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Help! I’ve got mice in my house. Thought they were just coming into the utility room [through the dog flap] where I keep veggies and fruit but have now realised they’re in the house as well. Have used a couple of humane traps and caught a few but now found some mouse droppings next to a trap baited with chocolate. Put a plug in deterrent in the utility room; fine lot of good that has done. Worried about putting springy traps around because of dogs nose and my fingers. Those gluey things sound awful. Everything I look at now seems to be covered in mouse poo [it isn’t]. Seems that quite a few people in our village have got a similar problem…is there an epidemic of mice or is it just that I’ve never mentioned the subject before and it’s not the sort of thing you throw into everyday conversation [unless you happen to be me..].
This time of year mice want to keep warm and there is your nice warm house full of nice things to eat, can you blame them for wanting some of it?
Only one thing to do; invite some of your friends round for drinks and tell them all to bring a cat. You could all dress up in silly red coats as well if you like, although that might be illegal now!I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysWent to the ‘cheap shop’ in the next vilage to buy some springy traps [sorry mice, you’ve had your chance ..now I mean business] only to find he’d sold out, so there must be a megamouseproblem hereabouts. They’re probably coming to my house to escape the houses with the springy mouse traps [hey guys; that house up the road has chocolate and peanut butter..you eat it, get taken for a little car ride, get out the car and go home again for another feast; brilliant].
I seem to be having a similar problem – but with spiders. I’ve never seen such big ones, even the cat is wary. They are bigger than Willie Carson!
Reetlass, everything’s bigger than Willie Carson!
Know what you mean though. They are HUGE this year!Seriously, can’t wait for Moehat’s next instalment on the mouse problem! Got visions of them running alongside his car, beating him home from the "mouse-dump" operations!
…..I’m a ‘she’ nighthorse; currently standing on a chair with me skirt round me knees screaming…[think Old Mother Riley]..[even though ‘she’ was a ‘he’]…
……….you mean I might kill the b…..s and they’ll still come back..? Traps of all description round the house last night baited with peanut butter. Still there this morning sans mice. In the space of a week I’ve turned into a ‘oh, they’re so cute and straight out of Beatrix Potter’ person to someone who gleefully trots up the stairs into the loft hoping to find a decapitated rodent with blood splattered everywhere. I happily spent a while on the internet last night looking at cats; have been without a cat for a few years and it might be a good excuse to get one. However, the ones I like are Rag Dolls and I’m not sure they would kill anything.
Rather sadly – from a ‘cruelty’ point of view – the only really effective way to rid yourself of a surfeit of mice is by using poison. This is normally grain laced with poison and given an aniseed scent
It should be placed sparingly on a daily basis in several ‘quiet’ and hidden locations such as skirting board corners or under furniture and used until no more is taken, which means of course that all the mice are dead!
Needless to say pets must be excluded from the rooms baited at all times and all traces of remains cleared before they’re allowed re-entry
As a previous poster said it’s this time of year when rodents like to enter houses and buildings for the winter. At present I’ve got the usual autumnal problem of rats bedding down in my hen coop and greenhouse
My concern over that is tales of mice and rats eating poison and then dying under floorboards resulting in a horrible smell [and the floorboards having to come up]. I have reached a point of not caring a bit about the amount of suffering I cause.
……….However, the ones I like are Rag Dolls and I’m not sure they would kill anything.
My last cat was a Rag Doll, lovely fella, smashing temperament but no killer. I suppose, like people, they vary. You can borrow my Simon (present cat!) if you like. He savages everything that moves and is single-handedly decimating the local fauna.
Good luckI’ve reached the age where I’m worried about getting a pet that might outlive me…my daughter is a fan of Rag Dolls so I know she would be happy to give it a home if I expired. My last cat was a British Shorthair, silver tabby. The sweetest cat ever, but the worst bird killer I’ve ever had and also the dirtiest cat I’ve ever had. If I’d put her in the loft to get rid of mice she’d create more mess than they would. My ex has got 5 feral cats; one of them, Jimmy would be perfect if only I could get him here. I’d be ripped to shreds if I tried!
if you’re going to get an animal to get rid of them, get a jack russel or similar instead of a cat. Much better in my experience.
Apart from that, make sure that there is nothing they can eat that’s left lying around, as it lures them in. If they are living in your house block off all holes (you’d be amazed what they can fit through) with wirewool – metal scourers / brillo pads from poundland will do! Remember to check places like holes round radiator pipes etc.
If you use poison, remember mice have cack eyesight and feel their way, so put it along skirting boards and things.
I’d say try poison and that for about 8 weeks tops, if that’s not gone Rentokil are probably your best best.
I put talcum powder round all the radiators last night to check for any ‘activity’
. Caught several in the breakneck traps in the utility room but none in the loft or living room..however, the ones in the loft aren’t in the right place as I can’t get to the corners [too much stuff up there]. Getting used to setting the traps which scare me witless. My partner who’s oop north at the moment spoke to a friend of his, a real county guy, who said he’s been laying traps all week because they’re everywhere..must be something to do with the summer we’ve had? Only got a couple more days, as the dog will be back from her holidays and I’ll have to be careful where I put the traps. Once I’ve cleared the loft [work gets in the way] I’ll put loads of traps up there. I’ve just got to remember where I’ve put all of the traps so far; I swear they’d take your finger off.
If you find any cracks or holes around heating pipes that the mice may be using as walkways, or any holes big enough for them to get through, plug them with wire wool – they HATE the stuff with a passion and wont go near it once they’ve sampled it. They’ll soon bugger off.
Put talc round cat flap in utility room last night and none came in. Perhaps I’ve discovered something! Trouble with wire wool is that I read that they can nibble it and then die
and, again die under the floorboards. But I’ve go a few air bricks that wire wool would be perfect for.
Moe,not being one for scaremongering may i just say so long as you dont live around the Etwall area of Derbys you wont suffer from a major pandemic of RATS,now they are trouble and where there’s mice there’s always RATS and they eat wire wool like we eat Candy Floss they have been known to eat their way through brickwork and blockwork even concrete ones with an Nm value of 7.Like i say dont be alarmed though! You dont live that way do you?
Know what you mean though. They are HUGE this year!
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