302566 Tue Sep 13 11:34:06 -0700 2005 42 29 Not About Food 0 1694929 Renting a place in Maine for a few weeks and we have found mice in the kitchen. What's the best way to get rid of them? Have set out decon and traps w cheese. No luck. Got one mouse last night w a trap w peanut butter set on the kitchen floor. Seems like they're not touching the decon. How do you know when you've got them all. Its gross!!! Tue Sep 13 11:34:06 -0700 2005 0 Shaebones 1 1694931 I am so glad you asked this. I will pose a realted query here and maybe someone can help us both. I returned to my summer house last spring to find the pantry had been invaded by non-paying (rodent) tenants all winter. They ate through all the plastic bags of pasta, ate the napkins, etc etc. And left lots of evidence behind. I had a pest-control person come after I cleaned up and he laid out something to prevent further incursions this summer. NOW: How can I prevent these critters from returning? Oh, forgot to say they also ate into the cushions of my new sofa bed in the adjoining living area. A friend mentioned putting moth balls all around. It goes without saying that I wil not leave any plastic bags of grains or anything not jarred or canned in the pantry. But do I have to empty the drawers of linen napkins, etc etc?? They eat everything!!!!! Tue Sep 13 11:55:53 -0700 2005 1694929 0 erica 2 1694936 A bit of peppermint oil on cotton balls left in your linen drawers should ward off the mice. Not having a ready pasta source down the hall should help too! Tue Sep 13 13:14:59 -0700 2005 1694931 0 pitu 3 1694966 Yes, keeping a spotlessly clean house...kitchen, living room, etc. is a must. If there's no food, old cartons, newspapers or other things mice like to chew at they'll move on to better pickins. A cat or dog is good...but also people being conspicuously present so there's a fairly high level of activity in your house. The bait I used when I had a mouse problem was a bit of salami or some other luncheon meat, which could last a couple of days if needed and wouldn't get unappetizingly stiff or crumbly like cheese. Regarding mice screaming when caught by the leg or in a glue trap, I really feel it is more humane to kill them quickly and decisively as possible. Cover with a couple layers of newspapers and crush the mouse's head or neck (and say go to Buddha). My wife is a big time animal lover but I think it's much crueler to catch mice in one of those chinatown cage trap contraptions and either throw them live in a garbage bag or put them into the outside to be smacked by a car or face predators...or leaving them to die of poison in a wall. Wed Sep 14 11:54:30 -0700 2005 1694936 0 mrclives 1 1694932 Unfortunately, I have experience with this. You can either: live trap them and set them free: have a live mouse stuck to a glue trap, still alive: kill the mouse in a snap trap; or poison the mice and let them go off to die, hoping that they don't die under the house or in the house). Cats don't seem to be interested in catching mice these days - I guess American cats are too fat. I prefer the first method, but it takes time and is somehwat impratical if you have a lot of mice. I've resorted to mixing the decon pellets with peanut butter and monitoring for the dead ones. Peanut butter seems to work better than any cheese. Tue Sep 13 11:58:23 -0700 2005 1694929 0 rudeboy 2 1694951 You gotta have the right cat--I have a playful, somewhat aggressive brown tabby who is a great mouser. If he hears a mouse, he will hang out in the kitchen, for days if necessary, until he catches it (or scares it away). Tue Sep 13 18:29:08 -0700 2005 1694932 0 gina 3 1694963 Maybe you could rent her out?!?! Wed Sep 14 09:52:29 -0700 2005 1694951 0 rudeboy 4 1695001 That's an idea...he would certainly enjoy it! Thu Sep 15 13:32:00 -0700 2005 1694963 0 gina 1 1694933 Use snap traps but use the kind that have the black plastic shell of death around them. Load w/regular peanut butter and check regularly as it isn't always obvious if there's a little fella stuck in there. The plastic shell increases the efficacy of the trap tremendously as they can't really dart away as the snap falls down. These work impeccably. In one atrocious apartment I lived in I caught more than I care to admit with these guys. Also, mop the floor w/ammonia or something strong as future mice can smell the trail of the previous mice and assume the trail leads to food (you will see that mice typically follow the same path). The initial plan among roommates was to put a mousehead on a pike Druid-style as a warning to others but that was nixed by the vegan. Tue Sep 13 12:34:02 -0700 2005 1694929 0 joypirate 1 1694934 You need a cat. Tue Sep 13 12:41:31 -0700 2005 1694929 0 Janet from Richmond 2 1694940 Cats are less than useless. If said cat, IS interested (not often) it is likely you will find mouse pieces around the house. Worse yet is a cat who takes pride in it's work and sorta likes