Rodent problems

[Sycamore Chins]

There is a MOUSE IN MY HOUSE!!! I love mice and all (okay...maybe not love) but not when they are loose!

What a peachy thing to wake up to. The little bugger (I've been calling it worse names) has been taunting me to add salt to my wounds. Boy am I glad I got a real bed so I'm not sleeping on the floor anymore!

We've got two traps set up - I found two holes in the house. One is under the sink - which is where I saw him last (when I was innocently getting a new sponge - SURPRISE!), so there is a trap there and another in my spare bedroom (ironically...the cat room...).

I've seen him at the one under the sink when I peeked in, so hopefully he goes far enough in to spring it sometime tonight.

What have you guys found that works and/or doesn't work for pest control? I've gotta get the landlord to cover up the holes. I'm going to try to get him to put some poison in the attic as well (I had heard scuttering, but chalked it up to squirrels on the roof or something).
I don't leave food out, and the dog and cat food is in sealed containers. Unfortunately I have a nice box of hay in the house that can't really be sealed. And I do have a bag of rabbit food I need to get in a sealed container.

Anything else you guys can think of?

 

[Riven]

Get better cats? LOL

Occassionally I need to put out poision because they get into the chin house, I'm always afraid that a chin will escape so I actually put the poision inside of a life trap that is shut. I have a small one I use to set for any loose chins. That way the mice can get in, but not a chin.

If you see one... I assure you here are more!

You can also do a search for a water bucket mouse trap. I've also had good luck with the live trap or electronic traps. Being in the middle of farm land... we have had our fair share of mouse issues! The best thing I've found is a patience cat.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

LOL Maddie was the one that found the mouse - so I give her points for that. But when I was chasing it this morning they both were pretty much useless. My landlord joked that I feed the cats too well - haha.

 

[JennyBug]

As much as I hate the thought of them, the snap traps work the best. The mice are typically killed quickly, but it can sometimes be messy.

There are ads for a couple of things that I have seen lately:
1. the traps the you don't have to look in - you toss the whole trap when it goes off (a thing on the side tells you when it is "full", so to speak
2. a device that emits a frequency that keeps rodents away (PROBLEM: I doubt it was tested on chins, and I would hate to torture mine with an irritating or painful sound)

Is there a cat on patrol outside? As odd as it sounds, we have had only one mouse in the house (that I have seen or heard) despite the fact that we live near the woods and have cropland on either side of us. We do, however, get weekly "rent" from our outdoor cat in the form of a mouse (or mice, if she's feeling generous) laid neatly on the front porch. I think she's getting them before they get in. Maybe an outdoor cat would help.

 

[Riven]

We have three outside cats and still have mice. I see the cats with mice so I know they're working. lol But they have significantly cut down on mice elsewhere.

The electronic traps work pretty good, I like them better than the snappers because you don't have to set them, and it kills instantly. You find them in the trap right on the the pad. No blood or mess.

 

[cuddlycuddles]

I'll second the efficiency of the electronic traps- I find them additionally appealing because their small opening is not big enough for a larger pet to get hurt (while a snapping trap could break a paw or worse).

 

[Sycamore Chins]

The landlord got me those ones you don't have to see - with the 'MOUSE CAUGHT' icon on the side. I had my doubts when I saw the mouse tasting what was in the trap and leaving unscathed under the kitchen sink but...




I CAUGHT ONE!!! Props to Maddie who found it again. I flushed it from under one of the cabinets and it ran between the oven and the sink cabinet. There was nowhere for it to go so Maddie watched it while I retrieved the trap, put it in front of the opening then taped ALL around it and two feet up. Then I used a long piece of cardboard to chase the mouse forward from the back wall and SCHWING!!! The best sound ever!

I thought he was still alive so drove down the road to let him loose but he died - I didn't think the spring was that strong, maybe he just had himself a little heart attack.

Sweet satisfaction! One of them is gone!!! (Hopefully it was the one that was taunting me this morning)

We do have an outside cat in the neighborhood - I'm sure he helps, but I live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by farms and woods, so I'm sure he can only do so much.

 

[mercynursie]

I understand completely.I have a barn and no longer have any resident mouser cats around.The only place I put poison at is in the tack/feed room.As long as they don't cross the line and get in there,we have a happy relationship.As far as in the house however my tolerance is much lower.We throw out bait chunks in the enclosed crawl space under our mobile home.Inside we do have 3 cats only 1 points a mouse though.I found these neat little gravity operated no kill traps.If I start noticing the mouse pointer being extra interested in a certain area/cabinet I just put some peanut butter in the little mouse house.In the morning if the trap is triggered I take it for a little ride in the truck with me and about a mile away I stop/pull over and release the beast into the nice pretty soybean fields.:thumbsup:

 

[Jenn]

I have a lot of stray cats on my property - I live in the county and put food out for them - and I still recently got a mouse in the house. He was in the floor furnace vent. My husband was supposed to dig out a couple of traps for him...but he hasn't yet! I haven't heard mr. mouse in the vents for about a week now, so I'm hoping he found his way back out again and ran far, far away!

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I have a problem with my cat bringing mice and moles IN my house. Unfortunately she has learned to use the doggy door so I can't keep her in. She is an excellent hunter and then she feels she needs to bring me presents. Sometimes they are alive - she just drops them and leaves them. Fortunately my other cats eventually find them.

 

[mishellyshel]

we had a mouse coming in from our garage, the spot was thru a little hole in some cabinets.......my fiance used this stuff in a can called "the great stuff". you spray it in and it expands and then you can cut off the excess. havent seen the little guy since.

as for the traps.......i hate them. they make me sad. in the past we have used use the glue ones but i feel so bad because i know they suffer. we always try to find the source so we can seal it up instead of having to kill them once they are in. and i am NOT the one to dispose of them because i usually end up crying.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I guess I should count my lucky stars, my kids aren't like me growing up. My Mom didn't have to worry about the cats dragging mice into the house, because it was ME bringing them in along with the water snakes, spiders in jars, frogs etc. Might I ad that we lived on a farm, and there were plenty!!! Great for me, but not so much for her, especially when something got out and went for the heating vents, and stunk up the whole house! Yikes!

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I ordered a live trap to get one I found in our garage and chin room...It just makes me feel better than killing them. Shane drops them off way far away from the house. I've caught two although the first one he didnt listen to me and dropped it outside so im sure I caught him again. Plus I can reuse it!

 

[caiti]

We have a mouse problem, too. But the mice we find are already dead. We find them in our basement, I think they get in for the warmth then starve I guess since there's no food down there. We also have a cat but she's useless in that aspect...

I have no advice on traps since I don't have any personal experience with them but my suggestion would be to make sure your food is all sealed up. I'm sure you already have but it helps. Mice will still come in since it's warm but they won't create the frenzy they do when they tell the others where food is and obviously they can't sustain themselves.