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I agree, cats do wonders. I had pretty bad mice problems for awhile, then I got a dog, and they have been minimized. I haven't seen a mouse or mouse droppings in months. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or they also avoid the smell of dogs.
I had a West Highland Terrier in the 90's. That dog was a great mouser, even better than some cats I've had.
The answer is no, you cannot "mouse proof" any house or building, unless you build a stainless steel vacuum vessel with metal to metal seals.
You can make it less likely they will come in, and there are many posts above plus tons of information about this.
In attached houses, the only additional issue is that when one house in the string does mice-attracting things (like leaving food mice like accessible), it will often bleed over to other houses in the string.
I know maybe a weird topic but everyone I know who lives in a row house in the city has mice, can you mice proof these places or do you have to live with it ?
Only problem with the cat scenario is when they catch them at night and jump up on your bed (with the mouse in their mouth) to show you. Or leave it on floor by your bed so you step on it when you get out of bed.
When I was a kid we lived in a 1880’s stone farmhouse. Many mice. Cat liked to sit in the hall and watch them. Didn’t want to budge from spot in front of the radiator.
you have to seal up every single solitary crack and hole and any space between floor to trim.
Living in the same apartment for 30 years, I never had a mouse, let alone mice, ever....
until that one morning.
yikes, was sitting eating breakfast, and my eye caught movement to the back of the fridge. But I know that is all sealed up, as my kitchen has been done more than once...
I thought it was a large water bug, wrong.
I put my waffle on the floor, to lure what ever it was. Yikes!!! a little mouse came out, and ran along the bottom of the cabinets, ran into the foyer, I couldnt get the door open fast enough to let it in the hallways, at least...
the mouse ran under the foyer closet door.
after massive screamming, yes, men scream, its a yuck factor...
There was the cable wires coming thru the wall, was the only thing i was able to think of.
I later on found out the lady under me, has MICE....not a mouse. OK, I dont care about her, but I dont want them.
So, I thought they obviously were coming from the closet, it was re-sheetrocked and the trim was nailed, glued and caulked to the floor..............that was almost a year ago.
so that was my problem, since the closet was the only thing not renovated in all these years, moral of story is, OMG, they can get thru the smallest of holes, cracks, creveces, spaces.
seal and caulk everything, everything.
also, a helpful hint, the spray "good stuff" its a foam that seal spaces, you can only use it once, as once your done with it, the stuff clogs the sprayer, so use the whole can in one shot.
Pull out your stove and look at where the duct/pipe/whatever goes into the wall. Usually there is extra space in the hole and that is a favorite entry for mice. Stuff it with some steel wool. The mice cannot chew through without shredding their faces.
Check behind your fridge and under the sink as well.
One of the properties we own is a row house that sits between two others. The three share an attic space...if you go up there you see one big room with fire walls between. Neighbors on one side: great maintenance. The other? Not so much. Mice can get in everywhere and despite the fact that 2/3 of the attic is sealed tight, next door is a rental with a landlord who isn't as diligent as we are. The tenants also have a dog who regularly gets into their trash when he's bored. It's a mice palace. When they were doing some construction a few years ago all the mice migrated into the master walk in closet in our space which is on the shared wall with that side. There was a family living in a bag of winter clothes. Tenants moved it and mouse poop went everywhere/mice scurried out.
I agree that getting a good hunter cat is a great option as long as he/she doesn't eat a poisoned mouse. We definitely allow cats in this rental.
Get a cat. As long as the cat is a good mouser and stays in the house, you will never have a mouse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewtownBucks
The cat doesn't even have to be a good mouser. Mice instinctively avoid the smell of cat dander.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muinteoir
I agree, cats do wonders. I had pretty bad mice problems for awhile, then I got a dog, and they have been minimized. I haven't seen a mouse or mouse droppings in months. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or they also avoid the smell of dogs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by prospectheightsresident
Cats work wonders. We had a major mouse problem in our row home in NYC, but a new cat solved that problem.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, STOP, STOP, STOP SAYING THESE THINGS.
Not all cats are good mousers!
I HATE these kinds of threads because people run out and get a cat and then get ANGRY at said cat when the cat ignores the mouse or mice!! Again, let me repeat: NOT ALL CATS ARE GOOD MOUSERS!! Some of them could LITERALLY have a mouse family run by them and just watch and then go back to napping (or, frankly, NOT EVEN WAKE UP!)!!
I have EIGHT cats at my house, yes, EIGHT, my partner and I am the "crazy cat couple." But I STILL get mice in the living space of my house, i.e. the first floor. (I don't think there's any way to keep them out of the basement, given that I live on more than an acre of land surrounded by beautiful trees and shrubs, but I WOULD like to keep them out of the living areas!) So NO, mice DO NOT "instinctively avoid the smell of cat dander" -- if they DID, I would NEVER have a problem.
I have two kitties (my youngest -- about 2 years old now) who ARE great mousers, or at least, they alert me to when a mouse is in the living area (because they sit in front of the bookcase or refrigerator or whatever waiting for the mouse to appear ). But even THEY don't always CATCH them, because at some point they leave to have a snack or use the litter box or whatever. (So yes, I've had to kill the mice myself, and yes, it's as horrendous as it sounds. )
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightcrawler
you have to seal up every single solitary crack and hole and any space between floor to trim. ... [and more fantastic advice]
hope this helps.
^^^ READ NIGHTCRAWLER'S ADVICE!! Seal EVERY OPENING you can. THAT is what will keep mice out.
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