EEEEK Mice!!!

Saaf_laandon_mo · 01-11-2006, 11:29

My mother, who is staying with us for a while saw a mouse run across our kitchen floor yesterday. We've been livng in our house for over 6 years and this is the first time its happened. Needless to say after much moving of our kitchen appliances we found evidence of mouse droppings, but no mice.

Does anyone know or recommend the best way of getting rid of these. I know they're not in the Rat league but we're still quite uncomfortable nevertheless, especially with a curious 2 year old in the house too.

Are those high pitched frequency gadgets any good?

**Hugh** · 01-11-2006, 11:36

I found the best way are mousetraps (about 4 or 5) with a very small piece of chocolate as bait - check every day and remove dead mice, replacing the bait.

However, if you don't want to kill the little darlings
http://apartments.about.com/od/cockr.../liveTraps.htm

and here's a handy link
http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/u...9;t=000911;p=1

It's important not to leave crumbs around, and make sure bins are sealed.

Tightscot · 01-11-2006, 11:43

Traps with chocolate as bait are sure to get 'em. Heat the bait holder spike things up with a lighter and the chocolate melts over them.

Galaxy was the best when we had pesky mices...

or get a cat?

01-11-2006, 11:45

Quote:

Are those high pitched frequency gadgets any good?

I have a couple of those in the house, I needed them when I moved in 3yrs ago as a family of mice had moved in to the loft, I placed one on the landing and one near the tv, they make a faint click but nothing to get on yer nerves, mains powered and they work a treat.

I did consider the old fashioned traps 'ewww too messy' or posion but I figured if they crawled off to die then all I would end up with is a bad dead mice smells.

punky · 01-11-2006, 11:48

Traps are a good short-term answer, but they are obviously getting in somewhere, and will continue to do so. You need to have a good look around your house for any holes they can get through... That can be as like a 0.5"x0.5", cover up any holes with grills or such.

**Chris** · 01-11-2006, 11:48

Keep your kitchen immaculately clean and place a few of these around the place, especially where you have seen droppings:

This is an expensive Rentokil one; B&Q do them a lot cheaper than this.

We get mice every winter (it's pretty much impossible to avoid out in the country - there are loads of them in the hedgerows and naturally they would prefer a warm house with plenty of crumbs to shivering under a hawthorn on a frosty morning).

Tightscot · 01-11-2006, 11:49

or you could use the catch em alive traps like this one:

catch alive trap
its like a little see saw that traps them alive and well...

and then you could sell them to your local pet shop?

**Chris** · 01-11-2006, 11:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by punky

Traps are a good short-term answer, but they are obviously getting in somewhere, and will continue to do so. You need to have a good look around your house for any holes they can get through... That can be as like a 0.5"x0.5", cover up any holes with grills or such.

It is very, very difficult to stop them getting in, and not always advisable to try. If your house has airbricks, for example, this may be to ensure the gas boiler has sufficient air to prevent formation of carbon monoxide. Blocking air spaces in your external walls can be dangerous unless you're sure of what you're doing.

---------- Post added at 11:51 ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tightscot

or you could use the catch em alive traps like this one:

catch alive trap
its like a little see saw that traps them alive and well...

and then you could sell them to your local pet shop?

You have to drive them half a mile away to ensure they don't just find their way back into your house. The natural world is not short of mice. The most environmentally friendly way of dealing with them is to kill them.

Tightscot · 01-11-2006, 11:54

oh and put traps etc right up against walls as mice like to run against them.

---------- Post added at 11:54 ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris T

You have to drive them half a mile away to ensure they don't just find their way back into your house. The natural world is not short of mice. The most environmentally friendly way of dealing with them is to kill them.

yeah but if he has a massive infestation he could take em all down the pet shop and make a fortune...

handyman · 01-11-2006, 11:56

Cats, don't get me started. Ours brings them in and plays with them.

When we had puddles and her 5 kittens in our bedroom there was a very brave mouse just wandering through the room. Chucked the cat at it but she was nt interested.

DocDutch · 01-11-2006, 11:57

just get a cat... at least then you also have something to cuddle other then your missus

and the cat would love playing with a mouse.

**Hugh** · 01-11-2006, 11:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tightscot

oh and put traps etc right up against walls as mice like to run against them.

---------- Post added at 11:54 ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 ----------

yeah but if he has a massive infestation he could take em all down the pet shop and make a fortune...

Different sort of mice - pet mice are nice colours with sleek fur, not verminy like housemice.

Tightscot · 01-11-2006, 11:59

yummmmm!!!

Tasty Recipes

'Mice in cream' sounds delicious....

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverwar

Different sort of mice - pet mice are nice colours with sleek fur, not verminy like housemice.

they'd never know...

danielf · 01-11-2006, 12:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tightscot

yummmmm!!!

Tasty Recipes

'Mice in cream' sounds delicious....

they'd never know...

(ok, it's a guinea pig, but I love that pic)

djstevie · 01-11-2006, 12:20

Personally i'd call one of your local pest control services. The poisons and bait traps you can buy from B + Q and the likes are nowhere near as strong as ones that pest control officers would give you. Also like the prev poster said its important to find their point of entry into your house. Normally mice can appear if you or a neighbour have done some renovation work i.e installed a new bathroom etc and disturbed them. I worked in the pest control industry for years and often i seen people trying to remedy the problem themselves , only to fail and after spending a small fortune at B+Q and end up having to call us anyway.