Help! Mouse problem! (floors, roofing, sofas, stove)

[doglover29]

We have lived in our house for 12 years and this is the first time we've had a mouse issue. A few days ago I heard scratching in a kitchen cabinet (no food present). I opened the door and saw some mouse droppings. I have not seen any evidence of mice prior to this. I checked all the cabinets, no boxes of food are disturbed, etc.

Then I'm cleaning the house and I go into my kids' playroom, which is one the bedroom level in one of our spare bedrooms. The room is messy but just with Legos. I clean the legos up and I find 10 mice droppings scattered around the room. This is on carpet. There is no food in the playroom and we never eat anything on the upper level of our house.

We have 3 levels: basement, main floor, and second floor.

How should we approach this mouse problem? Why am I seeing no evidence of mice in the kitchen, which would be the likely place, but instead in my kids' playroom on the upper level? Do I need to replace the carpet in there? I'm not sure how I am going to clean and sanitize 5000 Lego pieces.

Also, we have cats! Cats who are always in the playroom. They even sleep in there sometimes because they like a certain chair in there. Why aren't the mice scared of the cats?

Help!!!! I'm freaking out!

[TXRunner]

Mice will look for new places to live, especially in fall or spring. They might not necessarily be eating your food. They could be surviving off bird food outside or a bunch of other things in your yard. If you are this freaked out then I recommend getting an exterminator. They'll help identify where the mice could be coming in. They do not like traveling in the open, but will move travel along cluttered floors and baseboards, so I recommend putting the Legos up and keeping the floor clear.

[davebarnes]

You don't have a mouse problem.
You have a mice problem.

[harry chickpea]

Mice can eat cat food. Just sayin'

I don't think they eat Legos, but they might be able to build little mouse houses with them. Beware of contractor mice in hard hats.

I would approach the problem wearing shoes. The varieties of commercial mouse traps are large. Just don't waste your money on the ultrasonic "repellers." Micky and Minnie dance to the sounds.

[kab0906]

Set traps. Look for locations they could be getting in and seal closed - tip: if their tiny head can fit, so can the rest of the mouse - think the size of a quarter. Best to get them early, they do a lot of chewing damage.

I used these when we had an issue in KY. We baited them with peanut butter.

Snap mouse trap

[E-Twist]

They might not have found an entry into your house before. They say for every mouse you see there are 40. Hopefully they haven't multiples yet. Personally I would call a professional to see if they can find where the mice are gaining entry.

When you opened the cabinet door could you see anywhere they could gain entry? Where the pipes go into the wall for instance? Go online and do some research.

[Parnassia]

There's a sticky thread with all sorts of discussions/suggestions regarding household pests right above this one.

Just because you never noticed mice in this house before isn't a guarantee they'll never show up. It certainly isn't the end of the world OP! Even one mouse can make quite a noticeable mess. If you can't handle trapping yourself, call someone who will. As for how best to remove them, please search for and read existing discussions, don't rehash them here...it usually gets heated.

Cats aren't insurance either. Not all cats are mousers.

The reality is, something about your house structure has changed or deteriorated. IME, the best way to insure mice won't keep invading is to locate all the potential access points (crawlspace, attic, wall, floor, kitchen cabinet entrance points for electric, media, venting and plumbing, loose roofing or siding), repair, spray foam the gaps (mice can squeeze through tiny crevices) or stuff wire mesh into them. Then once the resident mice are trapped out, you may not see more.

[Maddie104]

A friend's house had mice and she heard scratching in the wall. Apparently the mice were climbing up a tree and entering the home via roof flashing that was not secure. The exterminator advised him to place traps outside and just put some light filler material where the mice were gaining access so they could come out for the food in the trap. Ultimately there were six mice found in the traps before the scratching stopped. Once this happened, he sealed the entry and cut down the tree. Problem solved.

[kitty61]

I think your cats are already dining on them. Cats eat all of the mouse but sometimes leave a tail behind. Look for them. Reduce their kibbles.

When you think there is one mouse, there will actually be dozens of others present or on their way to you.

Put your cereals, pet food and baking ingredients in re sealable plastic containers.
Keep your cupboards, counters and floors clean of crumbs and don't leave cooking fat out or uncovered butter dish. Keep fruit and veg in the fridge instead of in a bowl on the counter.

The stove top is a common search area for mice and they also prefer to hide under the fridge and stove and in the pantry. Keep the burner wells of the stove clean of oil and bits of food.They like burrowing into cushioned fabric armchairs and sofas and mattresses. Put kill traps in these places. Sorry but you've gotta kill them so they don't reproduce.

Check your dryer exhaust has a screen in it or a flap that keeps vermin out. Same for any exhaust pipes you have like for sewer gas. Mice will come in through attached garages.

If you have an unattended lot on your street mice are coming from there. Or from your neighbours houses. When they get forced out of one house they make a Silk Road to somebody else's.

Get an exterminator. Don't let a major infestation have time to multiply.Ask them to mouse-proof your house while they are there.


Good luck.

[rational1]

Cats will solve the problem eventually. Although perhaps not without...leftovers.