Mouse in my House! Help...

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linnipopz
linnipopz Posts: 20 Member
Hello, I don't tend to post but read a lot on this community & battling the bulge but I have encountered a new problem recently and I am looking for some advice and opinions .......

I have a mouse (ithink) appearing in the cupboard under my sink. I keep all my cleaning stuff & washing powder & fabric softener in there & No Food at all! I cleaned out the cupboard to put in my new massive box of washing powder in so I know there was nothing there previously, I came home from work the next day to find the label of my fabric softener bottle Nibbled/shredded and lying all over the cupboard, a couple of other things in my cleaning basket had been nibbled BUT there was a full kitchen roll & other cardboard items that hand not been touched? There was little droppings all over the cupboard also so I know somethings been there!

So I cleared the cupboard and bleached it & wiped it down. Kept it empty for a week and nothing appeared , no droppings or anything, i purchased poison but I am to scared to use it......I bought peppermint oil after being advised and I put it around the flat on Tuesday night & in the cupboard. After there being no sign I refilled the cupboard with my cleaning stuff, I then left on a work trip on Wednesday and I returned today to the flat still stinking of peppermint but some little presents in the cupboard and more shredded label so my visitor has been backkkk! Ironically I had a pet mouse when I was little but I am no petrified!! I have ordered one of them electric repeller things but its not arrived yet.

So what am I best doing....Do I put the poison down? Get traps? Give the peppermint oil time? Why is it only in the 1 cupboard and where there is no source of food at all.

Any advice appreciated x
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Replies

  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
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    I'd get some traps and bait them with PB. I had 3 mice about 2 years ago and they were caught that night! My 3 lazy cats did nothing. LOL.

    I wouldn't use the glue traps. They are inhumane and nasty! The traps are quick and easy!
  • jstout365
    jstout365 Posts: 1,686 Member
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    You might be able to get a "no see" trap that will get the mouse and you won't have to see it after it is trapped and killed. I hate seeing dead mice in a trap or otherwise so they are my preferred extermination method. We get them in the garage, but they rarely get out alive so I find them dead and not in a trap often. Yuck.

    Here is what I'm talking about:

    http://www.d-conproducts.com/no-view-no-touch.php
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
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    Oh, good idea. I forgot about those!
  • linnipopz
    linnipopz Posts: 20 Member
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    Thank you, looks like traps it will be!
    Oh I love the look of those traps. I am in the UK though so will have a good search to see if I can get them somewhere.
    The thought of disposing of a visible dead mouse in a trap gives me the creeps.

    I have also been planning on getting a cat for a while now, so this has made me want one more!
  • linnipopz
    linnipopz Posts: 20 Member
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    Oh No ! I dont think I can get those traps in the UK :(
  • BraveNewdGirl
    BraveNewdGirl Posts: 937 Member
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    Just make sure you avoid those awful glue traps (as a previous poster mentioned) because they're just cruel. A cat (at least, one that's a good mouser) is even better! My cat actually eats the mice whole, so there's nothing for me to deal with (except trying to ignore the little sickening crunches of mouse bones and the trip to the veterinarian for reassurance that she wasn't harming herself doing it). Most cats will present you with the carcass, though, so there's that to take care of! Just pick up a box of latex gloves at the drug store, shoot it into a bag and take it out to the trash. You get used to it!
  • StraubreyR
    StraubreyR Posts: 631 Member
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    Traps baited with PB do the trick. If there are pipes in the cabinet, they could be getting in around the pipes. You can buy a can of spray foam insulation, and use that around the pipes, it might help. They can get through the tiniest spaces!
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Jump up on a chair and start screaming.

    If that fails, set snap traps with peanut butter. Much kinder and quicker than those damn glue traps.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    This is why I love my cat. :)
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
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    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    Jump up on a chair and start screaming.

    This. And never use that cabinet again. :laugh:

    Eta: just move.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
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    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:

    No! Snake is worse than mouse.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:

    No! Snake is worse than mouse.

    Snakes are awesome lol.. Mice suck :P
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
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    I built a mouse trap that uses an infrared beam. Works great. I'm actually pretty proud of it.

    3.jpg

    5.jpg

    I just can NOT do pics on this site.

    http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/fast_eddie_72/Mouse trap/5.jpg

    http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/fast_eddie_72/Mouse trap/5.jpg

    Copy and paste those if you care to see it.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    I've used "Little Nipper" traps. They come in sets of three and are so cheap you could just bagup throw them away, mouse and all if you need to. I used to live in a very old house that got mice in winter and found a sultana pressed onto the pin to hold the bait worked well. I'm sure that traps are kinder than poison - the mouse's last thought is "Oh boy, a sultana!!! :-)) - the trap snaps and the mouse is dead immediately. Assuming you can't live with the mouse in your cupboard, that is......
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    Options
    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:

    No! Snake is worse than mouse.

