Mice coming in from the cold

[WARDABC]

We have mice coming in from the cold, is there anyone in ED that can give advice on making sure they don't stay, or help us to lay the right things to catch them. We have no food out, seen a mouse run under the oven though.

Thanks!

[JohnL]

My flat was like mice speedway last night

I brought some traps today .. but there were also electronic deterrents, poison bait stations, old fashioned traps, live catch traps and a few more I forgot. I also filled up some of their holes with wire wool.

Can't have them running around like last night.

[Captain Kernow]

I find the old fashioned traps with a hair trigger work best, little bit of peanut butter usually does the trick.

Nice and fast too, but better than poison.

[Jenny1]

Yes. Old fashioned traps (available from Dulwich DIY) are good. Also get some peppermint oil (Healthmatters or the chemist near Goose Green roundabout), douse cotton wool balls with it and stick them under skirting boards or between floorboards. Won't stop mice nesting if they've already done so but will deter new arrivals from staying.

[JohnL]

Captain Kernow Wrote:

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> I find the old fashioned traps with a hair trigger

> work best, little bit of peanut butter usually

> does the trick.

> Nice and fast too, but better than poison.

Those were what I got.

Had the live catch traps in my hand .. but s** the little blighters.

[intexasatthe moment]

Yes to peppermint oil .

These humane traps work well https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beat-Pest-Metal-Multi-Mouse/dp/B00K5T013M/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1521475302&sr=8-20&keywords=humane+mouse+trap

I've seen then somewhere locally - DIY shop up at Plough ? Shop on Lordship Lane near Celestial shop ?

Actually I have caught mice using a cardboard shoe box with a small entrance hole cut in one corner .Mice like to run around the edge of the room ,sticking close to the skirting board and they will run into a dark hidey hole like a box ,and stay in it if it has shredded newspaper and bait - yres to peanut butter .

[Zebedee Tring]

All you need is a little cat or two. They will enjoy the fun of the chase and kill, while the mere presence of a moggy very often acts as a mouse deterrent.

[JohnL]

intexasatthe moment Wrote:

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> Yes to peppermint oil .

>

> These humane traps work well

> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beat-Pest-Metal-Multi-Mou

> se/dp/B00K5T013M/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=152147530

> 2&sr=8-20&keywords=humane+mouse+trap

>

> I've seen then somewhere locally - DIY shop up at

> Plough ? Shop on Lordship Lane near Celestial shop

> ?

>

> Actually I have caught mice using a cardboard shoe

> box with a small entrance hole cut in one corner

> .Mice like to run around the edge of the room

> ,sticking close to the skirting board and they

> will run into a dark hidey hole like a box ,and

> stay in it if it has shredded newspaper and bait -

> yres to peanut butter .

I looked at some like that - but where do you put them when you catch them (middle of Peckham Rye - I don't want them back (nor do my neighbours - and our landlords use poison bait in the shared areas) ?). Maybe make a big mouse home and keep them as pets LOL :)

[intexasatthe moment]

I've always just released mine outside .I know you're meant to take them some distance but it seemed to work .I guess if they're just popping in to your place as opposed to nesting and you've deployed the peppermint oil .it should be ok .

[Sue]

I'm sure they will leave as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer, provided you don't leave any tasty nibbles around (I had one break into a sack of bird food which I had stupidly not put into a mouse proof container .....)

Anybody else noticed the moths coming back in force?

[damzel]

I hate to tempt fate but after having mice coming in from the cold for 2 years running, I got an electronic deterrent last year and haven't seen them again this winter (yet..)

Yes to the moths! Blooming things. I use those sticky traps for them - attract the males but not the females (or vice versa) so it cuts down the mating at least.

[JohnL]

I'm so glad it isn't just me anyway :) First time last night I've seen two out on the kitchen floor together.

[Penguin68]

The moth traps attract the males.

[Sue]

Penguin68 Wrote:

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> The moth traps attract the males.

Yes, because the females don't fly.

