I Don't Have Mouse Problem

[Benny]

I have a ****ing mouse epidemic.

What can I do, if anything?

I have seriously lost track of the total number of mice I have killed since it has been cold...I threw away 5 traps today alone(that's a record, but still).

We aren't slobs...We don't leave food out and all of the food in the kitchen is in top cabinets that aren't accessible to these little bastards.

The only food available is my Dog's food, but he usually leaves the bowl empty before the lights go out...Not that that is completely stopping them, because I'll see them during the day too; they are bold little ****ers.

I really don't want to use poison, because the thought of dead mice rotting in my walls not only repulses me, but if they started to rot and stink, I'd burn the house down.

For awhile, they weren't eating the peanut butter on the mouse traps, then when they started eating it, they were getting it before the trap would go off. Now, it seems they are getting lazy and complacent and I'm catching them again, so hopefully this trend continues and I'll check them all sooner rather than later.

Does anyone that's had a mouse problem have any tips/tricks I could use to speed up the process?

Has anyone with a BAD mouse problem ever used poison? If so, could you smell them decomposing?

 

[singlestacksig]

if you don't use poison you won't get rid of them..
check around your outside, find & plug all ways into your house..
they only stick for 3 days or so.... they can eat through walls, wires, plastic pipes..
If you are seeing them in the day time you have a big problem.. get some rat bait ASAP..

 

[Brandon]

how do you store the dog food? if its not in a tote with a lid of some sort you may try that.

what kind of floors are in your house? supposibly if you use vinegar or amonia and mop any tile or hardwood floors this could help.

then there are cats.

 

[lovemachine]

I use Decon out in the garage. After a while, they start to stink. Which is actually how I find the dead bodies.

Luckily I've yet to find any inside the house. I know you can get those "sticky" traps. But it's bad if your dog gets his nose and/or paw caught in it. It's hilarious after you get them out though

 

[sparky241]

i had a few of those bastards under the kitchen sink this year ate thru 2 50lb bags of rice, i used good old fashion mouse traps with peanut butter in it. i found that you just need a little bit towards the rear of the platform (closes to the spring)otherwise they would set it off then eat the peanut butter. or glue traps worked real well. if you can find out where they are coming in seal it off.. mice cant see well so they follow walls. any traps you lay out should be near the base of a wall or cabinet

 

[MrsGungho]

glue traps and sealing off where they are coming in. I was fortunate the dogs and cat alerted me to the intrusion and I found the hole right away. Filled it with foil and haven't seen a one since. (neither has the dogs or cat) I did however hear them chewing close to the foil trying to get in but they finally gave up and moved on. I killed 4 or 5 in 3 days.

 

[JohnE]

Decon is worthless. I won't ever use it. Takes to long to kill them plus with the time frame of them having litters the young start to become immune to it. Plus when they die they stink. Use bar-bait. You can get it at some stores, Tractor supply might be a good place to look for it. Bar-bait is a blood thinner so make sure pets can't get to it. It works great and when they die most of the time there is no odor!

 

[ATM]

Just get some snakes.

 

[38special]

I used a glue trap. Then, I brought them outside and shot them with a .22.

You get rid of the mouse problem, and you get practice. Not only that, it's a quick, humane death rather than suffering for long periods of time on a glue sheet.

 

[Hoosierdood]

Depends if you live in the city or in the country. I always had luck with cats personally. I am NOT a cat person, but when we lived in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by corn fields, I got a couple cats. I would give them one SMALL bowl of dry cat food once or twice a week. If you keep them hungry, their natural instincts kick in and they will hunt for their own food. We lived in a double wide trailer at the time with holes everywhere, and NEVER found a mouse.

I have also heard of putting a dowel rod across the top of a 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket half way with water, and put an empty toilet paper roll on the dowel. Smear some peanut butter on the toilet paper tube, and run a yard stick or piece of wood up to the top of the bucket for a ramp. They get to the top and try to reach for the peanut butter, sometimes even jumping to the toilet paper tube. They eventually fall in the water and can't get out.

 

[Benny]

if you don't use poison you won't get rid of them..
check around your outside, find & plug all ways into your house..
they only stick for 3 days or so.... they can eat through walls, wires, plastic pipes..
If you are seeing them in the day time you have a big problem.. get some rat bait ASAP..

I know.

how do you store the dog food? if its not in a tote with a lid of some sort you may try that.

what kind of floors are in your house? supposibly if you use vinegar or amonia and mop any tile or hardwood floors this could help.

then there are cats.

I don't exactly know what it is stored in, but it is an old, wooden container that has a wooden lid that has hinges on it. It was my great Grandma's and I figured I could put it to good use...I'm pretty sure they can't get in it.

Basically the only rooms in the house that have carpet are the bedrooms...We bleached the floor and cut off their routes, but we ended up hearing them trying to dig more holes.

