OMG MICE!!!!!

NiciS72

I used to think that only dirty people had mice. That is until I bought a Tri-Level house with a crawl space. The first year was fine, but then the second year the village tore up the sidewalk in front of my neighbors house and unearthed a nest. They ALL came to my house as we only have dogs, no cats. We've been battling them ever since. Last year I thought I had them licked, we bought the Black & Decker ultrasonic plug ins and they disappeared. Well, they've come back. My husband thinks that there is only one and we caught him. I keep telling him the droppings I'm finding cannot be from one mouse, *SIGH* These are the craftiest mice yet. They keep getting the peanut butter and not getting caught. DH thought we caught one last night and that I'd thrown it out (EWW as if). Turns out one of the traps is missing which means the mouse was crafty enough to drag it somewhere in the crawl space.

Other than an exterminator (which DH says we don't need-I disagree) what do you all suggest to get rid of these pests once and for all? I'm so tired of finding that they've eaten into my food (had to throw out a whole bag of Quinoa).

meshellmybell76

perfect excuse to get a kitty!

Fit4Vet

Steele wool around any opening into the house (i.e. around plumbing pipes under the sink, etc.) & poison. Traps are only good if they aren't crafty...

Good Luck

cmriverside

Maybe it's time for a cat.

angel79202

borrow a friend's cat!

Contrarian

My honest opinion is that you need to call an exterminator. Your space is too large and has too many hiding places.

harley0269

put a small dish of automotive antifreeze in the crawl space where your puppies cant get at it. the buggers will drink it up & die.

dalgal26

That time of year. They want to get in where it is warm.

Good Luck! Please don't get the 'sticky traps'.

Hey, a cat sounds good!

RachelJE

We had one in MY TRUCK!!!! I mean...disgusting, right? MY TRUCK!!!! I had to drive an HOUR EACH WAY TO WORK wondering if that little sh** was going to run up my leg. I WAS FREAKED OUT!!!!! I am a VERY clean person, but I have 2 toddlers, and I guess the thing was after cheerios or whatever. Anyway, we tried EVERYTHING, and I do mean EVERYTHING. Dozens of traps - the sticky kind, the old fashoined kind, peanut butter, cheese, peanuts. And the thing would eat whatever we put out and never set off the traps!! The thing that FINALLY worked was the poisen packets you buy at Home Depot or Lowe's. Basically they eat the poisen, then it drives them to try to find water. So if they are in your walls, they go somewhere else to try to find water. In my case, they were in my truck and they went out to try to find water (this was after WEEKS of trying to get rid of them). When we moved about 8 months later, we found one half way stuck in the water trap in the garage sink (obviously we didn't use that sink very often...). That is the only thing that worked. Best of luck. I can't imagine having them IN the house, although I know in one house they were in our attic. I just never saw the suckers.

NiciS72

Thanks for the ideas so far. We can't get a cat as DH hates them. I don't want to do poison as I worry about them dying in the walls/ceilings. I'll need to figure out WHERE they are getting in under the house for the steel wool, but that does sound like a good idea!

Has any body used the big traps you supposedly can use over and over?

angel79202

Wear some Mickey Ears and join them?
We had one once and had to call Terminex but we already had a contract with them so no extra cost..good luck! I'd call someone..

FairyMiss

I used to think that only dirty people had mice. That is until I bought a Tri-Level house with a crawl space. The first year was fine, but then the second year the village tore up the sidewalk in front of my neighbors house and unearthed a nest. They ALL came to my house as we only have dogs, no cats. We've been battling them ever since. Last year I thought I had them licked, we bought the Black & Decker ultrasonic plug ins and they disappeared. Well, they've come back. My husband thinks that there is only one and we caught him. I keep telling him the droppings I'm finding cannot be from one mouse, *SIGH* These are the craftiest mice yet. They keep getting the peanut butter and not getting caught. DH thought we caught one last night and that I'd thrown it out (EWW as if). Turns out one of the traps is missing which means the mouse was crafty enough to drag it somewhere in the crawl space.

