Getting rid of mice? (painting, smell, bathroom, kitchen)
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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.
In my poorer childhood days, we lived for a time in a cockroach-infested apartment complex (we had to serve out our lease). We had a cat that would hunt the roaches at night - I could hear him munching on them after we went to bed!
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.
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.
Interesting idea about making them thirsty. What kind of bait did you use that made them thirsty?
We don't live near any fields so I am surprised we have so many! Just a suburb outside of Philadelphia, PA
Our zoo had a major infestation of rats and mice. Late in the evening you might see 15-20 in each animal enclosure feeding on the left over food. You can't use any type of poison in a zoo as the animals might get into it. Been there, done that one. We had a company come by with a presentation on a new type of mouse/rat trap that is multi-use meaning that once it goes off, it's ready for the next critter. It can handle up to 24 kills. The power is by a CO2 cartridge. The rat/mice crawl up the tube to feed on the bait, when they do, they trigger a hammer that puts their lights out- permanently. The critter then falls out of the bottom of the trap and is ready for the next one. They ended up buying 10 of these things and the kill count was staggering. Far more rats and mice are there that you don't see. We still have a few, probably critters moving in from the surrounding area but it's no longer an embarrassment. Kinda lousy to have a kids night at the zoo and the rats and mice out number the people. It's not a cheap date, but it works. We use cheap peanut butter for bait.
Our house is in the country. We've gotten rid of mouse infestation for months at a time, but we still have to be diligent and keep an eye out for mouse droppings and evidence of them munching on our dry goods.
You really need to seal up your house. Block all the holes that the mice are using to get in. And they can squeeze themselves through really tight openings. They also are able to climb like Spiderman. I've watched one climb up a concrete wall without any problems. Painting concrete with a glossy paint would stop that. Filling up cracks and crevices with steel wool and expandy foam works.
We use electric traps baited with peanut butter.
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