Key Post Mice and Rats

C

Cahir

Guest
Need Advice.

Moved into my newly built house a few months ago. Last week one of the neighbours said she had mice and got two of them with traps (there are 3 houses together, hers at one end, ours at the other and a small house in between).

On Saturday night we heard noises in the walls of our house and (after freaking out) decided it must be a mouse or two. Bought a load of traps yesterday (caught one of the buggers in the bathroom today) and also got a plug in ultrasonic/electromagnetic mouse detterent. Shoved brillo pads in some of the holes around the pipes but couldn't fill them all.

Is there anything else I need to do - I can't stand mice! The middle neighbour bought a load of mouse traps today.
 
vermin intruders

I always heard that when the days start to get cold, mice - and other creatures we wont mention here when there's sensitive people listening - tend to move indoors.
Mice are so tiny that they can squeeze through a hole not much wider than the width of a Biro. So you need to have every, and I mean every, crack or hole on the outside of the house blocked/sealed i.e. around pipes, inlets, outlets and the like. Be careful about leaving patio doors open.
Then it is just using traps until you catch any vermin which might be in the house. I prefer the idea of traps to using poison. Place the traps in obvious routes taken by the mice, you can usually see traces of some kind.
Some people might suggest you get a cat.
Whatever you do, I hope you solve the problem soon.
 
New House - Mice

If there's still building work going on then it might also be disturbing mice and causing them to seek refuge in places like your house. Have heard mixed reports (mostly negative) about those ultrasonic devices. You can't beat the old fashioned traps as far as I know.
 
Re: New House - Mice

Thanks for the replies.

There's building work going on right next door to our house. When I got home yesterday there was another mouse in a trap in the same place as the one yesterday morning. Now I have 2 more traps in that room!

I've done some research on the plug in thing - the ultrasonic bit only works in the room where it's plugged in but the electromagnetic bit should make all the cables in the house give off some form of emf that drives the mice mad and makes them leave after a few days!

Can't get a cat because they're evil and they make me sneeze!

Checked around the outside of the house yesterday and couldn't see any holes.

There were no mice caught this morning and I haven't seen any evidence of them (droppings, gnawings etc) apart from the 2 dead ones in the bathroom!
 
oh the poor little mice

Hi Cahir,

I too had mice last year in new house and immediately plugged up all holes and got one of the spring mice traps. But it was absolutely terrible hearing the poor little thing whimper when it sprung the trap. So went back up to Atlantic and got a couple of the humane traps, which worked a treat. After a mouse entered into the trap it tilted backwards and the lid shut, capturing it. The mouse was then released in the a green area not too nearby. After catching about 5-6 mice all the scampering in the walls stopped. Would definitely recommend the humane way of dealing with the mice.

If they are in the bathroom, maybe you should keep the stoppers in the sink and bath?

Best of luck!
 
Port

I tried the tilt backwards humane trap, but it didn't work for me. I then made my own humane trap, which did work.

Mice are cute! - and very fast.
 
Re: Port

Would they come up through the sink and bath?? That's horrible!!

I think they're coming from behind the sink where the pipes come up through the floor. Thought about plugging this up but then they'd still be in the walls and ceilings and end up having mice babies and eventually take over the whole house.

We're going on holiday on Thursday for just over 2 weeks and I'm scared that the place will be overrun with mice when we get back!!! Will have to ask my Dad to make some mouse-disposal trips!
 
Mice

Hi Cahir,

My parents had mice in their house and called the pest control straight away! After this they have never seen a mouse once! I hate mice too and I'd sure that if I ever saw one in my house I'd call the prest control!
YOu can look them up in the yellow pages.
 
Re: Mice

Going on holiday tomorrow so won't have a chance to get pest control in until we get back!!

There was one dead in the kitchen yesterday but the little f*ckers have taken to eating the bait from the traps in the bathroom without getting caught - it's like we're feeding them now. I can't cope!!! Hopefully it's just the one clever mouse who's managing to avoid the traps.

I couldn't even shower or cook in the house yesterday - had to have a crappy microwave meal and go to my parents for a shower. It's so disgusting - am thinking that maybe we should sell the house if they won't go away but my boyfriend thinks that's just an over reaction. He doesn't realise how freaked I am!!!
 
Re: Calm down and enjoy your mice free hols.

"eating the bait from the traps in the bathroom without getting caught "

My brother had mice some years ago under the sink which I understand is a common problem because its a handy spot for them to get in. A few people recommended the rind of a rasher for bait in the traps because the mice get caught trying to pull the long bait out of the trap.

