Does anyone have tried and true ideas on how to get rid of a pesky mouse? This is apparently the smartest mouse ever. We have been setting traps for 3 weeks now and the mouse has stolen the bait, moved the traps around, and just will not be caught! We have tried different baits such as cheese, bread, a piece of potato chip, peanut butter. We have put the traps near the places I know it comes out of. One night one of the traps went missing and we found it a few days later with a tail in it but no mouse. I am pretty OCD about cleanliness so our house is not dirtybut I do have 3 small kids so even though I am sweeping and vacuuming daily I am sure there are plenty of crumbs around to keep him alive for a long span unless we catch him. I have not tried D-CON yet cebause I worry that it will eat it and die in a vent and stink up my house. Any suggestion?
We had a mouse when we first bought our house and ended up getting a Tomcat Trap. The trap is like a long box and you bait it like the other traps, but when the mouse goes inside to get the bait (and it has to go inside because of the length of the trap) the wall flips so the mouse can't get out. That particular one is a "humane" trap so it doesn't kill the mouse; you would have to take and set it free in a field somewhere. The other kind we got were made by D-Con, but they were the type where the mouse has to go in to get the bait and the trap spins shut so the mouse can't get out. That one you just throw out the whole trap with the mouse inside. I think I found both types of traps at WalMart. Good luck!
We have a friend in the country whose neighbor just mowed their field. She got invaded! She ended up getting the kind you see advertised on TV that plug in. It worked really well. Once they left her house, she put some in the crawl space and then some in the storage shed. She's left them in, at least for now, but she is now mouse free. And she didn't have to deal with mice, dead or alive, due to traps. GL!
Dirty, nasty little pest!!! I had one this year too. I thik he was so tiny that it did not set the trap off and he would eat the bait. Finally, I got the little %&*^%&$ fat enough to set the trap off. I guess you will have to keep fatening up the little rascal! One thing I wanted to mention is, my house does not open to the garage and I keep decon out there all the time now! Even if it did attach to the house I would keep it out there. They come in when the weather changes! And our weather has been crazy! Good luck and it does not mean you are dirty, they are a sneaky little creature! Kathy K.
We finally called Orkin and they brought professional traps, sprayed the foundation of the house and I don't know what else. It finally got rid of the mice after a couple of visits.
We used to have the same problem with a pesky mouse that we just couldn't catch. we tried everything from putting ham and cheese on every trap we could possibly buy and nothing worked. one of my friends told me about RID X i was at my wits end so i would try anything and im tellin you it works like magic!!!! It sends electric waves through your walls and drives them buggers out, plus it doesn't use any more electricity than any other thing that you plug in.
I bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond, but im sure that you can find it online somewhere, and i only paid 15 bucks for it. plus it drives out bugs and spiders too so that's a plus. Good Luck Andrea
I have no desire to be humane to a rodent in my home. Sorry if that isn't politically correct! lol. that being said we got the traps that zap the mice when they touch the food. it's a little black box, I was looking into them from a late night infomercial (you know if you stay up late watching you want it all!) lol. anyway I did some research on it and it sounded good but I didn't want to pay forty bucks for a mouse trap...so I went to walmart and what do you know they had one for ten bucks so we got that. it worked so well we got 2 more. (we had mice making babies) in 3 days we had killed 20 mice (so gross I know...they built houses in the field behind us) the traps are great just keep the batteries charged, ours didn't die for 2 years. we had the house sealed with steel wool and that foam stuff that hardens, they chew through the foam but get caught in the steel wool. when they built on the other side of us the traps got 2 mice and the batteries died, my dh was deployed and I was NOT going to deal with the traps again it just felt like too much so we got a good mouser--haven't seen one since. lol. but barring getting a cat (do you know someone who would lend your thiers for a few days???) I'd go with those traps again. you hear the zap and know they are in there (if you aren't in the room the light blinks to let you know and you just lift the lid and chuck the mouse. I still shudder. I feel your pain. I can not stand rodents. my kids will never own a hamster, mouse or gerbil and I don't care how cute the new guinea pig super hero movie is!! we go visit fish and other creatures like that in the pet store.
