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Now depending on how serious you are about the WAM (war on mice). There are definitely some options to maybe deter the curious ones from coming into your place. Please note the following information has worked for me in a third world country on a compound literally infested with mice (and I do mean literally), however, results may vary. GRAPHIC DETAILS FOLLOW, PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE OF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH OR ARE EATING.
As I have the greatest fear of mice know to man I was on the edge of insanity and had to put an end to it. I started with glue traps, those crafty jokers were too smart for the snap traps. I've seen them run up to the trap and eat food right off it and scurry on, just as I've seen them run around it as if they knew what it was. I guess they were unfamiliar with the glue traps and would run right onto it, others would try to skirt along the edges and fall on it. This led me to try the completely flat pads (you can get like 75 or 100 on amazon for less than $5). I used those, cutting off the edges so they had no way to dodge the glue portions. I would put it in areas I had seen them before or possible entries and exits (I swear by that time I thought more about extermination than an exterminator). This is an important note, mice like to run against walls or where there is some sort of covering (behind a bookshelf, in a cabinet, etc) so those are places you are going to want to focus on.
The only pitfall to this is that you have to dispose of them, which I will get into right after mentioning a very grotesque fact. Dead/dying mice attract other mice. Depending on what you are trying to do this could be a good or bad thing, just keep in mind the quality of the glue traps if decide to go that route. I've caught 9 mice on a single quality glue trap (the black ones that are also made for rats). The cheaper ones I mentioned are hit or miss, I've had 3-4 on a single one and hen other times I've had 2, or so I thought. One was doing some foul things to the one that was caught and ran off when he was done. Note: you can add bait to the pre-baited traps (which never seemed to lure anything) to increase your success. Not all mice like cheese or peanut butter, some have a sweet tooth. So try different types of food should you decide to go that route.
Ok now to disposing. I'm affirm believer that anything as filthy as a rodent should not live with humans and as such should eliminated. So I usually would kill them to end their suffering and throw away the trap. Others may just throw away the trap with the, still Alice, which still gives them a chance to pull themselves off using something in the trash as leverage. It may seem like a stretch, but I've seen one almost escape by pulling itself off using a computer cable.
Also I've read you can use a black light to see if they are there because apparently they carry oils on their fur which leaves a trail that is visible by black light. That could be a way to see where to put the traps or if you really have mice at all.
A ore passive way to deal with it is to get the poison pellets/chunks. I'm not sure how successful they are as I've found one just lying around dead from it, but I suspect they eat it and the run along only to kill over later. I should also mention that it'll probably be the dumber/more curious mice that even mess with that.
Should you choose to forgo the glue trap method there are electric traps on amazon that can be had for maybe $20 up to a couple of hundred. It basically elecrtocutes them when they complete the circuit (I'm not kidding lol). I personally had the $100 version from Victor, which held up to 10 mice or 1 or 2 rats i think. It worked well for the time I used it, but towards the end it messed up. Give it a look and depending on how serious you are about this anyhow bad the mice are, it may be better than a glue trap and a lot less messy, not to mention the cost over time may be better. I'm sure in conjunction with a cat a mousewouldntnstand a chance.
Did the above ever "eliminate" the mice completely?
What third world country were you in where this was a daily occurrence?
I want to avoid it as much as possible. Not afraid of mice as much as I am of waterbugs and their equally looking cousins, I think they call them "beetles", but I can't remember. They're just as ugly and scary to me.
Man, I can't even visit certain parts of the south or Florida due to their flying waterbug situation. Nope. Not now, not ever. I wouldn't care if they offered me a job for a million dollars a year.
Can you imagine driving your car on the highway or street and one of them suckers start crawling on you?!!!
Did the above ever "eliminate" the mice completely?
What third world country were you in where this was a daily occurrence?
I want to avoid it as much as possible. Not afraid of mice as much as I am of waterbugs and their equally looking cousins, I think they call them "beetles", but I can't remember. They're just as ugly and scary to me.
Man, I can't even visit certain parts of the south or Florida due to their flying waterbug situation. Nope. Not now, not ever. I wouldn't care if they offered me a job for a million dollars a year.
