# Do holes in flour bag in press mean mice?



## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

Hi,

I went to take out a bag of flour out of press the other day and discovered it has a couple of holes in it...where the paper seems to be gone entirely.  One is the size of a thumbnail and the other size of small fingernail...

Is there anything else it might be other than mice?  What size are mice droppings anyway? 

Can't believe I found this, we have a cat for heaven's sake! Have not gone near press since! Our house is only six years old and I haven't heard any problems with mice before.

any thoughts appreciated

micamaca


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## polo9n (2 Jan 2007)

the chance are high, u should clean out the press to check how they get in, the mouse dropping is like small pepper..hard to see if the press is dark and they looks just like pepper or bread bits...

its unusual they can get up that high...go get a mouse trap and catch that mice!


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## DrMoriarty (2 Jan 2007)

You should also revoke the cat's Christmas bonus.


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## paddi22 (2 Jan 2007)

Usually you'l find evidence of droppings if they have eaten nearby. It could also be bugs that have grown in the flour and then eat their way out when they are grown. Its prob mice tho, we have been plagued with them recently. The traps we found the best were this style one

[broken link removed]

they are reusable and seem to be a lot more efficent that the old wood ones.


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## mo3art (2 Jan 2007)

Did the flour bag get damp at any stage recently?  There is a chance that the bag could have disintegrated from dampness although it is more likely that you have some unwanted houseguests of some sort!


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## ACA (2 Jan 2007)

I was appalled to discover that mice can get into the house thru a gap as small as a pencil circumference! Sounds like mice...but don't blame your moggy too much - most cats are too well-fed to hunt for anything but fun!

I have 3 cats and had a mouse problem a few well-placed traps got rid of the little blighters! I use chocolate or bacon rind.


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

Oh Lord! Sounds like mice then...there are little bits of black pepper bits scattered around the press. I tried to convince myself they were unknown spices that my mother-in-law had thrown into the press and they had disintegrated...

Crap! I was going to remove everything and look for a sizeable hole but was putting it off. But if I had seen a small hole I probably would have dismissed it as too small so thanks for the heads up! The house isn't a bit damp thank God, so it couldn't be that. 

Cat is definitely too well fed to be wasting her precious sleeping time by chasing mice...

Problem is I hate having to kill anything, I have bug catcher's upstairs and downstairs for spiders etc. pity they don't invent something humane for mice so I could dump it in a field far away 

Are there any humane mice traps to be had...my friend was telling me recently they had a mouse and she could hear it running behind the press caught in the trap...that's just too much! Why can't nature stay where it belongs...outside!

anyway, thanks for all responses!


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## peno (2 Jan 2007)

Try the electric plug in things. I got them a while ago and it cleared the house of the unmanted guests. You plug it in and it sends out a noise that only animals can hear - not sure if it will affect the cat though. The last tiem I got a trap it was under the bed and went of in the middle of the night. I could hear the thing jumping around to get out of the trap. After 5 mins of this he finally wringled free.


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## z107 (2 Jan 2007)

> Problem is I hate having to kill anything, I have bug catcher's upstairs and downstairs for spiders etc. pity they don't invent something humane for mice so I could dump it in a field far away !



I made my own 'humane' mouse trap. I successfully caught the mice (It's doubtful that you only have one mouse, they generally come in 5 or 6s) and set them free.

Some people would argue that it's not humane because the mice don't know where they are and might get cold etc. However, I prefer to give them a second chance. Better than getting caught in a spring loaded trap and slowing dying over a few hours.

(They are also very 'cute' looking, with their tiny noses and whiskers etc.)

here are some humane mouse traps;


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

peno said:


> The last tiem I got a trap it was under the bed and went of in the middle of the night. I could hear the thing jumping around to get out of the trap. After 5 mins of this he finally wringled free.


 
Now that kind of thing is why I couldn't use a trap...that would just put me in the horrors!!! 

I'll look into the electric plug-in thingy and I had a look at that website for humane catcher...that looks simple enough...I'm sure it's not that simple but it's definitely worth a shot.  The awful thing is I took a tray out of this press just last week to bake salmon on it and of course assumed it was clean, so didn't wash it... yuck!!! am still alive so assume I'm okay. 

I have seen mice up close before and they are cute creatures, lovely little brown eyes...as I say I have nothing against them...out in a field! 

Thanks again for humane advice...


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## Welfarite (2 Jan 2007)

make sure you release them a good bit away from your place ...otherwise they will just saunter back in to the cosy warm home they have found!


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## ragazza (2 Jan 2007)

Oh no, it sounds like I had mice in a previous apartment - on the couch I used to find little brown things, like tiny 'hundreds and thousands' that you put on a cake. It didnt enter my head you would get mice 4 floors up in the city center.


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

Now am worried I'll get a disease from them!!! Am not sure what I was vaccinated against and there are no records with any GP and no-one to ask. 

Am going to doctor's tomorrow for a blood test to get sorted on vaccinations. Was going to do it anyway but now am worried about polio...no. 1 hypocondriac here. 

There was tons of mice droppings, it's the bakery press so we never use it. have thrown out everything that can't be washed...but am worried I may have eaten off a tray that they walked on...or worse((


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## polo9n (2 Jan 2007)

is definitly safe to tlak to a doc about it, in my opinion mice are mostly ok, they don't carry deadly desease like Rats...but their dropping may cause nasty stuff...
so now u might have a second thought to catch them and they are not that innocent after all...
don't take my word for it, go to see ur GP and seek their advice..


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

am booked in to see doc tomorrow morning...have to get a blood test done, hope it doesn't take weeks to come back! am up to high doe now and I should be studying for exams...

I'll do a bit of necessary washing up and try and calm myself down...worrying isn't going to do me any good. 

