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gilberto_gw

Getting rid of mice

Gilberto
22 years ago

Hello,

Are there any way of getting rid of mice organically? We have had a couple of rainy days in a row and these unwanted/unwelcomed creature are trying to use our house as a shelter. We have a dog and a little girl so using regular poison/baits is not a choice for us. I have used traps but, when lucky I'll only get one every few days at the most. Cats are also out of question as my wife cannot stand them. Any help is greatly apreciated.

Thanks,

Gilberto

Comments (150)

  • greasybean
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've noticed that the preferred bait for the snap traps seems to be peanut butter. I have had mixed success with peanut butter. Just like the old saying goes,"things aren't made like they used to be", so goes peanut butter. Peanut butter today is much more oily especially the name brands. Believe it or not, the mice can and will rob your traps. If you must use peanut butter, I recomend an off brand. They are more dough like and the mice have to work a little harder for their "last meal". I have found that a much better bait for the spring traps is a piece of tootsie roll. If you knead it a little between your fingers to warm it up you can mold it around the little tab on the trap and the mouse will have to really tug to get it. Another tip is this; get rid of the junk. I think it is ordained by God that we gardeners have junk! I don't mean a car on blocks in your front yard but our everyday important stuff. I have boxes of old gardening magazines piled in a closet, pots in one corner of the dining room, bags of soil in another, etc. Mice love tight little secure places and these "valuable items" make ideal hiding places. Even pots and pans in the back of a cabinet can provide a safe home for the mouse family. Check around and see if you have any places that offer protection for them. They are looking for the same thing as you and I. A warm home, a nice meal, and a little peace and quiet. However, these uninvited guests also carry diseases. Don't be squeamish about killing them. Most people have what I call "media poisoning". The cute little cartoon mouse who misses his mother, the broken hearted deer whose father was shot, gimme a break! This is real life. Fight back against all this mind garbage. Death of any creature is not pleasant but it has to happen sometimes -- whether to feed your family or protect their health. Mice may be cute but they are BAD!!!

  • desmoryder
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I sucessfully eliminated mice from my home by placing several small dishes of antifreeze wherever there was evidence of mice. The antifreeze also seems to work well in conjunction with poison bait... rats get thirsty after eating the poison and go for the antifreeze. Be sure the antifreeze is placed so that children, pets, or other animals cannot come in contact with it.

  • jensagtprost
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have an intense phobia of a mouse/mice getting into my bed while I am sleeping. I have never seen evidence of mice living in my home, however I saw my strictly indoor cat playing with a live mouse last week. Since then I have bought the B&D sonar repellants and placed them in my bedroom. Do you think that the scent of the peppermint oil would be too stong if I placed the cotton balls in the corners of my bedroom (including 1 or 2 under my bed)? This is really more about making me feel more at ease in my place than actually getting rid of the mice that are probably not there.

  • tryingfornumbertwo
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi, while we've had a bad mouse problem for a few years now, a good friend of ours owns his own pest removal/small rodent removal service. We asked him if he could do anything about the mice and he said the ONLY thing that you can do is to keep trapping them and seal off the areas they are getting in to. I also want to remind you allre using the humane traps, make sure you are releasing them far away from your home or they will just come right back in, same goes for squirrels and rats.

    I have noticed that our mice do NOT go near our food cupboards, but do go into the silverware drawer as well as pot and pan drawers and the stove and behind the microwave, all places that do collect crumbs if not cleaned daily. I have noticed that when I do keep those areas crumb free I see no sign of any mice. I hope you ALL solve your mousey problems soon!!

    Also, our mice consist of kangaroo mice as well!!!

    Carrie

  • gardenlover06
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I bought a 4 oz bottle of 100% peppermint oil at GNC at the local shopping mall. It was 14.99 + tax.

    I work at a national retail pharmacy. We don't stock it, but I am pretty sure we can order it for the next business day if ordered by 6pm.

    I just ordered the ratzapper.

    I am tired of using glue traps because it mauls the mice, sonicators worked for a little while, and don't want mice to get die inside the walls as a result of the poisons..

    Hope this works!

  • vader49
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I need some major help with a mouse issue. It seems they are everywhere. It first started with them in the garage. So I had been setting out glue traps and averaging about 1 a week. I didn't thing anything of it since they had just recently plowed under the fields near our townhome. But, about a week ago, I heard something in the downstairs bathroom. There was a mouse moving around on the exhaust vent grate. That was the first I had known of them getting into the house at all. My wife is 7 months pregnant and FLIPPED. So I called Orkin, and they came by. They found TONS on signs that they are in the attic. So they baited the heck out of the attic and some common places they might be found in the house. Well I thought this would start to help, however, now I'm hearing them in teh walls...of the BABY's room. I also am hearing them in the attic above our master bed room. THis is a BRAND new townhouse, completed in July of this year. What can I do. I have to clean my house up...this is just grossing me out and is SO disgusting...I feel so dirty.

