House Mice Problem

[AlanHo]

Every November I get a mouse in the house - driven in by the arrival of cold weather I suppose.

This year has been worse than most - the "droppings" evidence around the house made it obvious there must be more than just one mouse and whilst I was away for a few days last week some damage was done.

I now have a groove in the lounge carpet under the door where a mouse has eaten away the pile to facilitate entry from the hall into the lounge.

I have a cupboard under the stairs fitted with wine racks - but spare bottles of some spirits are too fat to fit - so are standing on the floor. When I opened the cupboard door I was met by the sight of the floor being covered in strips of paper - just like from a shredder. It was the remnants of the labels on all the bottles which had been stripped off by mice. They have done such a thorough job that I can only identify the contents if the cap is printed with the name. I will need to sit there and sample each bottle to identify the contents - any volunteers...?

A pack of candles stored in a cupboard under the kitchen sink has been attacked leaving bits of wax all over the place.

My first recourse was to borrow a neighbours cat, leave all the downstairs doors open so the cat (and mice) had free reign and to retire for the night leaving moggy to do his stuff. This resulted in a sleepless night because moggy cried to be let out - obviously frightened of mice.

Plan B (and management did not approve) - buy some B&Q brand mouse poison. 6 plastic trays each containing something resembling breakfast cereal were placed in strategic locations around the house for a whole week - this was a complete failure - the mice totally ignored their supper and continued to wreak havoc each night.

Plan C - buy some poison and glue traps from a local hardware shop - the old fashioned sort of shop which is a treasure trove of goods and gadgets and smells like a proper hardware shop should smell. Sort of like paraffin. This stuff was branded Rentokil and carried more warnings on the container than you could shake a stick at. It appears to be a mixture of seed and grains coated with some blue stuff. Most unattractive - I am surprised that anything would eat it.

Result - just got up to find 3 dead mice on the kitchen floor and 4 dead mice in the cupboard under the stairs.

That will do for a start.........................

[-pops-]

Ensure there aren't any bodies remaining hidden - decomposing mouse is not a pleasant smell.

[rong]

Mouse traps work with a piece of apple, just set them so the mice have to approach them from the right direction.

[andsome]

They got under our garage door once and nested in a large paper bag of bird seed. By the time I found out there was a large family living under the work bench. Poison resulted in over thirty corpses. I bought a plastic bin for the bird food.

[AlanHo]

Mouse traps work with a piece of apple, just set them so the mice have to approach them from the right direction.

Would that be north, south, east or west....?

[rong]

The bit that sets off the trap, or they just pinch the bait

Using traps in the house saves having the smells that Pops mentioned

[AlanHo]

All the bodies were within 6 " from the bait - hence the poison must be very quick acting. Hopefully none managed to stagger away to their hidy holes.

[Belatucadrus]

We find a standard mousetrap bated with chocolate raisins does the trick. If you have any left over then they can be counted as one of your five a day.

PS not the ones that went on the traps, they taste icky.

Apparently Birmingham mice go for Tuna, nobody knows why. Weird but true factoid for today.

[Hb_Kai]

Mice like chocolate, try that with a mouse trap. :D

But don't buy them a Yorkie, it's not for humans apparently. :D

[Gandalph]

Mice like chocolate, try that with a mouse trap. :D

But don't buy them a Yorkie, it's not for humans apparently. :D

You are right there Hb, Yorkie bars are not for Humans. They are for truck drivers. :lol:

[Hb_Kai]

Truck drivers? Why? :lol:

[Belatucadrus]

Truck drivers? Why? :lol:

Don't worry about it Gandalph is showing his age.

Then again so am I

The original TV adds implied that the Yorkie bar was only for real truck drivin HE MEN !!! and was a staple part of their diet. I doubt it'd be allowed now.

[Hb_Kai]

:lol:

[Belatucadrus]

Yahoo, once again the chocolate raisin proves it's effectiveness and another unwanted intruder bites the dust.

[AlanHo]

My score over the last two weeks is 14 mice. No bodies for the last three days and the bait remains untouched - it looks as though I have managed to see them off - at least for the time being.

The last time I used a spring trap I got myself into some bother with (animal loving) management. She was first downstairs for a change and found a mouse dragging the trap round the kitchen with just one mangled back leg caught in it.

[catgate]

My father had a good method for killing mice.

He used to place a piece of cheese just outside the hole, and for a few days as it was eaten he would replace it. Then after those few days he used to place a razor blade on edge in a block of soap hard up against the hole . The mouse would poke its head out of the hole, over the razor blade, and as it looked left and then right repeatedly saying,"Where's that bloody cheese?" it simply slit its own throat.

[Slyke]

Get "Pest Alert" I think it's called. They use ultrasonic sound (Very high pitch noise that drives mice, squeals, rats etc) away. They also create some type of electromagnetic field that ants and other insects hate - dunno I was like 12 when I saw the commercial. Any way, we've had these things for years and had no problems, get the occasional ant raid just before huge storms, but that's about it.

[AlanHo]

My father had a good method for killing mice.

He used to place a piece of cheese just outside the hole, and for a few days as it was eaten he would replace it. Then after those few days he used to place a razor blade on edge in a block of soap hard up against the hole . The mouse would poke its head out of the hole, over the razor blade, and as it looked left and then right repeatedly saying,"Where's that bloody cheese?" it simply slit its own throat.

I will try that..........................but use chocolate raisins instead of cheese...................... :lol:

[Belatucadrus]

We tried the humane mouse catchers once, but they're a pain as you need to take the mouse about half a mile away or it'll be back in the house before you are. They're also not that humane if you forget to check them daily eugh. :(

[andsome]

We tried the humane mouse catchers once, but they're a pain as you need to take the mouse about half a mile away or it'll be back in the house before you are. They're also not that humane if you forget to check them daily eugh. :(

You could always bang it hard over the head. :lol:

[Gandalph]

My father had a good method for killing mice.

He used to place a piece of cheese just outside the hole, and for a few days as it was eaten he would replace it. Then after those few days he used to place a razor blade on edge in a block of soap hard up against the hole . The mouse would poke its head out of the hole, over the razor blade, and as it looked left and then right repeatedly saying,"Where's that bloody cheese?" it simply slit its own throat.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Belatucadrus]

Make that two and counting.

[AlanHo]

Make that two and counting.

Two of what.....?

[Belatucadrus]

Two of what.....?

Four footed furry squeaking rodent things sent to meet their maker. I'm still on topic.

MICE !!!

[AlanHo]

I am still battling with my illegal rodent immigrants.

When I went away to Spain last week I placed bait boxes in various rooms and garage (which is attached to the house and has a door leading into the Utility room). Upon my return a week later I found quite a few corpses

4 in the kitchen

2 in the under-stairs cupboard

3 in the Utility Room

11 in the garage.

All were within a foot of the bait boxes - so the stuff seems to act very quickly. Fearing that others had died under the kitchen units I removed the kick panels from the fitted units all around the kitchen today and had a good look. None were found but I removed an amazing amount of rubble and rubbish left there by the builders when the kitchen was fitted out (before my time in the house). Some screwed up newspaper was dated 1992.

The guy who owns the old fashioned hardware shop I am buying the poison from says I am not alone - it seems that there is a plague of mice in our town this winter and he has had to bring in extra stocks of mouse bait and traps 3 times so far. He has never known it so bad (or good for his sales).