• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

Mouses in Your Houses

nottaprettygal

New member
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
1,641
MBTI Type
INTj
What are the best traps/methods of getting rid of mice or for preventing them from entering a home in the first place? I live on the second floor of a really old home, and there are no other people currently living in the building.

My cats are friggin' useless. Even after carrying my large male in from another room and showing him the mouse, he turned around and went back to his food. My little girl cat got scared and ran away, only to return and have the mouse literally walk between her paws and do nothing. At one point, she had the mouse in her mouth, but then she let it go.

Thankfully, it got caught between the pages of a book and Haight beat it to death with a broom. My cats are clueless, and they are still searching around the house for it.

Anyway, I need some tricks because right now I'm paranoid, and I keep thinking that I am seeing mice run across the floor.
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
What are the best traps/methods of getting rid of mice or for preventing them from entering a home in the first place? I live on the second floor of a really old home, and there are no other people currently living in the building.

I don't have anything fancy to suggest.

We always used the cheap little mousetraps, baited with chunky peanut butter or cheese smooshed into the trigger.
Yes, it kills the mouse, and you have to dispose of the body, but it's highly effective.

And you don't have to mount a full-scale "Release the Mouse Back into the Wild" baiting and tagging them so you can recognize when the same mice come back and back again because you didn't finish them off the first time.

My cats are friggin' useless. Even after carrying my large male in from another room and showing him the mouse, he turned around and went back to his food. My little girl cat got scared and ran away, only to return and have the mouse literally walk between her paws and do nothing. At one point, she had the mouse in her mouth, but then she let it go.

It sounds like they were never trained by momma or dadda cat.

We had outdoor cats and they would eat the mice that they'd find... but they'd play with it first. As long as the mouse didn't move it was okay, but as soon as it started to run, the cat would play with it, batting it around the porch, grabbing its tail and holding it in place, etc. It was sort of amusing to watch... since I'm not a mouse.

In any case, I think domesticated cats that were not reared by parent cats have a harder time figuring out what to do with the goofy things.

Thankfully, it got caught between the pages of a book and Haight beat it to death with a broom.

Wow, is that how Jewish families train their kids to get rid of mice?

Get the traps, they're cheap and less violent overall than the "broom-beating" method that also leaves a nasty little smear on your poor books. just brainstorming, but i don't recommend poison because (among other reasons) they could die inside the walls and then you've got a smell problem.
 

Owl

desert pelican
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Messages
717
MBTI Type
INTP
Stop feeding your cats, or feed them very, very little. They'll learn to hunt right quick, and then you'll no longer have any mice.
 

Salomé

meh
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
10,527
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
MURDERING WENCHES!

You can buy an ultrasonic device which should send them on their merry way.
I have one in the loft. The mice moved out, the bats moved in - whatchagonnado?
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
You can buy an ultrasonic device which should send them on their merry way.
I have one in the loft. The mice moved out, the bats moved in - whatchagonnado?

[glowering] "I'm Batmouse: Tell all your friends!" *flaps away*

It's true, though. Bats are just ugly mice with cheap halloween rubber wings.

My suggestion takes care of bats too.

aw, I'd love to see those cats bring down a bat. That would take some strategery!
 

INTJMom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
5,413
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w4
What are the best traps/methods of getting rid of mice or for preventing them from entering a home in the first place? I live on the second floor of a really old home, and there are no other people currently living in the building.

My cats are friggin' useless. Even after carrying my large male in from another room and showing him the mouse, he turned around and went back to his food. My little girl cat got scared and ran away, only to return and have the mouse literally walk between her paws and do nothing. At one point, she had the mouse in her mouth, but then she let it go.

Thankfully, it got caught between the pages of a book and Haight beat it to death with a broom. My cats are clueless, and they are still searching around the house for it.

Anyway, I need some tricks because right now I'm paranoid, and I keep thinking that I am seeing mice run across the floor.
Seriously?! My cat is a great mouser.
We get one or two every winter and she catches them.

We have also used those standard little wooden mousetraps successfully
down in the basement where the cat doesn't go.
The mice love un-popped popcorn kernels.
Good luck.
 

INTJMom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 28, 2007
Messages
5,413
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w4
Stop feeding your cats, or feed them very, very little. They'll learn to hunt right quick, and then you'll no longer have any mice.
Clever fellow. :smile:
 

Tigerlily

unscannable
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
5,942
MBTI Type
TIGR
Enneagram
3w4
mousetraps. We had some in our garage and the traps worked very well. Do you know where the entrance for them is? Probably a good idea to find it and block it. Surprised the cats aren't chasing them.
It sounds like they were never trained by momma or dadda cat.

In any case, I think domesticated cats that were not reared by parent cats have a harder time figuring out what to do with the goofy things.
It's instinct and likely that her cats are well fed and lazy. If you don't need the food why bother getting up?
 

phoenix13

New member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
1,293
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
7w8
NEVER using heat in the winter has done it for me. As long as your neighbors' apartments are warm, the mouse will always prefer it. As for keeping you warm, invest in a down comforter and cashmere sweater. It'll be worth the investment in energy savings :). Oh yeah, and this won't work for a house because the mouse's options are limited.

...I hope this doesn't sound as absurd as I think it does.
 

Ivy

Strongly Ambivalent
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
23,989
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6
I don't know as I've never had a mouse problem that I know of, but I do know that were I in the market for advice about how to catch mice, the guy named Owl would be the one I would listen to. ;)

Having said that, starving your cats would be mean. Have you seen these new mousetraps where you never have to see or touch the dead mouse? You twist it and put in some peanut butter to set it, then they go into the trap, and it snaps untwisted to decapitate the mouse and close it up inside the trap. I was like "This is a symptom of our culture which hides from the messy realities of life THAT IS SO COOL!"
 