Other than an exterminator (which DH says we don't need-I disagree) what do you all suggest to get rid of these pests once and for all? I'm so tired of finding that they've eaten into my food (had to throw out a whole bag of Quinoa).

whatever you do DO NOT USE RAT AND MICE POISON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RoanneRed

I get them occasionally, including in the oven and there are teethmarks on some of my tupperware lids! I'd suggest poison sachets in the crawl space - some of them make them crave water so they come out to get it and die outside, there are also ones that are not dangerous further along the food chain, eg. won't harm the bird that eats a mouse that died form poison.

Next time you empty and clean out the kitchen cupboards after them, wipe all round the edges with eucalyptus oil before refilling the cupboards.

fisherlassie

Get a drum set and practice! They don't like the noise. We have one in the basement that I get my husband to play in the fall when the mice are looking for a nice place to stay for the winter. They go somewhere else.

fitplease

http://www.ehow.com/how_4556143_repel-mice.html

Crushed bay leaves worked very well for us here. I sprinkled them in drawers, on food pantry shelves, near the dishes, in the linen closet (Before that, a mouse tried to build a nest by eating the towels!). It kept the mice away from the stuff they would normally eat in the house or use to build nests. We used bay leaves in conjunction with spring traps coated with peanut butter.

fitplease

Has any body used the big traps you supposedly can use over and over?

My friend uses the humane, metal cage mouse traps in his business. (It's with food.) He says they work very well.

TipMcE

We have mice too as we live near the woods. With 2 cats they still come in the house when the weather is really bad. A guy at my husbands work said to put mothballs in the areas where they come in. He went and got 2 boxes and threw them all under our porch.... BIG mistake. You couldn't breathe in the house! He had to use a shop vac to suck up all the mothballs. He still left a couple under there and boarded it all up. I'm not sure if it'll help. I've read mice can get through a hole the size of a dime and that they'll eat through anything! My mom has told me mice hate the smell of coffee and that you can sprinkle coffee grounds in the areas where the mice get in. I haven't tried it but you never know. An exterminator might be the way to go since your problem sounds like a big one. Maybe you can get a consultation to start with. I also used to work in a building that had an infestation and the exterminator told us that mice pee everywhere they walk!

Tyler4846

tie a string to the mouse traps, so they don't run off.
and possibly get a cat they do more than just lay around
all day, unless you name him Garfield

LorinaLynn

The last time we definitely* had mice, was when I'd taken in a mama cat and her kittens to re-home, and temporarily had ELEVEN cats in the house.

I know mice have brains about the size of one Rice Krispie, but you'd think they'd be smart enough to avoid the house with nearly a dozen cats. My immediate neighbors don't have any cats. But they have children... savage little children. Maybe their children seem more of a threat than my cats. I don't know.




*Sometimes the cats (there's now 7) act like there might be something under the fridge, but since I'm not finding any mouse poop or mouse corpses, I can't be sure it's not just a milk tab or bottle cap they're looking for.

_Sally_

I used a company called Critter Control for a squirrel problem once. They trap and release and they also inspect the house and find the likely entry points. Not sure if they handle mice as well for trap and release, but they may be another option to check out.

If you don't resolve the entry points, they will keep getting in every year when the weather turns colder.

FairyMiss

i will say again



DO NOT USE RAT AND MOUSE POISONS, IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LorinaLynn

i will say again



DO NOT USE RAT AND MOUSE POISONS, IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with this, especially since you have dogs.

I worked for a vet for 5 years. We saw a lot of very sick dogs (and cats) who found rat poison. It wasn't pretty. :frown:

FairyMiss

i will say again



DO NOT USE RAT AND MOUSE POISONS, IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with this, especially since you have dogs.

I worked for a vet for 5 years. We saw a lot of very sick dogs (and cats) who found rat poison. It wasn't pretty. :frown:

yep spent most of yesturday afternoon trying to make a dog vomit ended up having to send it the er at closing time, they finally had sucess, nothing like a dog with an iron clad tummy eating poison.

greeeek

Haha, this made me giggle!

I live in the middle the corn field mania and every fall when they harvest, we always get 2 or 3 mice.

The only thing that has ever worked, and it works well, is mouse traps!

