A nervous wreck - please help?

Question

Hello - be nice to me as this is my first post!

I have recently discovered I have mice in my house. I have been hearing rustling in my loft recently, and the other night a mouse ran into my room!

I was petrifed and since them I have been unable to sleep in my room. I sleep on a futon and just keep thinking of it crawling on me when I am asleep.

I bought some poison a few days ago, but it mustn't be strong enough for them as I can hear them in action right now. I also bought one of those plug in deterrents, but it hasn't workied.

I thought of getting some traps, but I would freak out if I heard them going off in the night.

I am terrified...and yet another night I am spending on the couch. I'm a nervous wreck.

Please can you advise me how to get rid of them, I cannot afford to get the professional pest control people in as they charge too much.

Thanks in advance for saving my sanity! ;-)

Wow - so much advice! Thank you. Just emailed my Local Council's pest control division to inform them of my 'issues'.

Might also have a look at some animal shelters for a hungry feral cat!

Just had a thought though - if there are mice up there...will there also be rats??? I really don't think I can handle them.

The house is 26 years old - not that old really. I keep it really clean too, no rubbish or food around. Mabye it's because I live really close to a tube and a train station?

Answer 1

Environmental health are a waste of time, all they do is put down the same poison which you would have used, and charge you a fortune for the privilege. Get yourself a ratzapper. Its a battery operated device which the mouse runs into and a zap is delivered to instantly kill the mouse. A light will flash on top to let you know you have a catch. You wont hear a thing and it is instantaneous. You then just pop the corpse into a plastic bag, you dont even need to look! It works a treat. I have a house which is 125 years old in the countryside and we get mice from September until about January in the loft. This keeps the numbers down and its better and less inhumane than poison.

Answer 2

You need to place a rodenticide in your attic,airing cupboard and under kitchen sink(where pipes from attic usually run to)None of these poisons will work over night and may take upto a week to totally eradicate mice as the poisons sold over the counter are not as strong as professional use ones and normally need a few feeds.Professional rodenticides are usually enough to kill with a single feed but they still will take a few days to die.If you dont fancie that sel several glue boards or traps in the same locations but glue boards must be checked daily so any caught mice can be despatched humanly and not left a long lingering death.once the mice have been eradicated search for location where they are gaining entry,if they are in the attic there is normally a hole at ground level where they can get into the wall cavity and simply work there way upto the loft and then follow pipes etc back down into house.

Answer 3

Could you ask a friend to bring over a cat?. If not just set a few traps. It would be better to hear the traps go off than to have them running all over the place. Put a piece of cooked rasher or chocolate in the traps. I've heard thats better than cheese. When you have cleared them away have a look around to see where they came in from and block that place. Also be sure to close your door after you if you go into your garden, because if there are any mice about they tend to try to come inside to the warmth now that the weather is getting cooler. Hope you get it sorted.

Answer 4

Traps are your best bet....sorry, l know you didn't want to hear that...

Victor, the oldest mouse trap maker in the business, has a new one out made of tan colored plastic, which is very easy to set (no owies on the fingers) and should be very effective.

You should be able to buy some at any good hardware store for not too much.

If you don't get rid of them critters pronto, you'll probably have more of them to deal with shortly..

Be Blessed <><

p.s. make sure you position the traps like the manufacturer suggests

Answer 5

Oh, you poor thing. That happened to me once and I was terrified.

You need to call the council - they will charge you as mice are not considered a hazard, but it won't be much. They'll be able to find out where they are getting into your house so that you can block up any holes.

It's no comfort, I know, but mice aren't really anything to be scared of - they are incredibly timid. Try sleeping with the tv on.

Good luck xxx

Answer 6

You need to set traps. You can buy the ones that they crawl into and you never have to see them. You dispose of the box. As far as hearing the trap go off, would you rather hear that or know that mice are running around your house? Then you need to check your house, inside and out. Look for openings that they might be able to get through and fill in the openings. Be sure to check behind appliances as they like to go there. Be sure that all your food such as open boxes of cereal are in airtight containers. If you have an attic or basement, be sure to set traps there too.

Answer 7

Go to Home Depot or Lowe's, yes even online if needed.

Pest control.
Get their advise on the best method for you.
Follow their advice!
The biggest thing you must do is inspect your home from the oustide to see how they are getting into your home.
You may need to plug the holes outside of your home, and then inspect the basement for loose window areas, or holes to the outside.

GET a friend to help with all of the above.

Otherwise get a cat or 2 with claws from the SPCA and they will take care of the mice problem for you. Just be sure to take care of the cats and have their cat boxes ready. If you have holes on the oustide of your house, if you put part of the used, yes used, sand from the litter boxes around the outside of your home, the mice tend to stay away.

Good luck, and please get a friend to help.

Answer 8

hiya. all the previous answers have merits..particularly the fact that you probably would'nt hear mice in the loft. i'm a water treatment engineer and spend too much time in lofts. the most common noisey critter found in lofts is the squirrel!! do you live near trees? those little buggers can jump!they can do incredible damage in a house..you will be able to tell what you've got by popping into the loft and looking for poo! all little critters leave distinctive poo...hope you've had tea already..as a rule , the bigger the po the bigger the critter..BUT..wear disposible gloves when looking, rats (slightly less noisey) pee everywhere they go and thats where weils disease comes from (mostly) most important...check that the cold water tank lid is on and secure...you brush your teeth with that water! you'd be suprised what i find in domestic water tanks!

Answer 9

I know what I would do in a heart beat... IF.. (I repeat) IF you do not have pets, I would get mice bait.. IT DOES WORK and place it around in strategic spots. I would also use mouse traps in spite of your aversion to it.

One big question is... how new/old is the house? If it is somewhat new.. I always recommend people to go totally around the foundation and caulk any and all holes.. make sure that there are no spaces in the doorways that mice can get in, etc etc

Answer 10

Try and not leave food around the house because that can encourage them, maybe if you put some crackers or biscuits at the end of you garden it might want them to go where that is but if you don't have a big garden then do the same put it not to far away and each time it disappears move it further back a few meters and by then you should of killed them. i f you want to kill them get a friend to or a pro