Can you imagine driving your car on the highway or street and one of them suckers start crawling on you?!!!
*Faints*
I was in Afghanistan and it did not completely eliminate them as they had turned the entire place into their breeding ground and lived in the walls, under the building, etc. it didn't help the building was constructed of mud and they are burrowing creatures. It did however greatly reduce their numbers. My coworkers even remarked how fewer mice they had seen as time went on.
Thankfully I have not had to deal with water bugs. Although this part has a lot of love bugs, which for me is just as bad as they can ruin your car paint.
Thanks for all of the tips! To answer the question about rent - it's 1600 for my 1 bdrm. At this point I'm not as concerned with the mice in the building as they don't scare me as much as the roaches do. If I do see one I will immediately get a cat but would rather wait it out first. - I have contacted the "broker" who is willing to send the exterminator to my apartment if need be. I plan to bomb the place tomorrow and lay down a 2nd layer of boric acid mixed with sugar as I read works very well. Then I will have a handyman come in on Saturday and seal all open spaces in the walls and pipes with caulk. I'm hoping if they have no way of getting in then they will be a rare sighting.
Thanks for all of the tips! To answer the question about rent - it's 1600 for my 1 bdrm. At this point I'm not as concerned with the mice in the building as they don't scare me as much as the roaches do. If I do see one I will immediately get a cat but would rather wait it out first. - I have contacted the "broker" who is willing to send the exterminator to my apartment if need be. I plan to bomb the place tomorrow and lay down a 2nd layer of boric acid mixed with sugar as I read works very well. Then I will have a handyman come in on Saturday and seal all open spaces in the walls and pipes with caulk. I'm hoping if they have no way of getting in then they will be a rare sighting.
It's really sad you have to pay for this YOURSELF.
This is what the SUPER is supposed to do.
Can you ask the "broker" if you could deduct the cost of this from your rent?
Last edited by marilyn220; 09-15-2013 at 04:58 PM..
Thanks for all of the tips! To answer the question about rent - it's 1600 for my 1 bdrm. At this point I'm not as concerned with the mice in the building as they don't scare me as much as the roaches do. If I do see one I will immediately get a cat but would rather wait it out first. - I have contacted the "broker" who is willing to send the exterminator to my apartment if need be. I plan to bomb the place tomorrow and lay down a 2nd layer of boric acid mixed with sugar as I read works very well. Then I will have a handyman come in on Saturday and seal all open spaces in the walls and pipes with caulk. I'm hoping if they have no way of getting in then they will be a rare sighting.
Stick with the Boric acid, it is not noxious nor caustic, it's cheap and very effective. Boric acid is a negatively charged (-) , powdery substance.
The chitin outer shell, (exoskeletons) of the cockroach, is positively charged (+), roaches breathe through their underside. The boric acid particles
stick to their undersides, it is from where they breathe. Like all life, in addition to oxygen, they need water to survive, but water is absorbed by the
boric acid and clogs the underbelly plates and deprives the insect of oxygen. They die within 24 hours! You can buy Boric acid in a drug store, it is cheap,
and you won't need to evacuate your quarters like you might have to do if you buy and use 'bug-bombs. Sprinkle the powder along every baseboard, a thin
trail is sufficient. I can almost guarantee that within 24 hours, you will see the results. Search 'Roach removal' on Google, you'll find a consensus that Boric acid
is the most practical approach to exterminating the common cockroach.
Waterbugs are easy. They need a dark damp place to live plus they don't have the same appetite as the German, American, and Asian roaches. After my ceiling fell I was concerned about vermin getting in and yep some waterbugs got in. As much as I hate seeing them I knew they wouldn't last long since they perfer wet basements, and I was right later I found carcasses under the stove. O'k, this will really turn your stomach. I walk barefoot in my apartment and without looking stepped on one of the waterbugs that resulted in a loud cruuuunch. Ewwww, I was sick for days thinking about that, damn.
OP, seal all openings cracks and crevices no matter how small.
Here's a guideline to help cover the areas to address. Any place high and low and use a mirror for any place out of view.
