when the mouse came running in and sat down beside me!!!! |
| Doug Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
My first time here too... a few hours ago a mouse scampered across my stovetop while I was in the room on my computer. He disappeared somewhere in the stove. I was suspicious that I might have a mouse because a week ago I noticed bite marks in some caramel I had left out on the kitchen counter. But I left the caramel out for a few days to see if I would get more bite marks, and got none. So I assumed the bite marks happened before I bought the caramels and just threw them away. Then yesterday I noticed my cat camping out in front of the oven -- it wasn't until I actually saw the mouse tonight that I figured out what my cat was doing. So, I've bought a few glue traps and set them on the kitchen counter and under the oven. I haven't seen *any* mouse droppings or other evidence so far, so I'm hoping the mouse I saw doesn't have any friends. |
| D'oro Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
Being a vegan myself and all pro-animals, I can tell you that after 3 months of constant terror, of sleeping with the lights on and ... I finaly settled on the "inhumane" glue traps. Stayed up several nights, as the mouse managed to free itself once. (Apparently provided enough time, they will eventually get off.) Found the wall crack where it comes from, was two inches above the ground, put the glue trap below. Got the mouse face down just in the middle. If it runs into the trap only half of it gets glued, so chances are better to free itself. Felt utterly sorry about the vermin, until I found some droppings ON TOP OF MY FRIDGE where we keep the bread. This explains the strange thumping sound I was hearing once in a while... I guess it was using the metal bars at the back of the fridge to climb up. Tried all sorts of traps before that, it never touched the peanut butter; apparently it has eaten some of the poison, but didn't die (found hole in the poison block); unglued itself from a glue trap; ate all the canary seed and was alive and kicking. On top it became very arrogant - would run in the middle of the room, instead of along the walls, so I was wondering if all that poison didn't blind it or deafened it. Pest control people were useless. Am still all freaked out about the mouse. And still have no idea where it came from, as I live in an apartment. Hopefully it was a single incident. Thanks for the site, it gave me a nice feeling of sharing my misery with other people. :) My advice is - do not get carried away with "humane killing" (oxymoron) ideas, get on it hard and brutal, otherwise you will be close to a nervous breakdown in about a month. |
| Clara Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
I got back from a week's holiday to discover that a mouse had taken up residence in my room. It's a cheeky little bugger - last night I was sitting on my bed working on my laptop when the mouse climbed up onto the bed and just sat there looking at me, then turned round and climbed down again. As soon as I saw the first sign of it I tore my room apart looking for any foodstuffs they might be interested in. I disposed of anything even vaguely edible and cleaned up a load of droppings. Having seen it climb onto the bed, I stripped the bedclothes off and discovered a load more droppings on and inside the pillow - EWWW! I got a humane trap (one of those plastic tube things) and baited it with peanut butter. Now I've read this site I'll try Jelly Babies too. Tonight I'm going to rig up a couple more traps using plastic wastepaper bins, bottles etc. Anything to catch the bugger quickly. Thanks for this site - it's had me in hysterics and reminded me I'm not the only one with this problem. |
| Martin Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
We've got mice too! Ours have completely destroyed the foam insulation on some of the pipes in the attic. This stuff is nearly an inch thick and they've gone right through it in places. We have wooden floors and the kids are amused by the way the little buggers slide about as they run away. But enough is enough. I went out today and bought traps and Jelly Babies. I really want to try the ultrasonic zappers. I believe there are some that constantly change frequency to stop the mice becoming resistant. Anyone know which brands/models are best or are they a waste of space? Mice - if I see them, they are DEAD. (I hope). |
| Kathy Mon, 18th Nov 2002 |
Thanks for all the tips! We caught I mouse a week ago with a wooden trap using 'Sugar Puffs'! Thought we were MOUSE FREE then have had sightings of 3 more, 1 large and 2 small. Ours come out in the day and I have seen the 2 small ones chasing each other around the hall. Have set 2 more traps with sugar puffs and got a small one. The large one wandered into my daughters room today at about 3pm while we were doing some painting!!! I couldn't do anything as I didn't want to alarm my 3 year old. If we don't get any tonight I'll go and get Jelly Babies tomorrow. Starting to feel on edge now - must get rid of them before mother-in-law comes for Christmas!!!! |
| Giles (site owner) Tue, 19th Nov 2002 |