you. In that case you might wind up one morning with cat displaying the former mouse on your bed as a present. The age old dilema of screaming or sucking it in and saying 'good cat'. While one doesn't want to discourage initiative and loyalty, well, ick. Mice have vermin on them (remember the plague), so should said cat sample the mouse it could get internal parasites causing vet bills. A slacker cat may even cry for help and try to escape when finding itself trapped in the same room with a mouse. Ok, it was a rat ... I threw the cat in the bathroom to dispatch a rat. I was trying to get away from the thing myself and the cat never cozied up to me again after that horror. Anyway, this is a vacation rental. Don't know the OP, but some people will get vacation animals and abandon them when they leave. For other more decent people it is a permanent relationship for a temporary problem. No cat. How about calling the owners you are renting from and asking for an exterminator. You might frame it that they probably don't want mice chewing on the house and causing damamge. Tue Sep 13 15:19:35 -0700 2005 1694934 0 rworange 3 1694965 My cat is great. We live on several acres in a rural area and no mice, no snakes, no varmits. We do occasionally get "gifts" left at the outside door because Opie is so proud. He's a great mouser. Wed Sep 14 11:16:38 -0700 2005 1694940 0 Janet from Richmond 3 1694971 I disagree that cats are useless. My cat is one of those that will wait, wait, wait next to a closet or anywhere he suspects to be housing a mouse. It's true that you just need the right one. That said, if you don't want a cat for the sake of having a cat, don't get one just to be a temporary mouser. We live in rural Arizona and have a somewhat different method. We use have-a-heart traps, the live traps that look like metal boxes, and bait them with oatmeal and peanut butter. When a mouse gets in one, the boyfriend puts on gloves, pops the little guy in a box and relocates him to the national park a mile or so away. If you live in a similarly rural area this could work; however, in a city it would probably just cause problems for someone else. The obvious extra parts are making sure EVERYTHING in the pantry is in un-chewable hard plastic or glass - pasta, cereal, nuts, whatever - and cleaning up droppings frequently so you can monitor your population (or lack thereof). The bonus is that when our cat finds a mouse, he plays with it for quite a while, so we can always tell when he's got one and are able to dispatch it before the body parts start showing up around the house. We don't let him eat the mouse because we are pretty sure one of the neighbors poisons mice (we watched one die in a gruesome manner on our front porch one day). We do it this way for a couple of reasons. First is that our landlord wasn't interested in baiting the house (and for the cat's sake we weren't, either - he eats everything). Second, we're animal-types who would feel guilty with the snap-traps - we would prefer to let nature take its course with them outdoors. Obviously this may not be the solution for everyone, but I hope this helps someone with their little critters. Wed Sep 14 12:56:14 -0700 2005 1694940 0 Carita 3 1694979 A visit to the East Bay Vivarium introduced me to the concept of mice-catchin' pet snakes. For those not snake-phobic, there are a number of non-venomous, docile, and possibly friendly and personable snakes, who like nothing better than to hang around your premises eating small rodents. They don't scratch the furniture, only shed once a year, and vet costs are typically low. Wed Sep 14 15:36:27 -0700 2005 1694940 0 Shep 4 1694982 I don't know, I think both the cat and I would prefer a mouse to the snake. Although not appropriate for the OP due to a temporary situation, a cat that is a useless mouser does have a little value. It's like putting up those bogus signs saying the house is protected by an alarm system. It may make a mouse think twice before entering. I ususally have a cat, none of which were interviewed for mousing skills, but rarely have mouse/rat problems. The cat might be a deterrant whether it actually does anything or not. Wed Sep 14 16:03:49 -0700 2005 1694979 0 rworange 3 5055243 our cat catches mice outside in the garden and brings them home to play - she doesn't know how to kill; gets bored... the mice run away in the house... it's a cycle we haven't yet broken - and we now set traps and hope for the best. She is less than useless but very much loved. Not all cats are smart. Thu Sep 24 10:09:25 -0700 2009 1694940 13519 Cynsa 4 5055257 LOL, I posted earlier. I borrowed a couple of friends' cats when I had uninvited rodent guests. One of the cats kept me up the whole night meowing at a corner (the mouse was probably hiding around there, but the cat didn't do anything to catch it!). Another cat even watched a mouse run by and didn't even get up to chase it. I'm convinced that some cats have