Ewww, my cat killed a mouse in my apt. today!! Does this mean there are more lurking around somewhere nearby?

Question

How will my landlady go about exterminating my apt? Also, What causes mice to come into homes like this? I am a clean freak so it's not b/c I have a nasty home!

Answer 1

Quite possibly. Probably there is some work being done around your building ( road work or Public Utilities rippping up the street )or in your building ( someone renovating an apartment, banging on walls, fixing pipes ) that started the mice running. They found an opening to your apartment and escaped through there into your apartment.

My suggestion is to put down glue traps. You will need the cheapest ones, as they are the best ones. The real cheap ones are simply a piece of cardboard with some very sticky glue on them. Most glue traps sold at the supermarkets are in trays that the mouse would need to climb into ( they aren't that dumb ). You also could go around your apartment looking for the opening. Anything larger that 1/2 inch is large enough. Plug the hole with steel wool from the hardware store ( this type won't have soap imbedded in it ) get a coarse grain steel wool so that the mice can't chew through it. After you stuff the hole up with steel wool, spackle over it then paint. It really is a minor job, if you can get to the opening. Many times, the mice will come through the opening in the floor where the radiator pipes come out. If you have a radiator box, then it is very difficult to plug up the hole.

To make sure that the mice are just ' passing through ' and not setting up house, you need to look for mouse droppings. These are black turds that are really very small, about 1/16 of an inch. If they get wet, they might leave a greenish film. No turds or just a few near the hole is a good thing.

Good luck and give the cat extra lovin'. Meowzer did good.

Answer 2

Mice don't care if you are a clean freak, they want a place to be out of the elements to have their babies. Mice usually (believe it or not) come in to your home by the front door. You open it and they sneak in. They are fast little buggers. You shouldn't wait for your landlord to do something. And what ever you do DON'T use poison.Your cat will still eat the mice not knowing it's been poisoned.Go to your local hardware store and get adhesive strips and put them where the cat will not get them.The same with traps.
On the trap you can melt a Hershey kiss a little in the micro wave and then stick it on the catch lever on the trap.Badaboom you got any of the vermin in a day or so. check your traps and tape daily,or the dead mice will stink up the place.Remember the sticky strips will not kill the mice, time will..just pitch 'em in a dumpster or garbage can or something.And use gloves so they don't bite you.HAPPY HUNTING

Answer 3

If one can get in, more can get in (or are already). Mice want food/water, and a place to nest. They're getting at least one of the three in your apartment. Even small small crumbs (under stove?) can be a meal. If your apt is really clean as you say, it's also possible that the building overall is pretty infested, which you can't really control.
Your cat will definitely limit the level of visitors. Be careful not to use traps or poisons that the cat can get into.

Answer 4

Well chances are that there are plenty more mice around I mean you did say that you live in an Apt., and mice love the garbage so they are usually were the garbage falls after you throw it into the garbage shoot. Besides even though you are a neat freak doesn't mean that the other people who live on the same floor as you. Also trust me when I say mice are extremely hard to get rid of permanently!!!!!

Answer 5

Clean up around your house, it is probably a mouse from outside that saw a nice, dark wall to hide in and ran into your cat. (now you know why humans keep cats). Your landlady will probably say it is not her problem but do what the others said, glue traps, spring traps, poison, and yes, keep cleaning. Mice love places to hide under.

Answer 6

If there are more, and the cat finds them do not be surprised if the cat brings you the mouse. The cat wants you to be proud of it, and wants to show you that he/she is protecting you.
Your landlady may have to schedule a time when she can put poisons down to attract the rats. Sometimes heat, sometimes the smell of food, sometimes they get in looking for a good place to nest. It doesnt matter, just how clean you are.

Answer 7

Mice usually travel with company, notify your landlord so they can call pest control. If your a clean freak and you have a cat and they still made there way in, that means there is an infestation in the bldg. They travel through walls and duct work. Make sure the land lady gets this under control before it gets cold.

Answer 8

Yup there are probably more.
They could be driven into your home by the excessive summer heat or perhaps one of your neighbors isn't as neat as you are. The best thing is to have the landlady call a pro. They will be able to determine the extent of the infestation and know what to do.

Answer 9

Cats will bring any prey they have killed to their master (much like a person will show off anything good they have done). The cat may well have brought it in from outside.

If not, Set some mousetraps & keep all food in containers & the apartment clean

Answer 10

I think they come from outside.

This happened many years ago. We had many feral cats in the neighborhood until a neighbor trapped them. After that, I began to notice signs of mice in our garage and then in our house. My next door neighbor (an immaculate housekeeper) complained about seeing mice in her house. Now the feral cats are back. No more mice in my house.