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments about this web page, and their endless willingness to post more hilarious stories about mice catching. I'm concerned that this page is getting too big (i.e., soon it will start taking an unacceptably long time to download). So I'm thinking of some options. Option 1: I could archive off all the comments made so far, and leave this page fresh and clean for a new batch of comments. Option 2: I could start up a Quicktopic (www.quicktopic.com) discussion board, and we could continue the chat there Option 3: I could just leave things alone for the time being. If any readers have strong opinions on any of these, or any suggestions of their own, please post a comment below, or send me email. Ta. |
| Martin Tue, 19th Nov 2002 |
Martin 2, Mice nil. Set three traps last night. Two dead mice this morning. Traps baited with peanut butter (Whole Earth, Crunchy for those who are interested!). Time to get some more traps for the attic. Anyone know what I can use to insulate my water pipes instead of the foam insulation the mice enjoy so much? I am a little disturbed by my eldest son's euphoria at the sight of the dead mice. Thanks for all the advice. Martin |
| Rachel C Tue, 19th Nov 2002 |
Thanks for this forum, Giles. Do whatever's best in terms of space... We finally caught the elusive mouse that has been tormenting us for weeks. We had about ten glue traps and put one in front of the hole where we thought he was exiting. The problem is that the hole is underneath an unmoveable sink in a very old building, so we can't plug it up. As long as mice like old buildings, we'll probably have more. Sigh. At least for the moment the problem is solved. |
| John S Tue, 19th Nov 2002 |
What exactly are Sugar Babies? Isn't that what Dr. Who used to eat? We don't have them in the US. Gummy bears don't seem like they'd be sticky enough to work. Are they more like gumdrops? Dots? Jujyfruits? Hilarious website. |
| Totally Freaked Tue, 19th Nov 2002 |
This is a top rate site Giles, I felt like I was all alone, until I came upon your site. I have a terrible case with mice, I even moved after becoming very ill. Mice really care ticks and fleas and God know what else. I had mice living in my closet, which ruined my clothes. One morning got dress for work, felt and itch on my arm, didn't give it much thought, by the end of the day I had 104 fever rushed to the ER. Spent the next two weeks hospitalize, treat for Lyme Disease/toxsoplasmosis. In looking in my closet I found very tiny (smaller then a dot mark left by a pen) bugs crawling on my clothes in the closet. Talk about freaking out. Packed up and moved. At that time I was living in a 25 family apartment building first floor. Now I am living on the fifth floor of a different 25 family apartment building, in a different part of town. And you would think I gave the mice my address because they have moved in here too. These mice are not afraid of my dog, or me, they walk around the apartment like they pay rent. One morning I woke up to see one in the cage of on of my Cockatiel, I tried to scare it away and it just walked to the other side of the cage, I am totally freaked out after my prior hospitalization. Then I tried spraying it with water and it just started to climb up the cage bars, I got so freaked I ran out of my apartment. To make matters worst, I went away for the weekend and came back to find my Cockatiel dead. I am pretty sure the mice had something to do with it. I have been putting glue traps all over the apartment, and have caught may, but for every one I catch it seems two appear to take its place. Was considering getting a cat, but I already own birds, and have the dog. I will try the Jelly Babies/Gummy bear. But I am totally freaked. As to your dilemma of how big the site is getting please keep us post with a new link. I will definitely be visiting here again. |
| Totally Freaked Tue, 19th Nov 2002 |
Sorry for my long story.....but I don't want anyone to think mice are not dangerous if they don't bite us. What they leave behind can easily kill us. |
| Lynn Wed, 20th Nov 2002 |
Well, it seems as though the electrical units are working. No sign of the varmints in about 3 days. Nor do I hear any ! Good Luck to all! Got my units on QVC. |
| Kathy Wed, 20th Nov 2002 |
As last, we caught the big one last night! it went for the trap with the red Jelly Baby and SNAP.... now I just have to wait and see if there are any more baby mice ... can't bear the thought of them breeding in our house. Left all 4 traps with jelly babies on just in case. |
| Kitty Thu, 21st Nov 2002 |
I think I know why jelley bables are so appealing to mice. a) They have a very strong fruity smell b) beacuse they are chewy the mice have to tug at the jb to get it off the trap. (Make sure that what ever food you put on the trap is very secure or they will run away with the goodies) |
| Clara Fri, 22nd Nov 2002 |