Cats are out of the question...My GSD puppy did catch one though; he heard it, I told him to get it and he didn't quit until he could bring it to me.

i had a few of those bastards under the kitchen sink this year ate thru 2 50lb bags of rice, i used good old fashion mouse traps with peanut butter in it. i found that you just need a little bit towards the rear of the platform (closes to the spring)otherwise they would set it off then eat the peanut butter. or glue traps worked real well. if you can find out where they are coming in seal it off.. mice cant see well so they follow walls. any traps you lay out should be near the base of a wall or cabinet

Yeah, under the sink is a hot spot for them...Up until the other day, half of the cabinet under the sink was filled with plastic grocery bags(I keep them handy for dog walks). Kara cleaned out under there and found about a zillion mouth turds. I set one trap, caught one mouse; I set two traps last night and caught two mice; tonight, I set 3 traps.

I'll try putting the PB higher on the platform.



I just went to grab a soda out of my downstairs fridge and noticed there were a few shot glasses sitting on top of the fridge from this weekend...I was walking them to the sink and I noticed THERE WAS A MOUSE TURD IN ALL THREE OF THEM. Seriously, WTF? It's like they are taunting me.

 

[singlestacksig]

a rodent infestation is not something you do not want to take lightly..
Decon is supposed to take time to kill, so they take it back to the nest to feed more & die away from your house..
but if they have made nests inside your house you are going to have to trap & poison like cazy..
Rural king sells mouse bait by the bucket full.. you can get plastic holders for it , to keep kids and pets out.. check & refill bait stations often.. if they don't eat enough bait to die they can develope resistance to it..
expect to find colored droppings around for a few days until the population starts dropping..


How to Get Rid of Mice - Mouse Control - Mouse Traps

 

[Benny]

a rodent infestation is not something you do not want to take lightly..
Decon is supposed to take time to kill, so they take it back to the nest to feed more & die away from your house..
but if they have made nests inside your house you are going to have to trap & poison like cazy..
Rural king sells mouse bait by the bucket full.. you can get plastic holders for it , to keep kids and pets out.. check & refill bait stations often.. if they don't eat enough bait to die they can develope resistance to it..
expect to find colored droppings around for a few days until the population starts dropping..


How to Get Rid of Mice - Mouse Control - Mouse Traps

I'm pretty sure they have made my house their permanent place of residence.

If I go through all 12 of the traps I bought tonight, I'll make a trip to Rural King.



BTW, I just checked on the mouse traps I set under the sink less than an hour ago and one of the traps had all of the PB eaten off of it.

 

[Naptown]

 

[Benny]

Tomorrow morning I'll snap a picture of 3 dead mice under my kitchen sink.

Either that or a picture of three mouse traps minus the peanut butter.

 

[UncleMike]

Nuke em from orbit, Zook.
It's the only way to be sure.

OR

Get cats!!

 

[calcot7]

Use all the above advice and plug holes incorporating steel wool into the mix be it caulking or foam sealant. They won't chew through steel wool.

 

[RichardR]

Thanks to an empty field next door, a large garden & several patches of blackberry & raspberry briars I have to wage war against the little buggers every autumn.

I always start off using un-set snap traps, layering the peanut butter on the trigger pretty thick, so that they get used to feeding off of the trap, then after about a week or so I start putting just a very thin layer of peanut butter & setting the trap's trigger, so that they have to crowd each other & lick hard to get anything off it, I can get 2 sometimes 3 mice in each trap each time doing it that way.

After most of them die off at the traps they start getting "wise" & start avoiding the traps, that's when I set out the poison bait trays & finish the rest of them off.

Keep in mind that the poison makes them really really thirsty, so make sure if you have dogs or cats that their water bowl is inaccessible to the mice, that way the mice will be forced to go "outside" in search of water, then hopefully they'll die out there instead of dying inside of your walls.

 

[jontheturboguy]

CAT CAT CAT

 

[Benny]

Thanks to an empty field next door, a large garden & several patches of blackberry & raspberry briars I have to wage war against the little buggers every autumn.

I always start off using un-set snap traps, layering the peanut butter on the trigger pretty thick, so that they get used to feeding off of the trap, then after about a week or so I start putting just a very thin layer of peanut butter & setting the trap's trigger, so that they have to crowd each other & lick hard to get anything off it, I can get 2 sometimes 3 mice in each trap each time doing it that way.

After most of them die off at the traps they start getting "wise" & start avoiding the traps, that's when I set out the poison bait trays & finish the rest of them off.

Keep in mind that the poison makes them really really thirsty, so make sure if you have dogs or cats that their water bowl is inaccessible to the mice, that way the mice will be forced to go "outside" in search of water, then hopefully they'll die out there instead of dying inside of your walls.

That's some pretty darn good advice...I wonder if that works as well in the winter?

BTW, how do/did you go about keeping your pet's water bowl inaccessible to them? Do you keep them from getting to the water solely because you want them to go outside or because it could harm your pets too?