I used steel wool along with caulk for large holes for the mice. So far I've been successful with only one set back after my washer vibrated the seal between the wooden floors loose causing roaches to flood in. My building is really bad for roaches and the workmanship is horrendous hence me needing to put wood filler between the gaps and varnishing. So I'm currently fighting back the little bastards again. I'm seeing less and less with the bait I use and should be back to seeing either none at all or back to my 1 or 2 every 6 months.
It's really sad you have to pay for this YOURSELF.
This is what the SUPER is supposed to do.
Can you ask the "broker" if you could deduct the cost of this from your rent?
Actually the rent is in fact pro-rated to $800 for the month of October as I agreed to do all the paintings and repairs myself for now. No doubt though that this is a slum lord building and I'm completely aware of this going in. My boyfriend is in medical fellowship and this was the cheapest we could find within walking distance.
Stick with the Boric acid, it is not noxious nor caustic, it's cheap and very effective. Boric acid is a negatively charged (-) , powdery substance.
The chitin outer shell, (exoskeletons) of the cockroach, is positively charged (+), roaches breathe through their underside. The boric acid particles
stick to their undersides, it is from where they breathe. Like all life, in addition to oxygen, they need water to survive, but water is absorbed by the
boric acid and clogs the underbelly plates and deprives the insect of oxygen. They die within 24 hours! You can buy Boric acid in a drug store, it is cheap,
and you won't need to evacuate your quarters like you might have to do if you buy and use 'bug-bombs. Sprinkle the powder along every baseboard, a thin
trail is sufficient. I can almost guarantee that within 24 hours, you will see the results. Search 'Roach removal' on Google, you'll find a consensus that Boric acid
is the most practical approach to exterminating the common cockroach.
Eddie,
While I am a BIG fan of boric acid for roach control, that dehydration theory has pretty much been debunked primarily by the lack of efficacy of boric acid against bedbugs. If the damaged exoskeleton theory was valid, it would kill bedbugs the same way it theoretically kills roaches, but in fact it does not kill bedbugs.
The difference is that roaches clean themselves with their mouth parts and ingest the boric acid and are poisoned. The only thing the mouth parts of a bedbug does is pierce skin and suck blood...any boric acid on their exoskeleton is innocuous.
So now the same "damaged exoskeleton" argument is made to promote sales of diatomaceous Earth as an insecticide against bedbugs and I remain extremely skeptical.
I wouldn't suggest putting out poison for mice. When they take the bait, they seem to crawl away and hide and then keel over. You don't realize it until you are hit with the stench a few days later. Then you have to find the dead mouse; not fun. Glue traps are the better option. They generally can't escape from those.
So a quick update - I've spent the past 2 days painting, renovating and basically dismantling the apartment from top to bottom. As stated before I laid down the boric acid about 3 weeks ago. I didn't not find any dead ones except several "nymphs"in the bathroom which I promptly vacuumed up.
While cleaning and thinking I was almost in the clear I encountered a roach - in the fridge!!! Now granted it been unplugged for weeks but this creeped me out to no end ...could there be a nest inside the fridge hardware somewhere?? S*it this is really bad I'm thinking..
My handyman discovered also a roach attempting to crawl out of the opening of a pipe in the cealing - I promptly bought silicone caulk and sealed up as many openings as I could find. The apt is being fogged tonight. Since I'm moving my furniture on Monday I'm likely going to fog a 2nd time tomorrow.
Normally I would chalk this up to a basic infestation but this is what I find strange: since signing this lease I make met FIVE other tenants, one of which has lived in the building for "decades" and none of them have even even SEEN a roach!! Ever! They were actually shocked to hear my complaints. I don't understand...like why me? I'm thinking maybe the gentleman living in the premises before me was a just plain disgusting human being..he left the apt filthy and disgusting..IDK what to do at this point ..an I fighting a loosing battle? Emotional support needed..
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So I'm currently fighting back the little bastards again. I'm seeing less and less with the bait I use and should be back to seeing either none at all or back to my 1 or 2 every 6 months.