Well, I caught one. I'd seen a mouse climbing up the tyre of my mountain bike, which is currently stored in my bedroom. I set up a couple of traps baited with damp porridge oats and jelly babies - one commercial humane trap and the other a wastepaper bin positioned so that the mouse could reach it from the bike. After two days I came home to find a mouse in the wastepaper bin. My landlord and I couldn't decide how to dispose of it. Neither of us wanted to kill it, but we didn't want to release it live either in case it somehow found its way back into the house. In the end we got it into a margarine tub, sealed the lid, put it in a plastic bag and put it in a dumpster a few streets away. I know, I know - not the most humane way to dispose of it, but we couldn't figure out how else to do it. :( |
| James Fri, 22nd Nov 2002 |
Yeah, The cats are doing their job! They have caught two in the past week. Problem now is how to get the dead mouse from a live cat? I don't want them eating the mice, but at the same time I don't know how many more times I'm willing to get bit. Anyone? |
| juil Sat, 23rd Nov 2002 |
i caught some that was hanging here for while, if they aren't coming to your traps, then take careful look at your house, they are eating somewhere. If you put all your food in glass jars, they will go to the trap. |
| frustrated from St.John's Sat, 23rd Nov 2002 |
hey everyone, I just found this site and it does feel like a support group and I've learned some thing about mice I did not know. I didn't even think that they could climb. Also evryone was telling me " oh mice aren't bad they don't bite their not like rats". Yeah well a lot ehy know. I'm a student attending University here and have a year lease on the place and the house is invested with mice. I thought we only had one but last night their was adifferent mouse in every room. so I left and spent the night atv a friends house. We have posion and those sticky traps down but after reading your comments I now think this is abad idea. I really don't nkow what s best to do. I can't seal up all the holes in my house because their are just to many. My house is a 75 year old town house so their are a number of ways in which mice can enter. I think that the mice are have a nest in the walls. I've seen really big mice and really small ones so does this mean that the mice are having babies in my house!!! and is there anywhere they can't get! also is their a good chance of actually catching those scary dieases they carry!!!. I'm a really big cat lover so do you guys think that getting a cat will help sove my problem? I'm totally freaked out by all this don't know whats best to do So i'm going to try almost all of the suggestions made. Thanks for the site, it helps to know that i'm not the only one who hates mice. |
| Jonny Sun, 24th Nov 2002 |
Had a minor infestation of four mice recently, which was cleared by humane means (a home made tube trap.) In the past few days a bad smell began to emanate from the general area of our fridge and investigation revealed that one of our furry friends, attracted by the water, had ventured into the evaporation tray and become stuck. Not a nice way to go. The heat from the compressor beneath has baked the noxious odour into the body of the fridge and nothing we've tried can shift it. The smell has also spread as vapour onto other surfaces around the house. We'll clearly have to replace the fridge. I recommend that anyone who has, or is at risk from mice, considers proofing their fridge against intrusion. *Great resource, this, by the way* |
| mel Sun, 24th Nov 2002 |
fine now tell me how to get rid of gophers |
| ger8034 Sun, 24th Nov 2002 |
For those of you trying to get rid of the mouse smell, try using Bounce or Fleecy, which are dryer sheets. I know that they get rid of the cigarette smell. |
| Carole Mon, 25th Nov 2002 |
WE'VE GOT MICE TOO!!!. It seems we all need a Pied Piper. Once rid of the mice lay down paper soaked with peppermint oil and it should keep them away.. Love this site. |
| Nina Mon, 25th Nov 2002 |
I'm definitely going to try the peppermint idea. Giles: "Option 2: I could start up a Quicktopic (www.quicktopic.com) discussion board, and we could continue the chat there" Sounds good to me! And, Carrie, are you still hearing odd noises and such? I have, too. Every little rustling sound makes me jump. Been over a month since we've had a mouse, but it creeps me out! I always check every nook and cranny of my bedroom before going to bed. Until we move out (which will be a very long time away), I don't think I'm ever going to be able to relax! Whenever we've had mice, BTW, we've usually just had one. The (useless) pest-control told us that they sometimes come in because they've lost their way. They said that there has rarely been an instance in which there were two mice. So, either that's the case, or they were lying in order to assuage my fears. Heh. |
| craig Tue, 26th Nov 2002 |
Glad to hear I'm not alone - this is a truly funny and informative site. Made the mistake of renting out an 18th century cottage, situated in woodland next to the river - idyllic house, but the mice agree, and won't budge coz they were here first -to make matters worse, it appears the previous tenant was a messy bugger and left food everywhere, because i keep finding stores of food i don't eat behind cupboards and walls! whole interior of house is wooden and hollow, so filling holes won't work - there are hundreds and none of the doors fit, so think, essentially, i'm screwed. Before I lose it and set several hundred traditional traps around the place, are there any humane ones that actually work, if if so where can you get them? Help! |