a 'mouser gene." Thu Sep 24 10:14:45 -0700 2009 5055243 255446 Gigi007 1 1694937 The earlier poster mentioned a snap-style trap. Most stores carry a reusable kind, with the black box covering, which I have found very effective, clean and easy. You load with peanut butter and when a mouse is trapped, the little lever on the top is in the "up" position. No need to actually look at the dead mouse or come in contact with any of the parts. Just hold the box over the garbage, push the lever down, the mouse falls into the garbage and it's ready to use again. When I've needed them, I would place three of them in the same location (ours were under the kitchen sink with the garbage can). Three at a time, you should wipe out all of your mice within a day or two. You also asked how you know if you got them all -- when you find the little lever is still in the down position in the mornings, you know you've run out of mice. Tue Sep 13 14:28:59 -0700 2005 1694929 0 MSPD 2 1694943 Personally I have those store bought poisons and traps to be rubbish. (AND THE GLUE TRAPS ARE THE WORST because you have to listen to the critters shreiking while you execute them in a bucket of water). Call an exterminator. There is a certain type of poison that allows the mice to: A- ingest it and live long enough to feed it to their nest. (For every mouse you see, there are more living in the walls) B- Die in the sewer when the stuff kicks in (it somehow triggers an overwhelming thirst reaction which is why you don't want to leave standing water around when you use it). This keeps them from dying in your house and stinking up the place. If you do not live in a row house next to people with the same problem, you should be able to flush the entire building. Tue Sep 13 15:42:49 -0700 2005 1694937 0 Jersey City Mods 3 1694962 I have to agree. A trap will get rid of a mouse, but it wont get rid of mice, and there's never just one mouse. I had a bit of a problem in a house I owned in Des Moines a few years back. We called an exterminator who put down the type of poison that triggers some kind of mouse instinct for fresh air, and they leave the house to die. Worked like a charm. Wed Sep 14 09:29:47 -0700 2005 1694943 0 Fydeaux 2 1694949 The snap-style traps really work. And always use peanut butter. We live in a row house (80 years old) and everyone in the same row has mice problems. We started off with poison (the green bricks) because I didn't want to clean the traps but they don't work. I had to keep refilling the bait box for three weeks. Finally I got fed up and bought the traps. My neighbour swears by the glue strips. I want to avoid having to kill the mice stuck to the glue strips. So I just use the traps. You do need to clean the traps everytime a mouse gets killed because there is usually blood. Before the poison, the mice get into chips, pasta, bread, soap, dog food. Now with the traps, the mice don't get into the food. Tue Sep 13 17:44:26 -0700 2005 1694937 0 Cecilia 3 1694964 I tried the glue traps once. I woke up to the sound of shrieking and discovered the mouse had chewed off its own foreleg in order to try and escape from the trap. NEVER AGAIN!! I am not against killing the things but there is a better way. Wed Sep 14 10:10:12 -0700 2005 1694949 0 Jersey City Mods 4 1695174 The glue traps are vile. When construction in our building caused a rodent invasion we tried them and came home to shrieking vermin half stuck dragging themselves across the living room. Horrible. Tue Sep 20 15:39:25 -0700 2005 1694964 0 linza 1 1694945 I live in a totally wood former barn, that is structurally, well, loose. Periodic neighborhood plagues of yuppie remodeling tend to generate displacement of rodents, and some of the little creeps always find their way to my little barn. The only cures that have consistently worked are snap traps, baited with cheese, and freshly rebaited every day; and obsessive crawling about the place sealing up everything that even resembles an opening larger than pencil-size. Outside holes get filled with wooden plugs and covered with sheet tin. Inside holes get stuffed with steel wool and sealed with wood dough or spackle. (WARNING: Graphic images may offend some.) Please try and estimate rodent size when selecting your snap trap. The only thing worse than a sizable rat caught by the nose in a mouse-size trap, is a small rat, caught by the leg or tail in a large trap, blundering around the room snarling and shrieking. Tue Sep 13 16:59:34 -0700 2005 1694929 0 Shep 2 1694953 Flashback to a rat confrontation with a mouse trap that resulted in some sort of concussion or seizure- he ended up 2 feet from the trap, the trap was clean and he was just passed out (permanently). Of course we spent the better part of an hour making sure he was really a goner. Also put in a word for chunky as opposed to smooth peanut butter. Tue Sep 13 20:06:41 -0700 2005 1694945 0 Torty 3 1694954 I prefer chunky for my own consumption. For