How does one get rid of mice?

[B_Think_Kink]

We were sat on the terrace a couple of weeks ago with our laptops having a couple of glasses of wine before bed. We heard some strange noises coming from inside the house but on investigating I found nothing.

We went away to bed around 2am. As soon as I put the light off I heard scratching noises coming from the corner of the room. I flicked on my bedside light to see a mouse run across the bedroom floor and all hell broke loose. Sacha , our dog went nuts as you'd expect from a terrier and was chasing it everywhere. Condsidering rats and mice are my phobia I was reasonably calm.

We continued to chase it from one hiding place to the next with the dog still going crackers and in hot pursuit. It went under Paul's bedside cabinet so I got ready with the metal fish slice while he whisked the cabinet out. Good idea had we removed the all glass lamp first which ended up smashed all over the floor.

We got that cleaned up and got the mouse cornered under the wardrobe which hasn't much space underneath but we could just see it. The next bright idea was to spray it with cockroach spray to maybe stun it enough to slow it down. I didn't affect the mouse but has us choking and coughing. Afer a few drags on my inhaler I recovered enough to continue the battle.

Next it managed to squeeze under the tiniest gap below the door into our storeage room with me trying to batter it with the fish slice. 3 glasses of wine really impairs your aim . It then disappears behind 3 ikea bags of linen which had been delivered from the laundry yesterday.

It's now after 4am and I'm out in the communal garage in my underpants emptying bags of laundry. No sign of it. We come to the conclusion that it's hiding somewhere in the other side of the storeroom so lock up and go to bed in the other room. Sacha slept on the bottom of my bed instead of her usual place under the bed. She spends the night "on guard".

We get up at 8am for work feeling completely shattered. After work we decide to completely empty and clean the bedroom. No sign of it so I head up to the ferreteria for traps. They show me all these fancy humane traps that catch them alive. I explain " Quiero Matarle" in my most vindictive tone. I get a smile and then get given a pack of two traps that they assure me will cut it's head off.

The traps have been set in the storeroom. One with chocolate and one with cheese. Sacha spent most of the next day "on guard" in the bedroom bless her .

That was a couple of weeks ago and no sign of it since :biggrin1:

They don't like cheese... try peanut butter.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

When we had mice I was reading in bed late at night, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye but put it down to tiredness, then I saw it again and bold as brass this mouse just sauntered over the bedroom floor. I woke my husband up, he said I was imagining it, but I insisted he wasn't, I made him carry me downstairs, check the sitting room for mice, then bring the kids down in case the mice ate them Next day I went to stay at my mum's till he'd sorted the mouse invasion out.

 

[ManiacalMadMan]

I want to thank all of you for giving and offering suggestions on how to handle this matter I am looking at many of them There will not be a cat in my future since I am refusing to replace my cat who died a few years ago at 19 years of age He was my favorite cat and I would feel terrible to replace him. Also I am told in the lease agreement that a cat is not allowed here or I can be evicted for violation of terms of the lease For now I am looking to humane traps I saw a few and varying deter items like peppermint oils and more of the cayenne pepper

Also DavyR it may be strange but twice now I have used roach spray to be rid of the mice It takes a lot of spray though at least 5 cans and I mix it in with water in a large plastic old milk container and sprinkle the poison water about the apartment and then leave for a few days The smell is still bad when I return and this time I am forced on staying home since vacation time is used all ready Maybe I will manage a long weekend and spray heavily then



Manlybanisters, I can cook up a special dessert if you need Maybe chocolate mouse

 

[36DD]

I want to thank all of you for giving and offering suggestions on how to handle this matter I am looking at many of them There will not be a cat in my future since I am refusing to replace my cat who died a few years ago at 19 years of age He was my favorite cat and I would feel terrible to replace him. Also I am told in the lease agreement that a cat is not allowed here or I can be evicted for violation of terms of the lease For now I am looking to humane traps I saw a few and varying deter items like peppermint oils and more of the cayenne pepper

Also DavyR it may be strange but twice now I have used roach spray to be rid of the mice It takes a lot of spray though at least 5 cans and I mix it in with water in a large plastic old milk container and sprinkle the poison water about the apartment and then leave for a few days The smell is still bad when I return and this time I am forced on staying home since vacation time is used all ready Maybe I will manage a long weekend and spray heavily then



Manlybanisters, I can cook up a special dessert if you need Maybe chocolate mouse

First, let me say I am sorry for the death of your cat...I love all my cats too and they are irreplaceable.
Does your lease say "no pets" or just "no cats"? If it doesn't differentiate, can you then try to say the mice are your pets and get them to get so pissed at you that they will take care of the problem?

