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Has anyone actually had any luck with getting rid of mice? Our house is old (100 years) and we moved in back in October. Shortly after we noticed we had some mice in our kitchen. So I got an electronic zapper trap and successfully caught 2 of them. After that we didn't see any signs of them for months. Until May then they returned. So far I think I have caught 5 total over 2 1/2 months. It doesn't look like they are living/breeding in the house, but rather coming and going. I usually catch one every few weeks.
I've called 3 different exterminators out, but they all say it doesn't seem like a major problem and just want to put poison traps around the house. But I am skeptical that will help. I've tried filling holes on the outside of the house as I find them, but being that it is so old, I think it is a losing battle.
Anyone have recommendations of anything else I can try? They have not been getting to any food from what I can tell, but it's not fun finding poop in the drawers or floor.
Its a losing battle in any house, old or new. Just keep setting traps, and you'll slowly, eventually take care of the problem.
Set a bunch of traps in the crawlspace/basement/rafters, and in the attic too. No need to reinvent the wheel, the original mousetraps or the white snap traps are perfectly fine.
If you use poison baits, be sure you understand how they work. Those baits that supposedly "make them thirsty" don't contain salt. They contain an anti-coagulant; one name is Warfarin. After eating the bait the mice begin to bleed internally. THIS causes thirst. The idea is that the poisoned animal goes outdoors to find water (and hopefully this means it doesn't die in a wall and stink). They may also stash the bait in a nest and not actually eat it for weeks or months. A huge problem with all this is that a poisoned, weakened mouse blundering it's way outside can be caught and eaten by your pet, a neighbor's pet, a small wild predator or scavenger (think hawk, owl, fox, weasel, corvid, any number of wildlife species you have no reason to kill), and poison THEM. Not a very pleasant way for any of these creatures to die either. It happens. Many people who rehabilitate wildlife will tell you all about it.
Out-of-sight convenience for you can mean death for something else.
BTW, directly above the OP's post is a sticky with all sorts of suggestions as well as raging debates about them.
Snap traps and electric traps are the only two that work. Don't use poison - the weakened rodents may wander off and be picked off by predators and scavengers. Modern anticoagulant poisons are highly toxic to any animal or bird that eats a poisoned rodent. In the long term, poison compounds infestations,.
Its a losing battle in any house, old or new. Just keep setting traps, and you'll slowly, eventually take care of the problem.
Set a bunch of traps in the crawlspace/basement/rafters, and in the attic too. No need to reinvent the wheel, the original mousetraps or the white snap traps are perfectly fine.
There are often specific times during a year when native mice are more likely to invade a house. Late summer/fall is common. The young animals born that summer have been booted by their parents. They are on their own, and searching for easy food and a warm place to spend the winter. Then you may not get any for months. Learn the local pattern and that will help you anticipate when to lay or check traps.
I don't happen to get non-native rodents (Mus musculus, the so-called common house mouse or rats Rattus sp. introduced from Europe) in my house. I do get native voles or deer mice, so I prefer to live trap them and release them instead of killing them. They are food for something else. There are lots of ways to catch small rodents, even multiples at a time. If you don't mind the effort of course.
I love cats with all my heart, and have six. Unfortunately, cats are not always able to get at the mice, particularly in drawers or pantries. Mice can be very good at getting around in a house without ever actually being seen by either humans or felines.
By all means, get a cat - no house is a home without one. Just don't expect the poor thing to be a silver bullet where mice are concerned.
If you live near a field, you'll just always be dealing with mice. When I lived in the country, I found the best remedy was the bait that they eat and then get thirsty, and go outside of the dwelling to drink - and die there. You need to be sure they can't get any water in your house.
I also had a scotty dog who spent her entire day hunting and killing mice on my property (about 2 acres). This helped, too.
But, I really feel for you. I don't miss mice and after living in the country and having them invade my space, and learning how disgusting they are - they poop and pee wherever they go - I really got over any ideas of humane traps. Mice breed like nobody's business. And they are really disgusting creatures. Even my pigs found a spot far from where they ate to use as their bathroom. Most animals won't go to the bathroom where they eat. But, not mice. They are so disgusting, I could smell one come into the room before I could hear them - as small as they are, they are that disgusting as far as how they smell, etc.