  • stephahry
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I , too, was fooled into thinking mice do not go into new houses, I'm here 2 months and I found evidence of mice in my garage, and then in my moms room which is one door down from the garage enterance thats through the laundry room. But we were wondering if the mice can crawl through a drain I have thats a pipe from the outside into the laundry room? Or how do they jump up onto counters that are high and do not have anything hanging off like wires or doilies or anything? I just finished steelwooling the drain, set up glue traps everywhere, and mothballing (uhh) the garage. We got a ratzapper a couple of years ago (as a joke gift-never given) and I hunted it up, but what do you use as bait? Any other ideas? I'm so grossed out and mentally worn out from this that I can't sleep at nite!!!HHHEEEELLLPPPP!!!!!!

  • fponzani
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My take, based on Googling, talking to pest people, and personal experience:

    1. Plug up the holes. Caulk, Great Stuff expanding foam, good thresholds. Don't forget the garage doors if attached to the house.

    2. I've found that the wooden snap traps too often do not trip. The bait will be gone but the trap doesn't snap. I use "Quick Kill" traps from epestsupply.com. They are plastic (cleaner) and have a very sensitive trigger.

    3. Have you ever seen a mouse nest in the middle of the floor. Of course not. They like cozy little spots were they can feel safe. Put your traps and baits in a small box, like a shoebox, with a small hole cut in the side. Put the box along a wall or in the obvious travelways the mice use. Warning - these are not pet/kid-proof.

    4. I set up permanent bait stations around the perimeter of my house. I use "EZ Clean Rodent Bait Stations" from epestsupply.com. They can only be opened with a special key (included), are kid and pet resistant, and are very sturdy. They are a bit spendy at $14 each. There are cheaper bait stations available. I placed one on each side of my house and bait them with Contrac. I check them regularly and it is amazing how much bait is consumed. Assuming that I'm actually killing the buggers, I'm trying to reduce the general mouse population around the house. Fewer that might want to move into my kitchen.

    5. If you are trying to trap or bait, don't use repellants. It's hard to apply repellants everywhere in your house. You want to draw them in to your trap or bait.

    6. Remove food and water sources. Make your bait the only option for them.

    BTW, you can also use bait stations for ant control. I've had an ongoing carpenter ant problem. I'm trying AntPro bait stations with a liquid bait. Since I've just started using them I haven't been able to judge their effectiveness yet.

  • karyn1
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    When I got up this morning I saw that my cats had toppled over all my plants that I had growing on my seed mats downstairs. I've had the seed mats down for a couple months and they've never disturbed them in the past. I went to feed my lovebird and saw why the cats had gone bonkers. There was a mouse! We haven't had mice in the house for a few years, since we completed the renovations and supposedly sealed up all the holes. Well I guess there's some new ones and the weather has turned bad so in they came : ( I figure if I saw one that means that there must be more and I'm not counting on my cats or dog to get them. I just ordered the Rat Zapper and hope it arrives soon. I won't use poisons and those sticky traps are just too inhumane for me. Plus I don't want to see a dead rodent so I hope the Zapper works. I don't want a mouse/mice in the house eating food, pooping and peeing and I don't want my plants getting trashed!
    Karyn

  • kars_71
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I just bought the Black & Decker sonic pest repeller yesterday. Does anyone know if these really work? I have a kitten so traps, poison, etc. are not an option. How will I know if the mice are still in my kitchen? I was unfortunate enough to spot one last week darting behind the fridge but I haven't seen any other signs and I'm too scared to go looking for them in all the typical places, i.e. under the stove or the fridge. Help would be greatly appreciated. I'm living in fear of a 2 inch creature. It's so irrational but I can't help it!!!

  • lauragardner79
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This mouse problem is so disgusting! I've killed 9 in two days with the regular, old fashioned traps with peanut butter. I have spent two long days cleaning everything and plugging steel wool in every possible hole. I think the main problem is that they're still in our gas stove. Does anyone have any ideas for specifically getting them out of the stove/oven??? Thanks!

  • gilgross
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have read all of the posts and would like to add two bits of information I did not see. Mice climb cords - extension cords, power cords, computer cables and others. This is often how they reach counter and stove tops. Arrange cords so a bridge is not made to unwanted areas. Also, Walmart sells a live trap called the "Mice Cube" for about $2. Bait them with three or four pieces of dry dog food. I have the best luck with Pedigree. Check them morning and night. Release the mouse in a field somewhere away from your home.
    Clean them by soaking in hot water and lysol. Set them out to dry in open position. Make sure you rinse off all disenfectanct or the smell can repel them. They are so cheap some people just throw them out once they get dirty. Hope this helps and Thanks for all your useful tips.

  • cleo21
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I need help, I have a mice problem that keeps gettin worse! they are in my pantry, under my sink, and the worse i found on in my washer where the water comes out to clean the clothes!! and god knows where else they are hiding! very disgusting! i have set regular traps, only caught 4 so far, i KNOW there are plenty more than 4...i have 2 kids and another on the way, i have 2 cats, and 1 dog, my cats cant get to them obviously, and my dog...well dogs arent very good at catching mice haha, but is there a fast way to get rid of them and getting them out of my house before my baby comes in 3 months?? please help a mom in distress!