The papers and hangers you can get (chemical ones) do keep the female moths at bay though, provided you remember to change them on time.

In my experience, anyway.

A running and expensive battle, though ...

[Sue]

intexasatthe moment Wrote:

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

>

> These humane traps work well

> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beat-Pest-Metal-Multi-Mou

> se/dp/B00K5T013M/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=152147530

> 2&sr=8-20&keywords=humane+mouse+trap

>

They work well in terms of catching a live mouse, however the only time I used one (not in London) and took it to a field to release the mouse, the poor little thing was so terrified it wouldn't come out of the trap for ages.

Also you have to remember to check them frequently. My brother once forgot, and found a mummified mouse. Not a very quick or humane death :(

[J27]

We had this recommended to us, and have found it to work really well. Deters them, without harming them...

Expensive but worth it. Has a money-back guarantee, as well...

https://www.primrose.co.uk/highpowered-pest-device-rat-and-mouse-p-696.html?src=PB0200_badge

[Charl70]

Get rodent and pest insurance,on your house insurance ,we did and they came out straight away and sorted the problem

[paulu1973]

Our cat works a treat plus keeps the cat amused too

[JohnL]

My traps are out (sorry if any mice die but my mother convinced me they chew electrical cables and can start fires)

[Melbournemember]

This is exactly the reason we got a cat...

[JohnL]

I caught one mouse ( a big one - maybe daddy mouse) but there's a small one that I've actually seen take the bait from my traps without being caught.

To make it more difficult I mashed up a peanut into granules and stuck that in. We'll see who wins.

[alex_b]

Using something sticky (peanut butter or another paste) is better as they have to stay at the trap to eat it. I've bought a tube of bait from Amazon that seems to work well.

[BigED]

I used to leave unbaited snap traps where they blighters used to emerge or along skirting where they were running. I caught several though that may be partly because there were a lot of them about. But if you know where they are coming from or what route they are going, try putting a few traps in a row or fanned round an entrance. They might not trip one of the springs but sooner or later... One downside was that occasionally I found a mouse with a tail in one trap and a head in another. Still, I wasn't re-using the traps and I considered the investment worthwhile.

alex_b's point about making them stay around to eat the bait is probably good advice too.

The only thing I couldn't use were the sticky traps - I put them down and a couple of days later all I had caught was a spider. I was uneasy about having to dispatch a stuck mouse and got rid of the traps.

I also tried the electric (battery powered) traps that kill mice with an electric shock. They are expensive but worked pretty well. I just got fed up of emptying the traps of their contents.

Unless you are intending to re-use snap traps (which would be green but requires stronger nerves than I possess), you can minimise the distance between you and the dead mouse with a couple of simple adaptations. First, tie a piece of string (length up to you, but one to two feet works) to the metal part of the trap. Then lay a couple of sheets of newspaper on the floor/surface where you will put the trap. Make sure the edges of the paper are lying flat as you want the mice to carry on along their usual route. Set the trap and place it in the desired location, on the newspaper. Lay the string away from the trap where it will be easy for you to pick up. When you get a kill, you can use the string to pull the trap and deceased vermin into the middle of the newspaper. Roll the paper, double bag the deceased vermin and trap and put in the rubbish bin.

[dmcd808]

We had a bad rat and mouse problem before moving into our place in dulwich.

We got a cat and thank god it is a hunter, thousands of years of hunting skills so now there are no sign of mice or rats.

She would often just sit out in our garden for hours where the mice use to come from waiting to pounce, and once she catches them she eats them in whole so no need for disposal.

The ancient Egyptians use cats exactly for this reason - to catch rodents and prevent disease which was why they were worshiped as gods because they saved peoples lives!

[Sue]

BigEd, I am in awe of your ingenuity!

There is a similar discussion going on on the Nunhead Facebook group (Nunhead Rocks).

Look people, as soon as the weather warms up (it will!) the mice who have come in from the cold will go back outside.

Really. They will. Trust me :))