Tigerlily

unscannable
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
5,942
MBTI Type
TIGR
Enneagram
3w4
Also if it's a stress reliever, let the unit smash it with a broom, baseball bat, whatever. ;P
I don't know as I've never had a mouse problem that I know of, but I do know that were I in the market for advice about how to catch mice, the guy named Owl would be the one I would listen to.
But he starves cats!
Having said that, starving your cats would be mean.
totally.
Have you seen these new mousetraps where you never have to see or touch the dead mouse? You twist it and put in some peanut butter to set it, then they go into the trap, and it snaps untwisted to decapitate the mouse and close it up inside the trap. I was like "This is a symptom of our culture which hides from the messy realities of life THAT IS SO COOL!"
Sounds less cruel and so much less fun, but this is coming from a woman who kills defenseless sheep on WoW. :rolleyes:
 

Owl

desert pelican
Joined
Feb 23, 2008
Messages
717
MBTI Type
INTP
I don't know as I've never had a mouse problem that I know of, but I do know that were I in the market for advice about how to catch mice, the guy named Owl would be the one I would listen to. ;)

You could just set an Owl loose in your house.

Those suckers are mean though. I was actually attacked by an Owl once. I was climbing a mountain, and I saw these two fellows ahead of me on the mountain hootin' and hollerin' waving their shirts around, and I thought to myself, "my, they're excited about something."

A few minutes later they come running toward me, and one has some long, bloody rake marks on his back and a shredded shirt. Turns out an Owl attacked the two of them while they were climbing. So I thought to myself, "my, an agitated Owl? How interesting. I'd like to check that out."

So I climbed up to where they were when they were attacked, and there, behind a rock, was a nest with three little baby Owls chirpin' away, and then... THUMP. I thought, "my, a rock must have fallen from above me and hit my backpack. (I was wearing my school bag.) Turns out, the momma Owl didn't like my being so close to her chicks, and she dove into me full force. Unfortunately for her, my bag was full of hard cover books. So she perched on a rock above me and gave me the evil eye, as if to say, "touch my chicks, and die."

anyway, that's my story.

The end.
 

Ivy

Strongly Ambivalent
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
23,989
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6
Whoa. She has nobody to blame but herself for choosing such a public location for her nest! The nerve of an owl, nesting in a wilderness area humans are trying to enjoy. ;)
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
You could just set an Owl loose in your house.

Yikes. If you do that, the cats won't even be safe.

I still remember when I was young and one of our outdoor kitties lost her head over an encounter (presumably) with an owl.

Not a Pretty Sight.
 

alicia91

New member
Joined
Nov 20, 2007
Messages
671
To take care of the problem in the long run you are going to have to figure out where they are coming in. They can get into spaces as small as 1/4" along pipes, foundation, under trim, etc. Figure that up, seal it, repair etc. Then trap them with regular mousetraps or poison. If you cannot figure out where they are coming in, then call a professional. It cost us $200 a couple of years ago to have critter-control come out and tell us where they were coming in, and place some boxes of poison. We also trapped a few. Problem solved. Prior to that, we were just using traps and they would come back every year.
 

nottaprettygal

New member
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
1,641
MBTI Type
INTj
It sounds like they were never trained by momma or dadda cat.

That's true. They were abandoned by their mom and dad! :boohoo:


Have you seen these new mousetraps where you never have to see or touch the dead mouse? You twist it and put in some peanut butter to set it, then they go into the trap, and it snaps untwisted to decapitate the mouse and close it up inside the trap. I was like "This is a symptom of our culture which hides from the messy realities of life THAT IS SO COOL!"

Oh wow. Do you know the name of them? I definitely don't want any humane sort of trap where you release them into the wild. I just want to torture them endlessly for entering MY HOME! MWA-HAHAHA *ahem*

Do you know where the entrance for them is? Probably a good idea to find it and block it.

That's one of the problems. I'm not sure. We have radiators for heat and Haight said something about them coming up through those little holes. There are probably a zillion openings for them to enter, and it's tough because I can't control the openings on the other floors of the house.

We do have a pest person who just visited recently and put a couple of traps under the sink, but I don't even know if they have bait on them. I'm cleaning this place from top to bottom today!

Jen said:
Surprised the cats aren't chasing them.It's instinct and likely that her cats are well fed and lazy. If you don't need the food why bother getting up?
They were more interested when it was moving. One is verrrrry well fed and lazy, but I had high hopes for him because he has caught a bird in the past. The little one is playful, but a little skittish and probably frightened that mom is standing on a chair shrieking.

NEVER using heat in the winter has done it for me.
...I hope this doesn't sound as absurd as I think it does.

Oh HELL NO! If I don't use heat then that just means that the mice have won.

Stop feeding your cats, or feed them very, very little. They'll learn to hunt right quick, and then you'll no longer have any mice.

I want to torture the mice, not my precious fur-babies.

The good thing is that they are still on the prowl, so if there is a next time, they will perform better, or I will verbally berate them again. All those hours we spent playing with those little toy mice . . . and for WHAT!?

Also if it's a stress reliever, let the unit smash it with a broom, baseball bat, whatever. ;P

I think he was more stressed and a bit frightened, especially when he thought it was dead and went to clean it up but it started moving. Heh heh.
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Thank you!

Now I want to clean up this place, but I'm scared that I will see mice while I'm doing it.

here's a tangent issue.

Why do mice scare you?

They don't particular scare me, I think they are cute.
Although they do move quickly and change direction just like those gross thousand-leggers that show up at night all the time.
Those make me jump, especially the big ones.
 
Top