  • pasdetrois
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I live in an 80-year-old house and for 18 years I've battled mice and once -- when a filthy abandoned home was condemned and demolished next door -- rats. It is almost impossible to get rid of all access holes in an old house, but I have dutifully plugged up holes as I discover them. Many of my neighbors set out birdseed without cleaning it up, so I will always have mice. In my case the primary problem was the holes around the gas lines coming into my stove. Anyway, being a softie and being devastated at seeing a mouse die of poison (hugely swollen, dragging itself slowly across the floor, then hunkering down and shivering until I put it out of its misery with a brick), I bought a humane trap off of ebay -- one of the metal mesh cage types. I set it on my kitchen counter near the stove, with newspaper under it to catch its droppings and urine after it's trapped. I put some doughnut in there right before I went to bed. The next morning there was a mouse in there. I immediately picked up the entire trap and put it in a box and took it to my animal shelter. They humanely euthanize rodents with chemicals in a bucket. However, a very funny note is that sometimes the mice get away while they are being transferred from the cage to the bucket, so the shelter has a mouse problem too. Anyway, because my neighbors would be furious if they saw me releasing mice, I just release them in the woods behind the shelter, with the shelter staff's permission. I trapped three (one at a time) the first time I did this and made three shelter trips. Now after visiting this site I am going to try the oil of peppermint when the weather turns cold. I may also try one of those sonic thingies.

  • ofionnachta
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We ave 4 cats & in 20 years have had very little trouble with mice. We have found plenty of evidence the cats know what to do about mice, both outdoors & in.
    When we hear mice in the attic/walls (when cold weather starts) we set traps in the attic. They work well too--peanut butter--the "natural" kind--all peanuts.
    You people in new houses/townhouses---your builder built your house on the animals' homes---the mice and other critters are very territorial & you are the new folks on the block, to them! You will just have to seal up all those gaps modern construction & careless workers leave.

  • kjcole
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I need help. I've lived in a 9 unit condo building for 4 and 1/2 years, and never seen a mouse. Now...I've got the mother of all mice. I am convinced that it is feeding in someone else's unit, because I have absolutly no indication of a mouse dining here (i.e. no droppings anywhere in the kitchen or near food; no gnawing on anything food related), however, it is enjoying some type of co-habitation in my home.

    I have been trying to get rid of Supermouse...and I call him that because I am convinced he is indestructible...for about 6 or 7 weeks. I currently have the following items in place: 8 poison bait blocks; 2 poison pellet trays; 3 D-Con traps; 1 humane/trap and release thingy; 1 of those plug into the wall units that is supposed to drive mice away. NOTHING IS WORKING! I see Supermouse usually every other night. I swear he is taunting me at this point. I thought I had him trapped in my closet once, and my laundry room once, only to find after removing every item that Houdini had somehow escaped. To add insult to injury, his favorite place to poop seems to be my closet, and in my shoes. I don't want to put any traps on a counter or up high, because Supermouse seems to prefer the floor and not venture to higher ground. I don't want to give him any ideas. I'm going to try the Peppermint Oil and dryer sheets, but I'm really worried that it won't work. I could get an exterminator, but I'm not going to pay to have the entire building done, so I don't think that would be the most effective way to get the mouse out. I had a cat, but she died in January and I'm not getting another anytime soon. Any suggestions?

  • kjcole
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh yeah - and as much as I want Supermouse gone, I won't do a glue board thing (I'm an animal lover at heart, and just can't stomach the thought), and I have a 3 year old so I don't want the traps that spring in case he finds one. Thanks for any advice!!!

  • Fred4dot
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You can find a bucket trap on Amazon that can be either live catch or lethal.

    Here is a link that might be useful: ISS mouse trap

  • guinaw
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was recently pulling a box from my closet in my classroom only to uncover it and find a nest of 10 to 15 mice awaken and spill out onto the floor into the shelf and behind my desk. Did I mention I had a class of 25 students at the time? You can imagine mass chaos of screaming and jumping and I trying to direct everyone to stay calm from the top of my desk. Needless to say I dislike the rodents very much and would like them gone. They put out those sticky traps that night and when I returned that morning I found at least 5 dead and three that scampered when I turned on the light! They promised to exterminate but I don't want them back EVER! What can I do to deter them from coming back!!!

  • kitchenredo2
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I discovered we had mice and they were going into my cutlery drawers. We think they were looking for nesting material (they'd chewed the plastic drawer liner and my new silicone basting brush). My DH placed traps in the cabinets below the drawers. As I expected - no luck and I found droppings in the one of the drawers. Once he placed the trap in the drawer where I found the new droppings we did get one rather large mouse. We used peanut butter (I guess the mouse decided to have a snack when he found that the drawer had been emptied). I am hoping this is the only one...... but will place the traps again this evening just to make sure. Then I am going to try the oil of peppermint to see if that keeps them away.

