Mice! How do we get rid of them?

[poppet27]

We're renovating a flat and just saw two mice scuttle through the makeshift kitchen.

How do we quickly and effectively get rid of them? Should we borrow someone's cat?!

Don't really want to bait them. Is there another method? high frequency plug ins? Ergh, worried all our food including baby food is contaminated :(

[Lynne]

Your renovations have probably disturbed them. I don't want to sound defeatist, but in a high density area with terraced housing, you can never be sure you're mouse-free. They often live in our combi-boiler. Traps may be unpleasant but they're quick and you won't have bodies smelling under the floorboards, as you can get with poison.

[Phlox]

You can tell if mice have been at food as you will see teeth marks, or holes in packaging. They will even bite banana skins. You need to put all your non fridge food in something like a cool chest, and some heavy duty containers.

[Sazzle30]

We bought a sonic plug that repels mice - worked a treat never saw any again.

[staplemeg]

You can buy humane mouse traps online for about ?5. They're a bit faffy, as it's best to travel a bit away from the house to release them. But it's a kinder alternative to a traditional trap.

Wire wool in the entrances (if you can find them) tends to keep them out.

[James Barber]

Sonic plug/s worked a treat - or did for me.

Very hard to ensure you have no gaps a mouse can get through. But also work doing as if nothing else will make your home better insulated and less drafty.

[KidKruger]

Use a rolling log mouse trap.

https://youtu.be/6SIlYiiCGLI

[SpringTime]

Sonic plugs do indeed repel them.

Depending on the size and shape of your property and the broader building you might need more than one though, as a single alarm can simply drive them to one end of the layout. They hate the sound so much it can effectively corner them so that they starve to death and then stink as they rot under the floor, or wherever they are.

Don't forget once the plugs are switched off mice can come back - especially if there are crumbs or other free food about. So if you do buy sonic repellent(s) you should keep them on for a few days, and then turn them on again regularly for short intervals.

Also remember that sonics generally just make the mice someone else's problem whilst they go elsewhere so you might consider traps as well - though traps are just that, they are not a repellent.

And if a cat's on the cards...

[Broadbean]

Go to the plough home craft , they sell humane mouse traps and put peanut butter in them as they are really attracted to the strong smell . When caught you just release them out side somewhere safe and away from your home . It worked for us .

[Sally Eva]

Poison. Their bodies are so small they do not smell they simply dessicate.

Humane traps didn't work for us.

[poppet27]

My message seems to have disappeared but I was just going to ask if sonic plug in devices are harmful or annoying to cats, if we adopt one sooner rather than later.

The flat has no skirting boards at the moment and gaps in the ceiling/ wall join where rotten cornicing was removed. In this room we have been keeping food to snack on * face palm *

Poison worries me a bit. We have toddlers around..

[Sally Eva]

ah yes. Maybe not then.

[jaywalker]

If the population is large (or a couple of breeding pairs that will grow geometrically every 3 months) you really have no option but to adopt (or buy) a cat. I suggest a black cat, the purer black the better (the famed gatto nero, without which any Italian ship would not set sail because of the guarantee they gave that the ship's grain would be safe). There are many waiting in refuges for the opportunity (for some reason many people in the UK dislike black cats).

I have one. There are no mice (apart from those he goes out to bring me in as presents).

[Scruffy Mummy]

I agree. We had ongoing mice problems for years living in ED - tried everything suggested above and since we adopted our lovely cat from battersea dog & cat home we are mice free. She caught a few in her first few weeks and now I think her very presence keeps them away. My partner was very against having a cat for years but is now a complete convert to being a cat owner.

[poppet27]

Well that settles it then. To Battersea we go!

Thanks

[rendelharris]

poppet27 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My message seems to have disappeared but I was

> just going to ask if sonic plug in devices are

> harmful or annoying to cats, if we adopt one

> sooner rather than later.

No they're above the hearing range of cats, dogs and humans. They might upset a pet hamster, guinea pig or similar. Enjoy your cat, you'll be mouse free and the toddlers will be sure to love it too!

[dresswaves]

poppet27 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well that settles it then. To Battersea we go!

> Thanks

Or try Celia Hammond in Lewisham. They have plenty of cats waiting for adoption.

[Mick Mac]

I'd have trouble deciding which is worse, cats or mice.

[flocker spotter]

Don't get a cat, please.

[malumbu]

Have had them on and off for years. Don't bother me. We are not infested. Don't leave food out and disinfect work surfaces regularly. I suppose the main thing is to stop them breeding rather than them popping in from the outside for food.

Fast blighters, never been able to catch them. Humane traps hit and miss. They gnaw through them too.

Funny when it is late at night, and you are watching telly, and suddenly you see something out of the corner of your eye.

Most of my work places have had mice.

[Jeremy]

I personally have no problem poising mice and other vermin. The traps baited with peanut butter, etc. were useless. Unsure about the sonic repellent plugs, they certainly don't completely keep them away.

Glue traps work very well but are rather gruesome... strictly a last resort.

Try to take the opportunity of sealing all gaps around the floor/skirting while your renovations are being done. In the meantime, keeping all your food in airtight containers and cleaning up all crumbs thoroughly will help a lot.

[teddyboy23]

Or for the cheaper method.a few years ago my wife flatten amouse with a argos catalogue.when she opened the cupboard door under the stairs.and tossed the book inside.the scream she let out when the catalogue was retrieved a few days later.and also the look on her face.when she saw the mouse dead and squashed and stuck to the book cover.priceless

[malumbu]

This is also useful http://courses.knox.edu/theatre121/Mousetrap.html