Several years ago, we lived in a house with major mouse problems and traps can be so messy and not always effective. We got some devices that emit a sound that really irritates mice, but people cannot hear it. We did very well after that. I just cannot remember the brand and don't know if they might be a problem for pets with sensitive hearing. We didn't have pets at the time.
Nancy
Have you tried the sticky mouse traps? They are kinda sad cause they dont kill them you have to do that part or toss them in the trash alive :( but they work better than traditional traps. Or the D-con does work well. We had a lot of mice in out old house. It was the only thing that got rid of them and it didnt make our house smell.
Sounds like we have the same mouse visitors. = ) We have found that the pads with the glue on them works the best. We put them right where they come in and they are none the wiser. Now keep in mind they do seem to be REALLY smart so if they have friends, you need to be sure to remove the trap as soon as they catch one. They resist the traps once they figure out they are dangerous. Also remember that little kids love these dumb traps, and find the sticky so fascinating so pick them up during the day, mice are nocturnal anyways.
One last note, these are not very humane traps, pretty awful actually, so not for the faint of stomachs but you will be down one sneaky mouse.
Andrea,
It sounds to me like you need to invest in some new traps. I have always used peanut butter, but have heard that dark chocolate is a really good bait. Evidently chocolate is toxic to mice. My mom always ties a piece of cotton to the trap, and smears the bait,(peanut butter, softened chocolate, cheez whiz) into the cotton so that the mouse really has to work at getting a taste. Like you, I hate mice and have had my share living in the country. I've resorted to the traps with a cover, because it grosses me out to look at them. Personally I think that the glue traps are inhumane and the old fashioned spring trap is a much quicker end to the problem. Once you catch one mouse, keep your trap set because where there is one, there are usually more.
Good Luck!
Janet
The best thing I've found is a box of D-Con. The mouse eats some of it and dies soon afterward. You would have to deal with finding a dead mouse around your house in the future but this has worked for me.
Get a cat - that will work!! Alternatively they make these traps that are plastic boxes with a sticky pad "floor"... your mouse walks in & can't get out. You could try that - then you would have the mouse & can dispose of it. Perhaps there are several though...I think you have to make that assumption.
They are called glue traps:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sticky+mouse+trap&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=3134101945&ref=pd_sl_41ozdttabq_e
LOL,
Sometimes it takes awhile. But If you make sure all areas are spotless (hard with kids I know) Like under the oven, couches, chairs, etc. Then he HAS to try to eat bait from the traps. If using peanut butter use a especially small anount as bait. If it is cheese make sure again to use a small amount pressed into the trap. NOTHING TO BIG OR TO LOOSE. Set up TONS of traps. It make take a few days but you will get him. Hint if you have one you probably have more. They reproduce like wildfire.
Also like you said not only is mouse poison dangerous, when the mouse dies it can die in any part of the house. Vents, walls, floor joists, AYWHERE. We will not use mouse poison it's just to "Iffy".
Take care, G
There are these metal mousetraps that once the mouse goes in, it can't get out. The metal boxes are bigger, so you can catch several mice in it. We used these at work and it caught a lot of mice, but it was from a professional pest control company. I don't know if you can buy your own.
good luck,
marci
Try a have a hart trap. I have a mouse problem also and this is the trap I recommend. No steeling in the bait. If they touch it the door closes behind them. Also humane as you can let them go far from your house.
Good luck.
We use the spiced gum drops and they work every time. We either saw it on a show or read it in an article but just use a pinch of the gum drop and you will catch them every time. Good luck!
It sounds like you need a cat!
We just had a mouse. Neighborhood cleanup weekend. I read the spring traps are the best and if you put panty hose around the peanut butter they get stuck and the trap gets them. We had those traps but ended up catching it with the electric trap. I plan on keeping it in the garage now so if there are more hopefully we can catch them before they come into the house this winter. We caught it in the twins room in the middle of the night. I heard my daughter scream and in the morning it was in the trap. I wonder what she saw if she saw anything. The electric trap was great, I got it at home depot for about 20.00
Unfortunately where there is one there is probably several. I would set two or three traps in the area you know they are, peanut butter has worked well for me. Check around your house under sinks, doors, laundry room for any openings and fill them with steel wool and seal them off with caulk, or weather stipping. A mouse only needs a hole the size of a dime to get in.