I know it sounds gory & awful, but it's not that bad. Just load a few on every floor with cheese (because those jerks can eat it!) and they can't resist. Who can resist cheese?!

Best of luck!

JWeaser

Thanks for the ideas so far. We can't get a cat as DH hates them. I don't want to do poison as I worry about them dying in the walls/ceilings. I'll need to figure out WHERE they are getting in under the house for the steel wool, but that does sound like a good idea!

Has any body used the big traps you supposedly can use over and over?

They don't work. We had one in our shed and I bought this contraption. Little **** ate the peanut butter without the door closing. I picked it up and set it down on the shelf and the door shut so they ARE crafty.

StevLL

Why does he hate cats? We have six and five dogs and live in serious mouse country. We routinely have wood rats, pack rats and mice at the barn, but pretty much rodent free in the house. Although outside they are crazy, we had 1200 dollars in repair bills this summer from pack rats. We did have a mouse in the house once and the ensuing cat/dog chaos caused the mouse to throw itself on the mouse trap. (true story) I ended up writing a funny poem about it, (see blogs) but left out the dead mouse part.
Steel wool in openings to limit access, try velveeta and place the traps along the wall so the mice have to run across the bait part, its a more effective way to set the trap. If you arer not squeamish the glue traps work good, but you have to kill the mouse.
We have Skipper key/healer mixes & a border cattle dog mix and they have all caught their fair share of rats & mice outside. The outside female skipper key has about 1/2 dozen nothches in her belt. Thay are bred for it. Good alternative to a cat.

I agree with other posters, don't use poison if you have other animals or kids it's very dangerous and accidents can be expensive and/or fatal.

FairyMiss

Why does he hate cats? We have six and five dogs and live in serious mouse country. We routinely have wood rats, pack rats and mice at the barn, but pretty much rodent free in the house. Although outside they are crazy, we had 1200 dollars in repair bills this summer from pack rats. We did have a mouse in the house once and the ensuing cat/dog chaos caused the mouse to throw itself on the mouse trap. (true story) I ended up writing a funny poem about it, (see blogs) but left out the dead mouse part.
Steel wool in openings to limit access, try velveeta and place the traps along the wall so the mice have to run across the bait part, its a more effective way to set the trap. If you arer not squeamish the glue traps work good, but you have to kill the mouse.
We have Skipper key/healer mixes & a border cattle dog mix and they have all caught their fair share of rats & mice outside. The outside female skipper key has about 1/2 dozen nothches in her belt. Thay are bred for it. Good alternative to a cat.

I agree with other posters, don't use poison if you have other animals or kids it's very dangerous and accidents can be expensive and/or fatal.

Schipperke

StevLL

Schipperke

Thanks I knew I wasn't spelling it right, but was too lazy to look it up. The:bigsmile: y are little dogs that are as brave as lions and absolutely loyal.

FairyMiss

Schipperke

Thanks I knew I wasn't spelling it right, but was too lazy to look it up. The:bigsmile: y are little dogs that are as brave as lions and absolutely loyal.

they are

WifeNMama

We had mice and had an exterminator come in and put little poison blocks in every corner of the house. They're the kind that also dehydrate the mouse when its dead, so they don't rot and stink. We had a one year old at the time, and just made sure the blocks were hidden and inaccessible. The guy also said that children could eat one and not be harmed because its a dosage by weight.
I didn't like the idea of having it in the house, but it was the only thing that worked.

cobracars

Neighbor had chipmunks tearing up things in her crawl space and they lived in the woodpile. Exterminator said use rat traps (HUGE and bigger than mouse traps). Its illegal in Illinois to use live traps and relocate them.
First night I caught 1 in a rat trap for her. Next night the whole trap went missing. Figured a chipmunk bought the farm and a bigger animal like a raccoon or possum dragged it away.
Ended up screwing the new trap to a 2"x6" 4 foot long board and then the traps stayed put. Caught 1 per night for a few weeks and then the problem was gone. Used peanut butter for bait as it is highly aromatic and sticks to the trigger.

I would do something similar with mouse traps. Peanut butter and screw the trap down to something big.