    Snakes are awesome lol.. Mice suck :P

    Seeing as we also keep a ball python for a pet but would never have mice, I'm happy to let the non-poisonous snake stay warm in my attic in exchange for keeping disease spreading mice away.

    BTW, letting a snake roam your house was a joke, in case you didn't catch that.
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    Options
    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:

    No! Snake is worse than mouse.

    Snakes are awesome lol.. Mice suck :P

    Seeing as we also keep a ball python for a pet but would never have mice, I'm happy to let the non-poisonous snake stay warm in my attic in exchange for keeping disease spreading mice away.

    BTW, letting a snake roam your house was a joke, in case you didn't catch that.

    Maybe I don't get it. You found a snake in your attic and didn't mind? And you just left it? I would die. Is it a pet now?
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    Options
    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:

    No! Snake is worse than mouse.

    Snakes are awesome lol.. Mice suck :P

    Seeing as we also keep a ball python for a pet but would never have mice, I'm happy to let the non-poisonous snake stay warm in my attic in exchange for keeping disease spreading mice away.

    BTW, letting a snake roam your house was a joke, in case you didn't catch that.

    Maybe I don't get it. You found a snake in your attic and didn't mind? And you just left it? I would die. Is it a pet now?

    It's not a pet. It's a snake. It's in the attic. We don't use the attic for anything and apparently mice had decided to use the insulation for a nest. Now there are no mice and I'm not sure if the snake is up there or not but really don't mind either way.

    Why would you "die"? Are you frightened of an animal that you're never going to have any contact with? It's a rat snake, they're non-venomous and non-aggressive. What harm could it do me even if I ever did have contact with it?
  • AwMyLoLo
    AwMyLoLo Posts: 1,571 Member
    Options
    This is why I love my cat. :)

    I have 3 cats... I think their mere presence is enough to prevent mice in the rest of the house, but we once discovered mice in our attic (where the cats can't go).

    We put traps out but never caught anything and the mice seemingly disappeared. My Love decided to vacuum up all the droppings up there and discovered why all the mice vanished. We have a different sort of visitor - a black rat snake. Since he can't get in the rest of the house, we just decided to let him hang out up there. Keeps the mice away.

    TLDR? Let a snake roam your house! :wink:

    No! Snake is worse than mouse.

    Snakes are awesome lol.. Mice suck :P

    Seeing as we also keep a ball python for a pet but would never have mice, I'm happy to let the non-poisonous snake stay warm in my attic in exchange for keeping disease spreading mice away.

    BTW, letting a snake roam your house was a joke, in case you didn't catch that.

    Maybe I don't get it. You found a snake in your attic and didn't mind? And you just left it? I would die. Is it a pet now?

    It's not a pet. It's a snake. It's in the attic. We don't use the attic for anything and apparently mice had decided to use the insulation for a nest. Now there are no mice and I'm not sure if the snake is up there or not but really don't mind either way.

    Why would you "die"? Are you frightened of an animal that you're never going to have any contact with? It's a rat snake, they're non-venomous and non-aggressive. What harm could it do me even if I ever did have contact with it?

    Would I be frightened? Yes. I would be paranoid that it would come down from the attic and I would be nonchalantly walking through the house and it would slither past me or I would step on it and feel it between my toes or something. :noway: I am just skittish about stuff like that. I like dogs and cats and farm animals and that's pretty much it. Bugs and reptiles and wild animals freak me out.

    Sometimes we get a mouse in our house (probably some right as I type this that I don't know about) and I am on edge waiting for it to come out from the wall or whatever. I didn't park my car in our garage for 6 months because it was infested with millipedes. Nope.
  • shandi_b
    shandi_b Posts: 153 Member
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    I use traps that I buy in the supermarket or hardware store and bait them with peanut butter. I get my husband to deal with the dead mouse in the trap - usually it is caught overnight.
    I had a mouse run past the window of the lounge room (inside the house) the other week. Put two traps out in that area and by the next morning the little mousey was dead in the trap with peanut butter on it's mouth (or so my husband tells me!)
    My 2 cats are useless now when it comes to mice - they are too old and lazy - although they will catch and eat crickets and grasshoppers!