the traps, a nice semi-sharp jack or cheddar, as I've more than once found peanut butter cleaned off and the trap unsprung. Also, I never re-use traps. The trap and victim, after a few words of apology, go together into that great unknown. Rank superstition, perhaps. Tue Sep 13 20:23:39 -0700 2005 1694953 0 Shep 4 1694958 I have reused the old-fashioned snap traps with no loss of effectiveness. Mice just aren't quick learners. And, I've caught mice with all sorts of baits--cheese, bread, tortillas, etc. Jim Tue Sep 13 22:43:07 -0700 2005 1694954 0 Jim Washburn 1 1694961 Mice with garlic, lemon and rosemary makes some good eatin' Wed Sep 14 08:30:31 -0700 2005 1694929 0 beevod 1 1694970 I have a lot of experience in this, as I live near woods and get an annual mouse invasion. First, you will never get rid of them for any more than a short period of time. Once you eliminate the current batch and any offspring, mice are sure to find their way back in from outside, and there are always more mice outside. No amount of caulking, sealing, or prevention will keep them out. Despite the poster below's anti-cat ravings, most cats will help control the situation, but not eliminate the mice completely. My advice-- set traps and check them often, using peanut butter as bait. Do your best to control the population, but have reasonable expectations and expect the occassional visitor. Wed Sep 14 12:52:10 -0700 2005 1694929 0 Two Forks 1 1694989 Follow up. We've caught 4 mice w peanut butter traps. None last night so maybe we're done. E-mailed the owner about it just yesterday and he's sending an exterminator over today. Don't know why I waited so long to tell him. Maybe it was the excitement of the hunt. Hmmm :/ Thu Sep 15 11:23:44 -0700 2005 1694929 0 Shaebones 1 1694991 I find old school traps to be the most effective, especially when baited with bacon or crappy salami that's tied to the trigger(no need to re-bait constantly). Place traps around the room's perimeter. Don't view it as murder. Thu Sep 15 11:40:16 -0700 2005 1694929 0 Ronin 2 1695573 I'm having big trouble with mice in my loft (attic). I live in an old stone house, and can't really figure out how they get into the attic in the first place. I've filled all the holes I can see. Can they be climbing the vertical walls to get in? I've tried: poisons traps (all sorts) ultrasonic/electro-magnetic device .but nothing has worked long-term. I catch a few in traps and it goes quiet for a while... then the scrabbling about starts again. :-( One of the problems is that the attic has insulation (glass fibre) so it's quite difficult to see exactly where they're running. I gave up using the old style traps cos whatever I tried, the mice managed to get it off the trap without setting it off - hey they're smarter than me. Another puzzle - they fill the bait boxes and trays with chips of stone - it's as if they know they're poison and are trying to cover them up. Does anyone know why they do this? My conclusion is that I have to stop them getting in in the first place, so knowing whether mice can climb vertical walls without rope & tackle would help, and any other top tips.. Pete Wed Oct 05 12:43:45 -0700 2005 1694991 0 Pete 3 1695579 Pete, it looks to me that you're somwehere in England ? Your problem sounds like one I experienced recently. A neighbour (who loves to keep tabs on all that happens up the street), told me recently that she saw a squirrel on my roof and she watched it a while and then saw it disappear into one of the chimney breasts. Apparently they have been scrambling up and down and making a home inside the chimney which basically is blocked off on the inside as it has never been used by us. Recently from the kitchen window I saw a squirrel climb up the side of the wall onto a smaller roof of one of our outer rooms (an extension to the house), and it then climbed vertically without any safety ropes or anything, straight onto the roof, and it then ran across the roof towards the chimney. I think that you may well be having mice in the loft but also you have a squirrel. You will need to get some professional help in that case as they can become a problem over time. Also get your roof checked out. There may be some gaps through wear and tear of the slate or maybe the squirrel may have shifted a few tiles about. sufficient to enable it to come and go at will, however you will need to address this problem before winter sets in. Wed Oct 05 15:43:55 -0700 2005 1695573 0 Amin (London Foodie ''OrientRice@aol.com'') 4 1695613 Hi, thanks for the response, but it's definately mice not squirrels - I can hear them scuttling around even as I type this! They run between the plasterboard celings and the loft insulation. I know squirrels can climb... but mice? Pete Thu Oct 06 17:49:53 -0700 2005 1695579 0 Pete 5 1695621 Would recommend you call in some pest control company and get these mice sorted out before winter sets in. Yes, I do believe that