  • sandy0225
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You can get some mouse poison bait at the farm stores, one kind is called Hawk and the other is called tomcat. They look like compressed squares with grooves and ridges all over them. Anyway they are moisture resistant and you can put them in damp places. They have been in my greenhouse all winter and been very effective. I've also been using them in the basement of the house and so far I've not seen any mice in the house at all. And we always do. They don't seem to die in the house/greenhouse, when they start feeling sick I guess they crawl off somewhere else. I haven't smelled anything bad like I did when I put the d-con out. Just don't put them where pets and kids can get to it.

  • allison1888
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    (Not trying to be sarcastic, but...) borrow a friend's cat. Our cat did a wonderful job of hunting down mice, despite being a lazy house cat for many years!

  • rosemary_2008
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please help I found dropping in my car and my son saw the little mouse when he got in and screamed and i also found droppings in the back where the speakers are so i put downey sheets on the floor and peppermint cotton balls on the bottom of the floor and 2 traps and 4 sticky traps i hope i get one how do you get them out do i go to a mechanic to see if the mouse is in the air vents or go and get it detailed what do I do PLEASE HELP ME I HAVE 3 KIDS 7,6 and a 2yr.old do i get a new car

  • organic_cinci
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Less than 2 hours after putting down some live catch traps I caught one and had it released.

    They are made by the company PiC and these came 2 in a pack for only $3 including tax. I bought 4, put them down and not long after there is a little clicking sound like when I set the doors of it up and I check and the doors are down, so I stuck a little duct tape on each door just to make sure they wouldn't accidentally open when moving it since the doors could easily be accidentally opened and stuck it in a bag and took it out in the woods and sent the little creature on his or her way.

    I just stuck a tiny little bit of peanut butter on the trigger part and put the trap next to a wall and voila! instant address change for the mouse.

    They are made by PiC and the number on the bottom of the box says "Stock # POMT " and they are called "Humane catch & release mouse traps" It's a yellow box about the size of a thick paperback book.

    No reason to kill them and no reason to have poison around, we are all exposed to too many nasty chemicals as it is, please try safe methods before ever even considering toxic stuff.

    Peace.

  • pdwatson_watsonlawoffice_com
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Do not ever use Decon, or similar products if you have cats.
    The mice eat the poison, then the cat eats the mice - and you end up with a dead cat. Our dear cat nearly died that way.

  • dazyjune
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As far as the ratzapper... Yes, it does, kill the mice!!!

    I have learned to make sure the bait is all the way to the back of the unit~ I now make sure that I also count the amount of bait (Usually I use 4 peanuts) this way if one is gone without the light blinking. CHANGE the batteries!!! I already now know, by watching the light when I turn it back on, if they need replaced or not! You can tell by the strength of the light~ If that makes sence!

    This will kill what you have, but as I asked when I purchased this, how does this keep them from returning????

    That I don't know, but it WILL, get what you do have and I have used this for a few years every fall/winter.

    The only way to prevent them is to find where they are coming in...in this house, so far, we have used so much steel wool and also the 'great stuff' we should buy stock, but the "ratzapper" does keep them at bay!

    Just remember, if you are going to be gone for a few days I would turn it off! You really don't want to come back to a stinking dead mouse! You will have the signs, but that is better than the smell! I would think! But then again, the way it kills them, I could be wrong, I just turned it off to be sure! Maybe they will address that! I did have to go away for a weekend and sure enough the bait was gone, But, as soon as I put more peanuts in and turned it back on, the next morning so was it!

    I would like to try the one that uses the D batteries, because the one I have uses AA and can get costly, but for now I will have to live with the older one I have!

    Maybe they have an exchange rate~ Who knows? Plus, we are both in Indiana !

  • cockatoobirdie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Mice in the House

    As the owner of a large tropical bird, mice have eaten the bird food in the bird cage, which is on the floor of the walk-in closet where the cage resides, which is open to my main room in a 1922 apartment. Needless to say the large room connects with the kitchen. Now all 3 rooms are infested with very, very smart mice. My tried and true method is glue-traps put against the walls, and under the bird cage. It works very well for the babies, and for some of the adults, but I know I have 2 adults in the main room that have now taken to walking the 9 moldings and watching me at night when I watch TV. I tried 4 glue traps together up on the molding, but they side-stepped them.

    Although glue traps are inhumane, I kill the mice immediately when I see them on the traps, by suffocating them with another glue trap, or by folding the trap over on to itself, wrap in newspaper and thrown out in the garbage. No dead or dying corpses smelling up the apartment. I wonÂt use poison because IÂm afraid IÂll never find the bodies, especially in my walk-in closet with piles of clothes. I am about to try the peppermint oil, though IÂm not sure where the mice are going to escape to. The perpetually open windows in the kitchen and in the main room (where they came in?) are 2 stories up from the outside. It is a hope though. IÂm at my wits end. IÂve caught over 20 mice with glue traps, and I still havenÂt solved the breeding problem, and I know they are breeding in the closet.