My property was about 2 hours away from Portland, OR, and on a road to the national forest. I'd catch Portlanders pull into my far driveway to let their "humanely" caught mice loose onto my property! I'd run at them like a madwoman and ask them if they wanted me to bring all of my vermin to let loose in their front yard in Portland!
Just, argh. Anyway, get some good bait that causes them to get thirsty, make sure they can't easily access water in your house, and they should go die somewhere else. And feel no guilt about it. They breed like nobody's business. You can't afford to be nice to them. They will take over the world.
*Sigh*
That old wives tale needs to die; there is *NO* such poison bait for rodents sold either professionally or to domestic consumers that cause them to "get thirsty", seek water, or whatever.
Mice normally can source water from foods eaten, and thus unlike larger rats (who indeed do need water, do not normally go in search of water.
Even if a mouse or rat "needed" water, chances are they set up housekeeping in your home because it provided shelter, food and nearly everything else needed for survival. So why would they go "outside" to find water when in theory source or sources could easily be found indoors? Everything from leaking faucets, pipes, connections to that bowl of water left out for Fido or Sylvester.
Has anyone actually had any luck with getting rid of mice? Our house is old (100 years) and we moved in back in October. Shortly after we noticed we had some mice in our kitchen. So I got an electronic zapper trap and successfully caught 2 of them. After that we didn't see any signs of them for months. Until May then they returned. So far I think I have caught 5 total over 2 1/2 months. It doesn't look like they are living/breeding in the house, but rather coming and going. I usually catch one every few weeks.
I've called 3 different exterminators out, but they all say it doesn't seem like a major problem and just want to put poison traps around the house. But I am skeptical that will help. I've tried filling holes on the outside of the house as I find them, but being that it is so old, I think it is a losing battle.
Anyone have recommendations of anything else I can try? They have not been getting to any food from what I can tell, but it's not fun finding poop in the drawers or floor.
Only way to successfully rid any structure of rodents involves a multi pronged approach.
First and foremost the place has to be sealed, locked up and or whatever tightly to prevent entry. Mice need only a space size of a dime, and rats about a quarter. They can gnaw a hole larger to suit, and in any event if they can get their head through will "compress" their body to pull themselves rest of way.
Given the small size of mice obviously nearly every gap, crack, or whatever needs to be found and sealed properly. Some materials and methods are better than others. More so because if rodents sense by smell or know from habit there is something they want on other side of hole, they will keep at gnawing or whatever to get at it; this includes anything used to plug a hole.
Rodents have no control over their urine; so they leave a "scent" trail that others can follow.
This brings up the second part of your attack; sanitation.
You have to clean every and anything that can be a source of food and or provide nesting materials for rodents. Both rats and mice prefer to nest in areas that aren't likely to be distrurbed but near source of food (or water in case of rats). That means behind fridges, stoves, under sinks, in garages, food storage areas, etc...
Vegetation around foundation of your home needs to be cleared and or trimmed back. Gravel or whatever is better than beds of plants, but if you can't, then keep things neat.
After all the above is done, then poison and trapping will bring far better results. Otherwise you are going to go through a vicious cycle; killing rodents now, only to have them reappear again several months later.
Many professional pest control companies offer "rodent proofing" services, with the best having some sort of written guarantee that if something does get in, they'll come back and do things again or whatever for free.
I have used those glue traps before but I just can’t stand hearing the little things screaming in pain, and I’ve heard they’ll even chew their own legs off to get away. The electric traps kill them instantly so I think it’s more humane.
I have used those glue traps before but I just can’t stand hearing the little things screaming in pain, and I’ve heard they’ll even chew their own legs off to get away. The electric traps kill them instantly so I think it’s more humane.
Yes, those rat or mouse zappers are excellent. However they are a one off since the electrocuted rodent must be removed, trap cleaned up and rest before another victim "goes to the chair".
Had a mouse issue several years ago. Even after sealing place up (again), doing a massive and intense cleaning job still had a few stragglers that refused to take the hint. Little bastards were jumping over snap traps and managed to free themselves from glue versions.
Enter one of those little "electric chair" mouse catchers. Was a "professional" model but never the less within a few hours of setting up, *BAM*; crispy fried mouse.
That was a few years ago and haven't been bothered since. Though keep the thing on and supplied with fresh batteries just in case.
I tried the electronic sound wave devices you plug into a socket, that supposedly puts out a sound that bothers them - they weren't affected at all by it. Waste of money.
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