| Sparky Tue, 26th Nov 2002 |
Wow..this is amazing! Well, I recently moved to the country and recently learned what it's like to live with mice. Thought I had one...took me about 3 weeks to catch him using a humane (lever) trap. Caught him this morning and set him free across the street from my house...tonight I saw another...not surprised..i had kinda figured there was more than one. But reading this I'm seeing that perhaps I freed him to close and he's back? Does anyone know how far away you should release them in order to try and insure they don't make it back? My mice are small and cute...they don't bust into my food, and from what I can tell so far they haven't damaged anything..a while back I heard some scratching every now and again but now I never hear that...I need to do some more investigating to make sure they haven't damaged an area of the kitchen I can't see...all in all they've actually been pleasant and somewhat entertaining, but I still would like to get them out of the house nonetheless... what's worked for me is close studying of the mouse habits...whenever they come out they pretty much stick to a couple of favorite hiding spots and jet back and forth between them...I determined what kitchen cabnet they seem to favor and the main entry point...whenever I chase them they seem to always enter this specific cabinet through a hole that was there as part of the construction...so I set 2 humane (lever) traps that basically corner the hole..if the mouse goes through the hole he/she has 2 choices...try to specifically avoid the traps and run around/between them or to enter a trap... If he/she is rushed, I'm assuming he/she will go into a trap...they're looking for a place to hide and the trap will actually seem inviting. If he/she is just doing the nightly rounds, each trap does have food in it so upon using this entrance to the cabinet, it should still seem like a fine idea to go into the trap... like I said, I've spent 3 weeks moving the traps around and trying different bait only to have them manage to get off with the food. Spent the last 2 days closely studing the mouse habits, set the traps in this new configuration last night and had a mouse this morning...hoping I'll have mouse number 2 tomorrow. |
| carole Wed, 27th Nov 2002 |
This is a great and very funny site; I have been fighting mice for at least three years; I live in a rowhouse with crapball neighbors next door who seem to be running a mice preserve! I am still completely freaked out by the critters; I clean, scrub, paint, seal, seal, seal. Have been using d-con covered traps (expensive) but they work; can't find the covered traps lately which is how I found this site. I have a fortune in ultrasound equipment and I see little impact. I am long past humane, watching their habits or being amused by anything about the rodents and their filth. I rid my house of them for a couple of months and then they are right back. Can't think of anyway to seal the wall adjoining the neighbor - any ideas would be appreciated. Found a hardware selling the d-con traps; off to buy more and home to clean. Thanks for the many, many tips. Giles, please keep the site going in whatever form works best for you. |
| Martyn Wed, 27th Nov 2002 |
LOL |
| Julie in Nebraska Wed, 27th Nov 2002 |
Last month with the colder weather we realized we had company! We quickly caught 8-9 mice over two days. We used some nice traps you don't have to touch the mice to dispose of which I really like! Then we were in Eastern Europe for a month and my parents who stayed here with the kids while we were gone didn't keep up on the problem (they said they didn't hear anything) I could tell they had not gone though so I went to set the traps again. Well, while we were gone, our 4 year old broke all the traps so I bought some similar ones yesterday at a different store. This morning, eager to find several mice, I found all the peanut butter licked off and the traps still set. I am going back to the store I first went to and get them as they were very sensitive. I will let you know how I do! I also had a good time reading the stories. I like the British expressions too! |
| Craig Thu, 28th Nov 2002 |
Have sourced an excellent supply of humane traps - at B & Q of all places - approx £4 each. Set them all up two days ago, and have caught two field mice and one vole to date - (why i have voles living within my walls i have no idea) - haven't had any trouble catching them, I'm just using table scraps - maybe mine aren't fussy eaters! Good luck to the rest of you! |
| Joe Fri, 29th Nov 2002 |