Little blighters, the press stinks after them! Am leaving a bag of flour in there to see if they are regular visitors.  They're a fair sized gap between the back of the press and the shelf so that must be where they are getting in.  It's a bottom shelf...I'm afraid to look at our other eye-level food presses.


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## Sue Ellen (2 Jan 2007)

Hi,

There are many previous threads on advice on getting rid of mice and these might help. A lot of the posts seem to give negative feedback on the electric plug-in devices. Run the search option in this forum and will get plenty of reading matter.

Another point to bear in mind is that flour can get damp quite easily and therefore attracts mites. It is best, therefore, to store it and cereals in sealed airtight containers.


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## polo9n (2 Jan 2007)

Mica..get a plastic gloves, a muffler and disinfectant to clean it up..no point to check if they still visiting..also get wood board from Woodies to block the gap..and check the rest of the press to prevent they coming in again! get it done during the day as they only come thru at nite when its quiet and dark!


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## Welfarite (2 Jan 2007)

This thread seems to be panicking the OP when it is only a minor problem, after all.

1. Mice come indoors to live during the winter. They do not "visit when it's dark". They will live with you peacefully, especially if you leave a nice bag of flour for them to gorge on so get rid of it! what more proof do you need that they are living in the house!

2. The only surefire way of getting rid of them is by laying down poison or setting traps ...or stop feeding the fat cat!

3. They are relatively harmless critturs but blocking up holes will not make them go away, they will just find another way to get in.


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

Cheers Polo9n,

I'll do that. I don't have any strong disinfectants at the mo, only have eco-friendly stuff! Catastrophe! I'll have to nip out to the shops so. 

Thanks for all advice, it's calming me down to do something about it. Hubbie away till next Sunday so I'll get him to have a go at press properly then. Ugh, so disgusting!!! But not the end of the world...hopefully! 

regards mica


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## Welfarite (2 Jan 2007)

Oh, and its very, very doubtful that you caught anything from touching that tray ... when's the last time you heard of mice giving people a deadly disease. Stop worrying!


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## johndoe64 (2 Jan 2007)

just make sure you don't do what this guy did!

[broken link removed]


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

To be fair Welfarite, I think I'm panicking myself. I just realised that I'm not sure what I'm vaccinated against last week and was planning to get that sorted this week. I'm extra worried as I don't know where I stand with vaccinations. Would not like the idea of mice walking over my bed or being in the kitchen press because of hygiene but otherwise I see them as harmless enough...just the lack of certainty regarding vaccinations that has me freaked! 

But going to doc tomorrow so that should help. 

have left the lovely choice of flour that they have already tasted.   Hoping to convince them not to wander any further!


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## polo9n (2 Jan 2007)

Mica...(be warned i am not trying to gross you out)

i would strongly disagree taking it not seriously, i am not trying to be gross about it, but u can't tell where these little guy been visiting before checking out ur place...
i would rather be safe then sorry...its their droppings and urine thats deadly..i am sure many medical professional agree on this


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

Can honestly say would not set mouse on fire! That's a heck of a story! Anyway off to Homecare with me! thanks again folks. mica


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## stresshead (2 Jan 2007)

polo9n said:


> its their droppings and urine thats deadly..i am sure many medical professional agree on this


 
I disagree with this - by all means clean up and disinfect the press, and see your GP if you want to but PLEASE do not worry about getting some crazy disease from it - mice in Ireland do not carry any serious risk to humans (unlike rats). 

The only "serious" risk mice pose to man is those that carry hantavirus. This is carried by certain species of mice, and is a risk in the US (and sometimes in mainland Europe) - It's the benefit of living on an island - there have been no cases here - ever! Otherwise they are a harmless creature, you are many MANY times more likely to catch something from your cat!

So please don't worry, you will be fine, I practically guarantee it!


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## Vanilla (2 Jan 2007)

I agree with Stresshead, the chances of picking up something from a mouse has to be slim to nill as long as you take normal precautions- if you think a mouse has access to anything, wash it first, if food- throw it away. Wash your hands after touching stuff in house and before eating or preparing food. Sure if you're putting stuff in the oven the heat will probably kill everything anyway. We live next to rodents constantly and frequently they come into our homes, if there was really anything to worry about think it would be well high lighted. Have had loads of mice infestations myself in the first few years after we built our home, had to go around the house and block up any possible entry and then ( sorry) kill all the ones already inside, now no repeats.


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## Helen (2 Jan 2007)

I lived in Holland a few years ago and had mice - nothing will get rid of them except boarding up the holes where they are getting in. Forget the plug in things, we had one beside the bin, but a mouse still came in and found it's way into the bin one morning. 
I personally hate the thought of them in my house and had nightmares of them running over me at night time! I wouldn't be comfortable to just catch the ones that got in, I'd need to be sure no more could get in, so I'd board up that hole. We were nearly suffocated with lack of air by the time I was finished! 
The silver lining of having mice apparently is that you don't have rats as they don't tend to live together - not sure if it's true though.


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## micamaca (2 Jan 2007)

Okay I won't stress it! thanks, you're all making me feel better anyhow. 

I've got some stronger washingup liquid and disinfectant spray to deal with baking trays etc and everything else is in the bin. Latex gloves are on the ready! 

Was going to doc anyway to get vacs sorted, but this has speeded me up! 

I just know nothing about these little critters, was sure their droppings must be bigger than that but no! apparently not! Anyway, there's no doubt, there was so much of them. 

I was looking at plug-ins but decided to do some research before buying. 
We'll tackle it somehow when hubby gets home...God love him! 

Thanks again for all advice, I feel much better anyhow...was really worried I might have caught something awful! Ms Stresshead should be my name sometimes! Cheers folks! mica


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