 

[B_Italian1]

It's best to kill mice immediately before you get overrun with them. I had a few and I bought these little green blocks at the Home Depot. I can't think of the name of it, but it comes about 8 to a box and it's under $10. At night you place them where you found their droppings. I did that and the next day they had nibbled on the blocks so I put more out. The following morning the blocks were gone, and I found two dead mice in the cabinet. I've never had any since then. I never tried it but there's some kind of device you can plug in the wall which lets off a frequency only they can hear. It's supposed to drive them out of the house, but they'll most likely wind up in your neighbors house. I say kill them even though they are kind of cute.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

When we had mice we had professionals in to deal with them, a few things he told we were you never have just one mouse and that if you put poison down for them because of it's nature it has to be unattractive to any other animals so it tends to taste pretty foul, so you have to be absolutely scrupulous not to leave the tiniest food crumb around or they won't eat the poison.

 

[ManiacalMadMan]

First, let me say I am sorry for the death of your cat...I love all my cats too and they are irreplaceable.
Does your lease say "no pets" or just "no cats"? If it doesn't differentiate, can you then try to say the mice are your pets and get them to get so pissed at you that they will take care of the problem?

I read the lease again and it states to me 'no pets or animals of any kind' I like the idea of saying the mice become pets but this could cause trouble A few years ago when first I had them I called the owner and was accused of breeding them and having an untidy home All my meals were eaten away from home at that time and I cleaned the floors twice a week then and this was just after my cat had died so not even food remains from him were available on the floors or tables


I once more must thank you all who have given me suggestions Italian978, I like the idea of those blocks and there is a Home Depot near here hopeful they still sell them

 

[transformer_99]

Get a cat, or even a boa or python. Cat's are messy, but a constrictor, those are pretty neat to watch as I recall from my childhood. Bad part is, you may have to go buy mice to continue feeding it as your pet.

 

[DC_DEEP]

So one can have a tom Tabby Cat. It's all so confusing.

Yes, tabby just refers to a gray-striped cat of either gender...

There are just too many words, you'd think there would be so many that we wouldn't have to use some of them to simultaneously mean entirely different things.

I heard that there was no such thing as a male calico cat,Am I right?

I don't know, I've heard all ginger cats are female, do Americans call ginger cats calico?

All ginger (orange) cats are male; all calico (three-color) cats are female.

And the first line of defense is to properly seal the house, as mentioned above. Best second line is having a cat - but not an over-fed cat.

 

[tim36]

I think getting a cat will be great, they are natural predators to mice, and it seems that mice can sense and smell the scent of a cat, so maybe they would think twice of entering your place, unless they want to be done for.

So getting a lean, frisky cat may help.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

They say the scent of a cat will put mice off entering the property, they also say mice have an instinctive fear of snakes, I can't vouch for the fear of cats but I can say the fear of snakes certainly isn't true in British mice, when we had a royal python which would only eat live food they'd be frisking around having a good time not in the least bothered about the rather large snake swaying and eyeing them up.

 

[B_Italian1]

Before the poison blocks I used some of those glue traps. That was the worst. They work but you have this living creature with its tiny legs stuck in glue. I didn't know what to do with it, so I put it in a paper bag, closed the top and put it outside to let it suffocate. I felt so bad. :redface:
At least with the poison, they eat it during the night and die while you're still sleeping.

 

[Sixofspades]

There is a little device that plugs into an outlet, which sends out a really irritating noise that only mice can hear. I forget the name of the company that makes them, but I know lots of restaurants use them, and my sister had a mouse problem for a while, got one of those little machines, and the mice have never been back. They definitely work, and they only cost around $40 or so. Maybe I can e-mail my sister and let you know.

 

[b.c.]

"Well, when we got back to our home ('bout a year after the storm and flood), we found out mice had moved upstairs. We done gutted the entire bottom and thought the upper rooms safe and secure until we found evidence of the "invasion" (the smell and the signs of their "explorations".)

First, we bought some of them grey plastic containers with the door that's supposed to drop... They dropped alright, but with no mice. Once, we came back after we was gone for a coupl'a days and found a trap that had caught one. Only the critter done knawed a hole thru that little plastic door and plum got away.

Then we bought some of those twisty things that you put food in and wind up. Those worked pretty good. We took several of the varmits off to vast deserted parking lots (there was plenty to choose from then) and let 'em go, watchin with amusement those little two-inch balls of fur run around in circles for awhile then scamper off in directions unknown.

But we knew that was way too slow to deal with all of them, 'cause by that time they done got bold enough to sit there and peek at us from behind our salvaged and undamaged belongins.

So we went off and bought a bunch of them little packets of poison and put them in strategic locations...the attic and such.

Between that on the inside (and a good population of "survivor cats" on the outside), our mousy episodes came to a swift end."