  • ronalawn82
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am sure that I posted this before; if so pardon the repetition. We killed rats by the thousands in the field using the "Pre-baiting Technique".
    Rats are suspicious but inquisitive.
    So, try a snap trap of suitable size. Fix it securely (Super Glue works well) to the floor along a baseboard. Bait it with something attractive but not messy. A piece of salted cod fish never failed me. Bacon worked for someone else. BUT do not set the trap. It may take some time (three nights) before the bait is taken. Continue to bait the trap until you feel confident that as soon as you turn off the lights at night the critter(s) will scamper along the baseboard, snatch the bait and return to their haven. That is when it is time to bait AND set the trap. Put out one trap for each mouse/rat that you suspect; in the hope of getting them all on the same night. Once you have sprung the trap(s), it is unlikely that you can obtain success again with the existing population.
    Try it!

  • gramps_gardener
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm feeling your frustration,for outside use see the end of this message. Pure peppermint oil on cotton ball place them in corners closets any entry area where you see proof of rodent activity it will keep them out not kill them (what ashame) but they hate the smell. REMEMBER to refresh your cotton balls with peppermint oil because as it evaporates they little pains in the tuucas (spl?) rodents will just drag off your cotton ball to their nesting area and sleep on them. Oh, they/mice can not belch burp so mix 1/2 part powder sugar with 1 part baking soda sprinkle closely around on baseboards when they get it on their little nasty paws and then clean themselves and each other they will digest this mixture and then within a day or two.... CABOOM, BAM! that's all she wrote 1 down and how many more to go
    OR use for outside use the plastic lid that comes on plastic butter container; sprinkle about 1/2 teasp in lid and place it near your plants & plant some peppermint herb plants in garden areas

  • the-light-lady
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here is the fastest, safest & easiest way to get rid of mice! No traps to handle or set!!! Use a bucket & fill it about 1/3 of the way with water. Now take about a 3 inch piece of a styrofoam plate, cup or bowl. Put some peanut butter on it. Sit it on top of the water carefully, where ever you notice mouse droppings, before you go to bed. Use a scrap piece of wood to make a ramp so the mouse can get to the top of the bucket & smell his peanut butter dinner. He will jump on the styrofoam, fall off & bye bye mouse! Usually the next morning you will find a drowned mouse in your bucket. Just take your bucket outside & empty the dead mouse in the weeds.

  • marcus_h_72
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you buy one of these Ortho traps, you might as well just burn your money. They don't work well and are under investigation in a big time lawsuit

  • braider
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    CATS - Works in 1 day ! Also there are sonic products now that plug into an outlet that mice can hear and you can't, and it drives them out.

  • l1jgr2_comcast_net
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Peanut butter works well on mouse snap-traps but sometimes the mice are able to just lick the peanut butter off without being caught. I have found that if you take a real peanut and break it in half...so you now have a half of a nut, you can jam it into to the bait portion of a snap-trap. The peanut is just as attractive to the mouse as peanut butter but now the mouse must yank on the nut to get it, then WAP! You can catch a hundred mice on the same nut, and peanuts don't turn hard and green like peanut butter.

  • tomspy77
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I hate to add to the confusion that seems to exist about peppermint oil but we have bought some twice in the last two weeks and still seen a mouse the other night.

    The smell is such that you can smell mint with our noses, so they must be able to smell it. As I said in my other post, I am thinking of going the poison route, they make me nervous and uncomfortable as I am home at night.

    We also tried snake poo, a remedy we read elsewhere on the web.

    I'm laying here at night feeling terrified about them being in our bedroom or our kids bed and getting into the mattresses.
    I know I'm being paranoid

  • mlomas12345_hotmail_com
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We tried poison and it make our home stink and its hard to find and the chickens found dead ones. Not a good idea. We tried using traps which hooks in front; doesn't work. The best trap is the side loaded one. It works everytime. Ill try peppermint infuse it and spray furnitures and oil all over the drawers and beddings. HOpe this works im really fed up. Bring on winter and frost. Thats the only way for total initiation.

  • Suzy_Bean
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here is a less expected mouse predator:) I know it is an absurd idea to suggest a chicken, but hopefully it can give you a good laugh

  • Manda22007
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I haven't yet finished reading all the suggestions but I need to head to the store and get supplies before it gets to dark and to help me stop from jumping out of my skin at any little noise (they have me that freaked out). My questions:

    Does the Peppermint smell have to be from Peppermint Oil, I ask because the stores close to me don't carry it so I will have to order some, in the mean time, would just the smell work, like if I were to buy candles, perfume, car fresheners, etc...

    Also, the instant mash potato thing. Will it kill them instantly? I actually have some of that in my house now and I was about to go out and buy poison, but I like the idea that this doesn't activate until they drink water, as I have no sources of water in my bedroom, if they die insistently from this then I know they wont die in my bedroom as appose to them dying anywhere like the poison would cause.

    If my questions could be answered as soon as possible I would greatly appreciate it, I'm very anxious here, thank you!

  • Manda22007
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Also, If you don't want to post a reply here, feel free to email me at manda22007@yahoo.com

    Thank you!

  • luther1947
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The simple way to make a glue trap "humane" is to take the trap outside, cover it with a piece of cardboard, and hit the mouse with a hammer. The mouse does not starve to death.

