Mouse in bedroom!

[larryinnewyork]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Definitely making a pit stop at the hardware store on the way home.

This is war.


Yes it is.
Try a multi-pronged approach.
It may take time, but it will make a difference.

Exterior:
1) Do not feed the birds, they knock the seed to the ground (for mice to find).
2) Set Traps outside with peanut butter. I buy the 'plastic' ones at Home Depot (safe/easy to use).
Note: Check and discard dead mice daily.
Note: Keeps traps clean and with fresh bait (do every 3 days).
3) Mice like to crawl under plywood, logs or railroad ties (clean up your yard).
Outside, I like to place the 'green colored' poison cubes you can buy.
4) Seal any exterior holes in house (1/4" and larger).

Interior:
1) Don't leave food laying around.
2) Set same 'plastic' traps as used outside
3) Use Glue traps

Nobody is accusing you of being a slob.
With an old house, could happen to anyone.

Keep a List of each day you caught mice, inside & outside and how many.
Eventually, you will go longer and longer before trapping any.

Careful this Fall, the mice may want to come inside to stay warm.

Good luck.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Don't blame the mice. They just want to come in from the cold. Get a female cat!

 

[oilpsi2high]

Just ordered one of these per the advice from another member: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071Y6...&pldnSite=1

 

[DBMaster]

There's a guy named Shawn Woods on YouTube. His channel has a lot of survival and wild foraging videos, but he has a series called "mouse trap Mondays." I'm not a war monger on mice but he tests a very wide variety of modern and vintage traps, but kill traps and live traps. It is very interesting.

 

[slug_bug]

If you think there are a significant number of mice in the house I highly recommend the "Rat Zapper". It electrocutes the critters, so, no guts or half dead mice to deal with. I've plugged all of the holes I can find into my attached garage, but, they still find their way in occasionally. My rat zapper has dispatched about 20 of them over the last couple of years along with 4 chipmunks and a red squirrel. Just put a little peanut butter in a plastic bottle cap, slide it to the back of the trap and turn it on. Dump it out when the light is flashing and reload.

 

[andyd]

Snap traps are dirt cheap and very effective. I caught 6 over a 3 day period. I should move them to the other end of the attic. Cats are not a sure cure. Some are great hunters. My first cat had a pet shrew that ate dinner with him. I had another that looked at me as if I should make the move Its an old house and quite porous

 

[xfactor9]

Mice can squeeze into the smallest openings.

Back in college I lived in an apartment that had a mouse problem. One time, I found one my bedroom as I was studying. It noticed me then scurried away...underneath the closed door! The gap under the door was no more than 1/2". I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it

You have to seal every hole no matter how small

 

[double vanos]

Feral cats are the key. I've trapped ferals many times at the Port and normalized them by putting them in comfy cages and feeding them well. It doesn't take long for them to decide you're their Daddy. Every one of them I've had used the cat box when indoors and when outside, they're on the prowl. In their former life birds, mice etc were their dinner and that never leaves them. The ones I've had have brought me snakes, rats, mice, birds, lizards; basically anything that crosses their path is on the menu.

After the first mouse, a good feral will be looking for the den.....

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
Don't blame the mice. They just want to come in from the cold. Get a female cat!


Get a female tortoise shell. They act like dogs, but are aggressive hunters.

 

[Rand]

Just put out about 6-12 traps baited with peanut butter. I prefer to use a chunk of cheese or other hard material (carrot) and put a smear of peanut butter on it.


check traps twice daily at first.. then after a few days/week they should be about done.

I've found the cheapest wood traps work best.

 

[John_VT]

Two in one with just a lil peanut butter.

 

[oilpsi2high]

I ripped out all vegetation around the foundation as well as rocks the previous owner had about 18" away from the foundation. Trimmed all grass in this area as well. Looks much better than a bunch of [censored] looking plants up against the foundation.

No mouse in the trap this morning, so either the spray foam blasted into the crevices worked, or they are still in hiding. Have yet to check the traps downstairs and yes, I am using peanut butter.

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated on the tips!

 

[PeterPolyol]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
At 1 AM, I woke up and definitely noticed a mouse IN THE BED again!


IDK WHY this is so funny to me

Dang

 

[oilpsi2high]

I'm going to go ahead and keep telling myself that I was imagining it. I mean, I didn't actually see the rodent, just felt the sensation.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: PeterPolyol
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
At 1 AM, I woke up and definitely noticed a mouse IN THE BED again!


IDK WHY this is so funny to me

Dang

Because you watched a lot of the Classic Tom & Jerry cartoons when you where little?

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Definitely making a pit stop at the hardware store on the way home.

This is war.


Forego the hardware store and stop by the SPCA.

Then after that, stop by the pet food store and grab a bag of Purina Pro Plan.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Last time I had a mouse on the bed the CAT caught it and played with it on top of my bed! I did find a hole from the garage to my room filled with expanding foam spray. The problem started when I was feeding birds on a daily basis.



Bingo!
Once I put away the two bird feeders, my rat problems disappears a few weeks later.

I always inspect for holes and cracks around the house. I do it 4-5 times per year and it only take me about two minutes to inspect both the house and the two car garage.

 

[RTexasF]

In this house my gal would have been in the car on her way to a hotel. She has an unnatural fear of mice, rats, & squirrels. Even though she cannot drive at night she would have been on her way regardless.

 

[PeterPolyol]

Originally Posted By: pandus13

Because you watched a lot of the Classic Tom & Jerry cartoons when you where little?

Definitely like something out of a comedy

 

[GMFan]

If you have an attic start there. Growing up we lived near a lot of land and fields. I would go to sleep at night hearing the mice in the attic claw and chew and nibble and scurry. They usually head for indoors in the late fall to escape the cold. We would set traps every fall and it catching 20 or so mice was the norm. Lots of babies too.

There isn't much you can do. They can fit in incredibly small spaces and they will always find a way in. When you do set traps to keep the population under control bait with peanut butter. It works the best. Also research online the best places to put the traps. Also, maybe get a cat. We took in a stray cat and any mice that ventured into the living areas of the house she took care of.

A lot of it is out of your control except obvious things like not leaving food around- including dog or cat food. Doesn't matter how clean your home is. Your house is a welcome secure environment for them. For people who don't think they have mice they are niave if they live anywhere in a rural/suburban area. They are there. It's only when you have a lot that you actually notice or hear them. You usually find out about one when it gets stuck in a wall and tries to get out.