mice can climb up vertically up drainpipes and walls (after all many kitchens in apartment blocks do have mice) Also if your fibreglass insulation is uncovered (ie., your loft is not boarded) would suggest you do that at the same time once the pest control guys have sorted out the mice problem, as it will give you proper walking/storage space in the loft and will also protect possible destruction from future mice (should it happen again) Fri Oct 07 00:37:18 -0700 2005 1695613 0 Amin (London Foodie ''OrientRice@aol.com'') 6 1695622 Amin thanks for the advice. We'll either get the problem sorted by Xmas, or else invite them to Xmas dinner with the family. best regards Pete Fri Oct 07 02:35:27 -0700 2005 1695621 0 Pete 7 1695628 Glad you found it helpful. Do get it sorted by christmas. It would be a shame for you to have to throw a mouse party ;-) Fri Oct 07 09:55:53 -0700 2005 1695622 0 Amin (London Foodie ''OrientRice@aol.com'') 8 5055587 Had that happen one year. We were sitting around after dinner, enjoying the fire and conversation with family and friends when a little critter dashed out in front of the fireplace. One of my friends screamed and had something akin to a panic attack while my mom tried to convince her that she was seeing things (although she knew full well we had a mouse problem). Memorable but I wouldn't want to go through it again. Thu Sep 24 11:57:30 -0700 2009 1695628 26054 Jasz 5 5054622 Unfortunately, they can climb. I live on the 11th floor of an apartment building and a few years ago started hearing strange noises. I couldn't figure out what it was as I'd never experienced this before. And then I started finding chewed up magazines, newspapers and gnawed baseboards. The SOBs invaded my sanctuary and I had a lot of sleepless nights. Tried various kinds of traps, but found that snap traps baited with Reese's peanut butter cups or peanut butter worked best. I also confirmed the dreaded words of the guy at the hardware store, "There's never just one mouse." Tis true, mice move in with their SO, kids, etc. Finally, the building's management opened up the walls in the building, put poison, and also started sealing entry points in individual apartments and around the perimeter of the building. The terror lasted almost 8 months, and it was one of the worst feelings I've ever had. I even borrowed a few cats but they were terrible mousers (too well fed!). I still find it hard to believe that the mice made it to the top (11th) floor of my building. At the time, I hardly ever cooked. The apartment was spotless too.But they eat everything (LOL, mice are NOT foodies)--like I said, the baseboards, paper, even a candle! Thu Sep 24 06:49:54 -0700 2009 1695613 255446 Gigi007 1 5053878 It's been about four weeks, and this season we have caught.... NONE. I've no idea what is going on but their IQs have gone through the roof. They have bypassed every type of trap we have tried, some of which were hugely successful during earlier invasions. But this time, nothing! Am at my wits ends. We have tried baiting with everything they have been gorging themselves on, from Stacy's chips to dogfood. We have used glue traps, and poison, and old fashioned traps and they just mock me! In the morning you can see that they've been sniffing around and simply skirted all our boobytraps. Not so sure they didn't actually move some out of the way... little turds! So it's back to the peanut-buttered rattrap tonight, and if that doesn't work sitting up all night with a shotgun. No... I don't need advice, I just need to catch 'em little bastards. Wed Sep 23 19:00:27 -0700 2009 1694929 1106532 Dougaldog 2 5054556 i know exactly how you feel! the little sh*tes have been making a mockery of me for years. i hate these freeloading disease-carrying vermins but i'm not going to stop feeding my garden birds. so, to the bitter end! lol... Thu Sep 24 06:24:09 -0700 2009 5053878 292258 Pata_Negra 2 5054644 I sympathize. See my post above. Those SOBs are creatures of habit. Normally, they take the same routes when they run around, so be sure to strategically position traps in the areas where you've found droppings, hear noises, etc. Another thing that worked for me is Reeses peanut butter cups as bait (I got the smallest size and baited the traps with pieces).Oops, I just read that you don't need advice. It's so-o-o frustrating. To this day, even though I don't have mice in my place, I am hyper-vigilant about noises. LOL, I suffer from "mouse trauma." Thu Sep 24 06:56:17 -0700 2009 5053878 255446 Gigi007 1 5054608 I have found that the glue pads, larger than the glue traps, work. Then, I plunged the unfortunate critter into a large coffee can filled with water to give him a Viking funeral. No screams. Vaya con Thor. We named our rascal Juan Pablo, after the NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya: really fast, but the one everyone wants to lose! Thu Sep 24 06:44:23 -0700 2009 1694929 44682 mothrpoet