  • luther1947
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have caught lizards and snakes in the glue traps. The way to remove them without harming them is to pour olive oil on the trap. Use a soft 2" wide or so paint brush to gently begin to brush the limbs and body loose. One little guy had his little toes all curled up and under him. We were able to release him and watch him as he began to regain the use of his toes, etc. We also gave him water. We watched him carefully for a long time until he was able to behave normally so that he was not easy prey for predators.

  • inAmouseWAR
    11 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've been setting out standard spring trap, caught 3 in 3 nights, same location. They've wised up and haven't touched it in 2 days. I have seen 2 dash out of my bedroom just after I enter in the past 3 days. I ordered the frequency plug in online, still waiting on shipment. I just tried peppermint oil. I set up cups w/ cotton balls all around my room to the point where the aroma is pungent. I had some peace of mind thinking it would at worst keep them out of my room and in the rest of the house. Then while on my computer, in my peripheral, I saw one run under my bed. It steered clear of the cups and ran across the middle of the floor. A few minutes later saw one run out of then back into my closet. The one under the bed started making noises(presumably of discomfort). I have a closet full of laundry and storage under my bed, so I would have to go through it all a little at a time only for a mouse to jump out, scare the urine out of me, and run in an unpredictable direction. The smell is everywhere so they can't get away unless they found there way out the door(right next to one of the cups). I think they must have adjusted to the smell because the noises and scurrying have stopped. I now have at least one under my bed, and one furry feller trapped in the closet. I set up some traps, but I don't know if they will smell the peanut butter with the peppermint everywhere. If I could do it over with the peppermint oil I would start with one cup in the opposite corner of the exit then gradually add more around my room. By having a strong sense of smell they should move in a direction of less irritation. They won't find such opportunity in my room, the smell is consistently strong throughout. While the peppermint oil seemed to have a deterring effect, I've found myself in a bit of a pickle. I'm going to rig my room like a war zone in hopes of killing every rodent already inside, and see if the peppermint oil will keep any newcomers out. I hate these mice. Coming out of a morning shower half asleep is no time to be surprised by a mouse at your feet.

  • ral12
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please when using Peppermint Essential or any kind of OILS, please use it right. There are four units in our apt. complex. Each have wooden floorboards, and underneth the top units are drop ceiling tiles. Our neighbor gets allot of mice, we make sure we dont, by clogging and checking to make sure all holes are still clogged up from when we moved in. OUr traps are not set off and we do use glue traps mainly for insects, but it works well for other critters. Our downstairs neighbor decided to put pure peppermint oils on cotton balls up inside the ceiling tiles, right under us!! she used a whole bottle and then some. I got very sick and migraines, where as my spouse ended up in the hospital. The neighbor at first denied it, then said she has mouse problems. The landlord spoke to her,and we have now have to have a breathing device for spouse! it cost us over 600.00 plus to get special air machines to help get rid of the smell. Please use Peppermint oils and other oils wisely, safely and make sure you are not going to harm anyone with the fumes, they are very, very, very strong. Landlord really is not a great landlord, as he is not interested in getting rid of the problem, just mask it. We are now having problems with same neighbor, putting something else in ceiling tiles, spouse thinks it might be liquid rat poisoning. How does one prove this, and not let the culprit downstairs know,so we can get help. We are getting headaches, sick, and spouse is very sick, but once we are outside, all is better. We did ask neighbor, but, denied anything was going on. of course!! so, any help here would be nice. thanks.

  • Melissa Weatherwax
    8 years ago

    I would honestly say the sticky pads are the best, yes you have to pick them up and Dispose of them however you would like but no dirty mess not hard to clean up kill them however you would like. Some die of the shock of being in distress and stuck sticky pads are the way to go.We live on 30 acres and get field mice once a year sticky pads have work!!


  • patrick_pesco
    7 years ago

    BEST TRAP, will cost you few pennies! our little mouse showed up
    for the first time in November 2015. It was small by then and extremely fast.
    It's hiding place was behind the washing machine and the furniture in the
    kitchen. It has stayed with us until grown when I finally caught it in April
    2016 (we haven't become friends by then).

    So these are my attempts that failed before finding the method:

    -humane traps that close automatically: haha, I don't think the
    mouse ever noticed them (there were at least 5 and they are annoying as they
    keep closing through vibration when you walk past). I even added peanut butter,
    nutella etc, on the wall near the traps to attract. Never a sign that it had
    been licked off.

    -a strong rat trap given by my landlord (it doesn't matter what
    bait I would put (researched them all on these forums and tried them all). It
    only caught up dust and served nothing.

    -increased number of rat traps and put them in the right
    position (90 degrees to wall) or in slightly hidden places which these little
    friends like - even in boxes with holes as they like to enter them. No sign
    ever of the mouse having been close to them.

    -I also added many smaller mice traps (traditional) but during
    the months it became increasingly clear that they were only another piece of
    decoration in the house.

    -I tried the sound repellents (cost me a lot of money). I put
    one in each room. Haha again! We could often hear the mouse under our bed
    chewing wood for long periods of time despite the sound repellent being very
    close...