Your boyfriend is right in what he says about the overreaction :) Don't forget if you buy a new house with building work taking place they could be there also. Either get the pest control people in when you get back from hols or regularly use traps. BTW don't forget to get your parents to check the house regularly while you are away because the smell of dead mouse won't be nice on your return.

We had a nest of them in our shed last year and I think himself caught 12 in total with traps. The little ba...... even got into the tumble dryer because of the heat aspect.
 
Re: Mice

Don't be freaked - mice are much more afraid of you than you are of them. They will not harm you. The problem is that they run at the speed of light, so it's hard to catch them.

But you really must deal with this problem, or else they'll be with you for ever. You have to find out where they are coming into the house and plug the hole. If not, they'll come in every winter.

I recommend you put poison down behind the sink where the pipes come up through the floor, and then plug the hole. You can get poison in Woodies or Atlantic. The mice will consume the poison while you are away on holidays, and will be dead when you return. People will tell you that the dead mice will smell - that's true, but the smell usually lasts only 3 to 5 days.
 
caught loads

We had mice last winter. They managed to get between the ceiling and the upstairs floor. You could hear them pounding around and at night you could hear a gnawing sound. It freaked me out.
I ended up taking one floor board up and drilling about 3 holes through the plywood underneath. I put in those spring loaded, pre-baited traps you get from woodies and they worked a treat. I was pulling mice out almost every night. I think I got about 12 out. I have plugged up every hole I could find going into the house with no more gaps stuff and have not had a mice problem since.
 
caught loads

> So went back up to Atlantic and got a couple of the humane traps, which worked a treat. After a mouse entered into the trap it tilted backwards and the lid shut, capturing it. The mouse was then released in the a green area not too nearby. After catching about 5-6 mice all the scampering in the walls stopped. Would definitely recommend the humane way of dealing with the mice.

Perhaps not. There's a good chance that releasing house mice into the open/wild simply condemned them to a slow death through exposure. Assuming that they didn't simply find their way back into your house or somebody else's of course.
 
field mice

"There's a good chance that releasing house mice into the open/wild simply condemned them to a slow death through exposure. "

Just to clarify I released the mice next to a hole in the stump of an old tree in the local green area! So I'm sure the little mice family, having been all reunited, are living happily ever after and aren't pestering anyone else.
 
Re: New House - Mice

Mice must have heard me talking about them because as I type I'm keeping an eye out for one that has just appeared to-day in the house. If anyone hears a scream you know where its comin' from ................
 
Re: Mice/Rats

Re. the mice problem

We bought a very old draughty house full of holes in the country 2 years ago and don't live there all the time - so it was potentially a mouse paradise. The first September we had it, we arrived to find that a family or several families had taken up residence... They absolutely FREAK me out too - so, I bought 4 of those ultrasound devices (OTT? I don't think so!). Haven't seen sight nor sound since - they are brilliant!!!
 
Re: Mice/Rats

Does anybody where you can buy these ultrasonic/electromagnetic mouse detterents in Dublin and how much you can expect to pay?
 
Ultrasonic things

You can get them in Woodies and Atlantic Homecare but they're useless. All 11 mice we caught (in traps) were about a metre away from the devices. Ours cost about €50 or €55 but you can get cheaper ones that don't have the emf function - just the ultrasonic thingy.

After weeks of catching the little b*stards I eventually decided to put down poison and we haven't had any since (traps and poison are still there and we're 4 weeks and 1 day mouse free!)
 
Re: Ultrasonic things

but they're useless
Click to expand...
I agree. After years thinking they work, due to the absence of mice, we've had mice almost literally stroll pass them this year! I think maybe they are effective against rodents "just passing by" which are not very hungry and so move on to somewhere quieter. But it seems if they are hungry/desperate enough, they certainly won't stop them. I still use mine because it certainly won't attract them, and if it only keeps away one in the year, that justifies it for me!
 
Re: >>Mice/Rats

It's almost a year later and they're back!!! Didn't hear them but we still had the traps down from last year just in case. On Saturday there was one caught by the tail in a trap in the bathroom and I start crying :( Don't think I can deal with this again!!

Last year we caught a total of 12 and they seemed to stop after I put down poison everywhere. I still have poison down but maybe it's gone off? The building work near us has finished but there's a field across the road. I even brought my parents dog to the house in the hope that the mice might smell the dog and stay away.
 
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