I found the most effective trap for mice is the choker trap. Victor used to make them but stopped in the 1980's, but you can sometimes find them on ebay { The four holed version}. Rarely if ever does a mouse trip the trap without getting caught. They have four holes leading to four bait wires. Bait them, set the trap, place it where you want it and collect your mouse (dead of course). More humane in my opinion than the snap trap or glue traps. It will sometimes take a few days until the mouse overcomes its fear of the new contraption, but as soon as it does, it's bye bye. You can catch up to four mice, since there are four holes leading to four bait wires and it takes very little movement to trip the wire. Since the little booger has his head stuck in the hole, the trip wire catches him around his neck and it's all over. Fast and effective and less painful to the animal than the snap trap. Also a lot safer around kids and pets too. |
| Joe Fri, 29th Nov 2002 |
I found the most effective trap for mice is the choker trap. Victor used to make them but stopped in the 1980's, but you can sometimes find them on ebay { The four holed version}. Rarely if ever does a mouse trip the trap without getting caught. They have four holes leading to four bait wires. Bait them, set the trap, place it where you want it and collect your mouse (dead of course). More humane in my opinion than the snap trap or glue traps. It will sometimes take a few days until the mouse overcomes its fear of the new contraption, but as soon as it does, it's bye bye. You can catch up to four mice, since there are four holes leading to four bait wires and it takes very little movement to trip the wire. Since the little booger has his head stuck in the hole, the trip wire catches him around his neck and it's all over. Fast and effective and less painful to the animal than the snap trap. Also a lot safer around kids and pets too. |
| ANDREW Sat, 30th Nov 2002 |
HAS ANYONE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE ULTRASONIC DEVICES? DO THEY WORK? HOW DO YOU KNOW? |
| Moonman Sun, 1st Dec 2002 |
A couple of nights back--I'm sitting at the computer early hours of the morning writing notes on some spooky idea for someone when a mouse runs by v. fast. I let out a cry and then get real concerned that maybe I have had one late night too many. In fact I get upset that I truly am cracking up----and altho' I only drink maybe 3 to 4 times a month think that maybe there is something wrong with my liver/psyche/karma. And then I almost wish that I could see the rodent visitor one more time to reassure me that I am not hallucinating or on the brink of a breadown. And lo the mouse returns and stops for a second to gather his thoughts whilst I SCREAM in horror. Mouse scurries, wiggles waggles away. And after some intense futile searching on my behalf I go to bed for insomniac broken dreams and deep frustration that after 13 years rodent free in my 3rd floor apartment flat in quiet surroundings I now feel not unlike someone with nuisance poltergiest. I am a big guy with broad chest and shoulders and yet this mouse being has goose pimpled my fifty year old being and somewhat punctured both my serenity and pride!! One female friend of mine (petite, kindly somewhat other worldly) tells me "Oh aren't they cute!" "I think that mice have every right to live alongside us in this world." She then tells me how she had mice running up her curtains and dancing along the curtain rail. "There were seven of them" she says. I make a quick note not to avoid her and any other pals who live in a cartoon world...or indeed believe that Stuart Little has his Equity card. I have placed traps---humane ones near the big hole under the sink where workmen provided a portal to another world---for the mice beings. Nastier traps closer to where I sit typing this. I am waiting to feel relieved and guilty. However this waiting is to see if this was--(wishful thinking)--a one off..and if not --activated traps should let me know before I splatter peppermint oil everywhere. I told someone who was laying traps for some time to sprinkle peppermint oil where the mice gathered and he tells me today that there have been no sightings now for 6 weeks. Why not try it folks??? It's my next step...no dancing mice troupes for me...oh and Stuart Little----I'm sending your autograph back forthwith. |
| Alleycat Sun, 1st Dec 2002 |
They were getting into the storage room through an outside vent. 10 dead mice later, I think I'm mouse free. They LOVED this peanut butter / chocolate spread ... poor sods loved it to death. I know I sound inhumane here but I'm not living with mice ! Anyway, one of them didn't get killed by the trap (just caught some of it's chub in the trap) so I let it loose into a plastic bottle, poured a little bit of dry cat food in it and took it 5 miles away. I had bought 2 wooden Victor traps and 2 plastic ones from Home Depot. I didn't catch a single mouse in the wooden traps. The pastic ones had a fixed position circle where you put the food and a ramp that leads up to the circle. The ramp, once touched, triggers the trap. I was even catching mice without the food. Anyway, perhaps if we stopped cutting down acres of trees to put up houses we wouldn't have this problem. I blame the builders and the government for not relocating the mice first ;) |
| wishful thinker Sun, 1st Dec 2002 |