    -My method of preference would have been humane in the first
    place but since nothing happened, I increasingly resorted to more inhumane
    measures: I added two boxes with poison (one at the very entrance of the hiding
    place. The mouse never touched it.

    Guys it was horrible! Nothing worked. Kept reading methods
    in forums and spending money, money, money… Very frustrating and the little
    excrements were everywhere.

    More methods that did not work AT ALL!!!!:

    -peppermint oil (put loads and loads of them. Seemed to
    disappear for one day but was soon back and got used to the smell.

    -pepper: the whole house floor was full of pepper at some
    point (out of desperation)

    Softener sheets. Put them everywhere as well.

    -Glue pads (at least 6-7 at the time of maximum desperation
    and at location where I thought the mouse had to walk over.

    I even spend a whole night trying to catch the mouse when I
    managed to keep it in the living room. One of the worst night in my life since
    there was no result and I was absolutely tired the next day.

    I wrote all of this so that you don’t make yourselves too
    many illusions on the above methods. They may work for some mice, but I just
    felt at some point I had the smartest mouse ever.

    So what did work?

    -Prayer (please keep reading). Honestly, it was one early
    morning when I had enough of it that I praied intensely and finally caught it a
    few hours later!

    What is important is that you observe the patterns and
    behaviours of your mouse so that you become aware of escape routes/wholes, etc.

    I noticed in my kitchen that the little fellow once escaped
    through a small whole in the very corner of the kitchen (which was leading back
    to its hiding place behind the furniture). Now you also know that the entrance
    to its hiding place was between the washing machine and the furniture ( a gap
    of 4cm). Plus of course there is the door to our small kitchen.

    So 3 points of escape strongly imprinted in the mouse’s
    brain.

    What I did is I sealed the small whole in the corner with
    clay and strong sellotape. I left the gap between wm and furniture open (I
    needed the little one to come out from somewhere) and put all my glue traps in
    front of the door to the kitchen. My initial plan was to force the mouse to get
    through our kitchen door and get stuck on the glue (I still thought the glue
    traps would work). If it wouldn’t have worked, my hope was at least to catch
    the mouse as it was unsuccessfully trying to escape through the little whole
    which was now sealed.

    Now this happened: my wife had left a simple shopping bag
    (tied with a knot) with an open pack of balsamic vinegar flavoured crisps
    inside in the kitchen (hanging at one meter from the ground.

    The mouse managed during the night to climb up to the bag,
    make itself a little whole to get into it and start munching at the crisps.
    This is a very important detail since the mouse makes noise when eating the
    crisps and is unaware of movements outside (the bag was colored and not
    seethrough.

    We were in bed and heard the whole dinner feast going on in
    the kitchen: time for the patient soldier (me) to walk as silently as possible
    in the kitchen (I was surprised that the mouse, usually very alert, kept eating
    despite me making some inadvertent noises. The crisping crasping is so loud
    next to its ears that it won’t pick up any dangers.

    Ok, so here I am, I managed to get into the kitchen,
    position myself before escape route 1 (gap between wm and furniture) and turn
    the light on (at that point I didn’t know the mouse was inside the bag since we
    didn’t know where exactly this noise was coming from). I was surprised, as soon
    as the light was on everything went quite for a moment and I didn’t see the
    mouse enywhere! I thought it had escaped once again God knows how.

    But then a quick and noisy movement of the bag (AHA!) The
    mouse jumped out of the bag in a second, onto the floor, at which point it was
    at 20-30 cm from my feet and I noticed the millisecond of indecision in his
    (her?) eyes: it was pointing direction towards the little whole in the corner
    but as it must have realised earlier, it was now closed, so by the time it
    looked back to point in a different direction (maybe the door but again there
    were glue traps there, haha), my big sized foot was already coming down with
    full force unto it squashing it once and then twice and then trice while with
    cavely manlyhood and a strong feeling of revenge for all the shit in the house
    I screamed ‘get this!’

    I literally squashed his interiors out with my blows…. By
    that point you don’t care about being humane anymore. We have a small child and
    there is a limit to everything and besides I am a man, not an effeminate hippy!

    I would therefore suggest: buy a few cheap glue traps, get a
    not-seethrough plastic bag and buy a bag of balsamic vinegar flavoured crisps
    (yes I think the flavour IS important). Once you know the entrance to the main
    nest or the main escape route, place the bag even on the floor at a distance
    from this entrance/escape route. Seal or put glue traps on all evident other
    escape routes so that if you don’t manage to kill it by stamping on it while it
    is in the bag, if it manages to come out, it should still feel trapped so that
    you can put an end to it outside. REMEMBER: position yourself between the
    entrance/escape route and the bag to give you maximum control.

    Hope this makes sense. I will definitely use this method
    always again when/if I encounter a similar issue.

    Good luck and have a crisp yourself before bidding the
    little friend goodbye.

