This is so gross, but I have to ask for help from anyone else who has ever had a problem with mice! HELP !!?

Question

We have had mice in the past, usually during the winter months. We are always able to get them with bait or traps, but in 8 years I still have not been able to figure out how or where they are getting in. The worst was a few years ago, they were somehow getting into the oven. Yes it was gross, and No, I didn't use the oven for a long time. I have heard that they can't chew through steel wool, but when I have tried that, it doesn't stay in place very well. I would really appreciate any tips, but please keep in mind that I have small children so it can't be anything they can easily get into. I have used an exterminator service before, and all they did was hide packets of bait behind things, and charge me a huge fee for what I can do myself. Last night I saw one scurry across the kitchen , then into the study/office where there is a bunch of stuff around so I don't know where he went. He is probably still in here with me, peeing all over the carpet. Please send any ideas that you have

Answer 1

I'm really sorry for your situtation - we started getting mice a couple years ago. It all started when we began putting out seed for the birds - the seed would drop on the ground, the mice would be attracted, and when the weather would get cold, they'd head for warmer spaces (namely, the crawlspace under our house, which led to them figuring out they can get into the house via an electrical duct that comes up through the island in our kitchen. Amazingly small space, but they're small critters).

The best solution for us has been the most old-fashioned - our cats. We have two kitties who are indoor-only (no fleas, fights, or coyote bait that way). Neither had been exposed to mice for the first few years of their lives, but as soon as we started getting our little furry visitors, Melly and Pickett went to work, taking them down one by one. We also use "humane" traps, as opposed to the back-snapping ones you always end up snapping your fingers on while setting. Home Depot or Wal-Mart sells the "humane" ones - the ones we bought are little gray rectangles with a weighted door on one end. Put a little peanut butter inside, prop the little door open, and they're foolproof. (I don't have the heart to kill the little guys myself, vermin or not, so I just take them far away and dump them in a field. Granted, it doesn't bother me if the cats kill 'em - circle of life thing, you know?)

Between the mobile feline extermination units and the humane traps, you should be able to stop them. However, once the population is controlled, I do a THOROUGH search along the foundation of your house and in the crawlspace, and get a bottle of "GREAT STUFF" - also sold at Home Depot, it's an aerosol can of expanding foam filler for cracks and openings. It makes a pretty solid seal, and, even though a mouse could probably chew through it if it wanted to, it would serve the purpose of closing out the source of whatever smell it is that's attracting the mice.

Good luck.

Answer 2

When I bought my house four years ago, I would say the house was infested with mice. It took a while but I found two places where the mice were getting in. One was my front Door, when shut and the sun rose, I could see the sunlight on my floor. I fixed that by adding 1/4 inch piece of wood to the outside flooring of the Door way. Second place was under the kitchen sink where the water pipes and drain was. I went to Walmart and bought some of that spray foam insulation stuff and sprayed around all the pipes. You might want to check under your Bathroom sink(s) and the cable for you TV. Mice can get in through the smallest places, give then 1/4 inch space and they will take a mile.
I got a Cat last year and I am sure that has helped as last winter I didn't see not one mouse.

Answer 3

You absolutely have to eliminate their access to your home. It's strange that in eight years you have yet to find where they are getting in, and of course, somewhere in your home there may be breeding pairs of mice that are producing others, so those too must be eliminated. You have a couple of options: A cat (toms are the best for mousing but a female can do the job nicely), or, call in another exterminator. The one you used doesn't sound too good. With children you DO have to be careful what you use (baits, etc.), but depending on the children''s ages, they can certainly be taught to stay away from bait, traps, etc. If you do get a cat, DON'T use any poisons (baits) as you may succeed in inadvertently eliminating the cat as well! Again, you MUST find the source or sources of entry. You don't mention if you are in a home, apartment, city, rural area, or whatever.

Answer 4

LMFSO !! I have 13 cats, 2 dogs, 1 bird, 1 lizard 3 tanks of fish and 4 teenagers in my house and it seems like a haven of peace and tranquility compared to yours ! You've really got to take control of this and nibble away at the problem a bit at a time instead of just suddenly going Basil on it. For 3 cats you need at least 3 trays - they should be cleaned daily which will help to stop the cats tracking through each other's doings every time they pay a visit. Get the old cat to the vet and see what can be done - chronic diarrhea needs to be sen to. The hamster wheel should be removed and soaked ( minus hamster of course) in warm soapy water and then scrubbed. This should be done regularly to avoid the threat of atomized hamster crap being sprayed around the room at high velocity. You need to get a tray to go under the bird cage to catch the mess ( this also should be cleaned out daily.) The yard needs to be kept ultra clean - I also had a dog that shat in installments and the only way to avoid getting it tracked in to the house is to clean the yard. As for your child's fixation on wet wipes - provide norrmal toilet paper - if that's not god enough let her buy her wet wipes with her own pocket money. BTW most people fart regardless of age sex or wealth - you must have just been leading a sheltered life. Oddly enough living amongst all this has probably made you immune to most things going ! Hope you feel better now you've had your rant - I'll just go clean up that furball !

Answer 5

Sounds as though you have a real problem with infestation. All I can recommend is:

Being scrupulously clean. Don't leave any food out, even in closed packets. Use the refrigerator rather than cupboards as much as possible (chew on that, suckers!). Clean up spills as soon as possible, and try to get some potted Pennyroyal plants to keep around the house. Put them in the kitchen, and anywhere where you have paper stored (i.e. bookshelves).

Use metal or glass containers for anything that comes in cardboard or plastic packets.

It may take a while to get them out in the long term but I hope these tips will help.

Answer 6

If you live in an area where there are osage orange trees, gather their fruits and put them all over your house. The mice will simply go away. Apparently, mice don't like an odor that they give off.

This site has a picture of the tree; the pockmarked balls, which are greenish much of the year, are the fruit.

http://www.answers.com/topic/osage-orange

Another way to get rid of pests in general is to put out little dishes of sugar mixed with boric acid. If you have bugs, they eat the sugar and also carry it back to their nests. The boric acid swells their stomachs and they explode. Within about two weeks, they completely disappear. This works with ants and cockroaches.

I'm not sure whether this would work with mice or not. You might try mixing rat poison with sugar and setting it out.

However, you must put the dishes in places your children or your pets can't reach.

Answer 7

I dont know how you can keep them away, but I can tell you how to trap a bunch. We used to do it this way when I lived at home. You take a large "Fluff" marshmallow container---with about 1 1/2 inches of fluff still inside. Set it up against pans,etc. in you cupboard or wherever. Heck, we even made a ramp for the little pests one time. They go up to the edge, fall in and can not get out. May even catch a bunch. Put the cover on-out to the trash they go.

Answer 8

Hire an exterminator. But you should be able to catch them. Just place a bunch of standard traps around, baited with bacon or peanut butter. Check frequently.

Answer 9

put glue style traps by the doors and in the garage. you can move them to other suspected entry points to see which one gets the most. the glue traps are better for detecting movement because they have to walk over it in their path, rather than being attracted to it away from their path.

Answer 10

I would get a pet snake or two, and let them roam.
Or call a pest control professional.