Well you guys, we had 'one' mouse which we caught and thought that was the end, how foolish. So, I have been doing a bit of research to fuel my unexpected bloodlust (sorry to offend). Two of these cute little blighters and their own offspring can produce up to 2000 more mousey folk in a year. It takes about 3 weeks for the whole pregnancy lark and they can have up to 16 (oh yes, I'm not joking) 16 MORE cutie creatures to run around your home. Well, with all the holes sealed up etc following the excellent advice here I was hoping for the best. (pause for mad manic laughter in background....) About three weeks later, what do we have but more and in smaller sizes too. Think we must have had two at least, and have caught 'daddy' leaving 'mummy' to get on with natures best. However, we seem to be having luck with a traditional homemade 'moosefaa' which squashes beyond-any-hope-of-rescue, but I would love to know more about these sonic type things. Do they really work (surely they must be more aesthetic at least!) Please Please say they are great, can't stand any more corpses! Yours in hope, Quickly Going Demented |
| Moonman Mon, 2nd Dec 2002 |
Have checked out some research on the net that was pretty damning of the sonic method---and indeed some earlier comments on this site would seem to back that up. However the criticism is based on the fact that the mice adjust to the sound--the argument for is that some companies use a variable frequency so that the mice are constantly distracted. Spoke to and old friend tonight who had a glut of mice traps(Old fashioned spring ones --cheap/ wooden) catching seven sometimes in one night using choc as bait. My brother recalls how one night his THREE cats sat purring in front of a log fire full of food and milk and contentment when a fat mouse strode by as if he was the performer and the cats his audience. One cat opened it's casual sleepy eye and simply watched the mouse walk by! Peppermint oil / peppermint leaves and wire wool are the least favourite items on a rodent menu. And in answer to those who wondered what jelly beans are----they are a sugary chewy sweet ...the Beatles loved them and in the early days of Beatlemania young fans would throw them on stage at the band. Thanks to Giles for this most popular site---I am not as freaked as I was and recognise that we mouse sufferers are of an increasing tribe! The entrance to my bedroom is now steeped in peppermint oil!!! Any other peppermint people out there??? Please let us know if this works!! |
| james wright Tue, 3rd Dec 2002 |
I moved form the depths of Wiltshire to the centre of Bristol (6th floor flat). Have not seen a real mouse for years. Hay feaver's been loads better too. Had a seagull problem for a while though! |
| John S. Tue, 3rd Dec 2002 |
We had at least two mice come in when the weather turned cold in Chicago. My wife had me buying mousetraps and D-con at midnight when one popped its head up at her through the top of the stove. We cleaned the apt. thoroughly-- They had been partying behind the couch, under the stove, and on the food shelves (blearghhhh) The traps stayed untouched (peanut butter) (chocolate cake too) (no Jelly Babies over here) but the D-con began to disappear after a couple days. I found this website after a couple nights of being awoken several times the slightest sound and my wife would bold upright and send me to investigate. I could see I wasn't going to get a good nights sleep until they were gone. After reading a bunch of these horror stories I was dreading the odor of dead mice in the walls but luckily that didn't happen. Stuffed all the cracks up with steel wool (we heard the mice trying to chew around it, but apparently they have given up) and haven't seen any evidence of mice for about a month. Fingers crossed |
| Karen G. Wed, 4th Dec 2002 |
Woke up this morning with the lovely delight of finding a small extremly fat mouse in my sons bedroom, the room in fact that I slept in last night due his presence in my bed, the mouse didnt seem to frightened by me do you think at this time of year they have babies, starting to get freaked out, must buy jelly beans and traps on the way home!!! Does anyone know who to tell if a mouse is pregnant and how to catch baby mice in case she has them today!!! |
| info! Thu, 5th Dec 2002 |
Have found this on a website. If you see one mouse then catch it - very shortly you could have an army! "Mice can live for up to two years. They are ready for breeding when about 8 weeks old, and they can deliver a litter of up to 12 babies in three weeks. The babies are born pink and blind, and you should not disturb the nest too much. If you want to pick up the babies (they look like little pink prawns) then remove the mother, press your palm into the sawdust in the cage to disguise your scent, and do not keep them out of the nest too long. After about 6 days or so the fur will start to grow, and colour will appear. After about 10 days the mice will open their eyes" .....and start the cycle again..... Hope this helps! |
| :( Sun, 8th Dec 2002 |
It does help, but it frightens me immensely at the same time! *draws up feet* |
| Max Sun, 8th Dec 2002 |
Glad I found this site...what a relief that others are being tormented by the vermin.D-Day starts tomorrow. Going to the hardware for some glue traps & jelly babies. Will keep you posted as 'Operation Kitchen Storm' unfolds. |