  • Julie Allen
    7 years ago

    I have had a small mouse problem since I moved into my house. I stopped the mice from coming into the kitchen cabinet and drawer by spraying it with a cleaner like you would for your counter tops then topped it with bitter apple that stops the dogs from chewing things.

    once in a while I would have a dead mouse in the glue traps in the basement.. This morning after very heavy rains and a huge thunderstorm. One of my cats presented in the basement 2 mice stuck in the glue trap, 1 dead mouse on the floor (since I think all the glue traps were taken) and then a few hours later left a decapitated mouse at the bottom of the stairs. They all looked wet so I'm thinking they came in through the belco doors that are a bit loose during the storm! I have since put a brick on the belco doors and shoved steel wool in the small hole at the bottom of the basement door that goes to the belco doors. There are no other spaces down there.. I also am getting the glue traps (boxes so your not staring at the mouse)

    I am praying that this is the end of this issue.

    Anyone else hear of mice coming in out of the rain?

  • Jayme Kelley
    7 years ago

    Get a Jack Russell Terrier. Our female JRT has been giving the mice hell in our 76 yr old house. She has bonded herself to my almost 2 yr old daughter, that's definitely HER baby. She chases the mice's down, corners them, mauls them to death and then brings them to my daughter, drops them at her feet and sits there, beaming with pride at her conquest, as though she expects Sissy to eat it. Of course, the baby doesn't understand that the dog just loves her to pieces and wants to gift her, the mice make her upset and she cries and runs away, but the dog really is helping us out, we were starting to feel a but overrun by the pests and she had dramatically decreased the population in a short time, and all "with a smile on her face." She spends endless hours on patrol for them, she loves it.

  • mangypoppop
    4 years ago

    I recently discovered mice in my silverware drawee while away on Thanksgiving break. There had ti have been a million droppings!! I had them in my back room a few months ago but traps were not doing the trick. I have kiddos so poisons are not an option for me at all. I stumbled upon a MIRACLE treatment; Instant Mashed Potato Flakes! My first thought was, "ok, are we now preparing a buffet for these creatures or what!?!" But hey, nothing els worked so why not try it. I put a nice heafty pile of flakes in the places that I saw the most droppings and just waited. About a few days later... the most horrible stench was in my stairwell. I could NOT figure out what it was. While thoroghly cleaning the stairwell I saw it; evidence that the flakes worked. The smallest and fully intact intestin ever... just sitting there on the floor. The mouse apparently blew it out of its body after expanding due to the flakes. Yes, gory... very. Smelly.... yes.... god aweful. Mice problems after? Not for months. Now that it's colder these nasty creatures are trying again to come in (hence the silverware drawer). I plugged any hole larger than a pea size with foil. Yes, this seems to be working just as well as the flakes... I check the sites constantly for dropping and do leave flakes... no droppings and flakes are still there. But they seem to have found their way into my silverware drawer. Good news; they seem to be isolated just to that area and they have ni way into the house. The other night I cleared the drawer, lined it for easy clean up of any new droppings and POURED a TON of flakes for them. This morning, 8 +/- hours later I go to open the drawer... ALL OF THE FLAKES have been eaten and mice turds EVERYWHERE in the drawer. There is definitely more than one now. So..... I poured about two cups of flakes into the drawer.... I added a little cup of water (its a teeny tiny old toy tea cup that I found... glass... about the size of a two liter soda bottle cap... lol. I know, kind of cray sounding to offer soon to be dying mice a nice "tea cup" of water but hey... why not go out in style, eh? LOL).


    So, it is December 2, 2019 at 10:40 a.m.

    Clean drawer.

    1 cup of instant mashed potato flakes poured.

    A tiny tea cup of water (so fancy, lol).


    I will update tomorrow morning.


    p.s. If there is more than one.... uugghh. The smell is gonna be so rank. Blugh.

  • mangypoppop
    4 years ago

    12/03/19 - 6:37am;

    Definitely smell a dying one or few in the wall of the stairwell. The flakes are starting to work. They always seem to retreat to this area when dying. Im guessing its access to the outside to get water.

    ALL of the flakes were eaten again in the silverware drawer. Less poops from what I can see.

  • mangypoppop
    4 years ago

    01-04-2020: I bought claw traps recently to add slong side of the instant taters
    ... I caught seven mice almost immediately. Fast forward one week.... Zero mice. No dropping. They are finally GONE!

  • elrod mah
    4 years ago

    Ok. Since after Christmas of ‘19, I have caught 10 mice in my apartment. Here’s what worked and didn’t.


    Glue traps. But they get smart and start to avoid. Caught six

    Victor wooden mouse trap. Caught one

    Garbage can. Heard it in the can and quickly removed the trash. Caught two

    Luck. Caught one in the bathroom with a empty Tupperware container and flushed it down the toilet.


    Didn't work.

    Instant mashed potato flakes.

    Rodent poison. Ate it all and even the blocks I haven’t put out.

    Peppermint oil. If they’re already in the house, it’s too late.


    I think what happened was a pregnant mouse came in and gave birth. I never saw more than two mice together only once. And after the mother was caught first, all the other mice were small and tiny, like less than half the size.


    I haven’t seen a mouse since I found the last one in the garbage can in the kitchen. But I still have glue traps out.

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