Why do I always end up with a mouse in my apartment, and how do I prevent them from getting in?

Question

I've lived in 2 different apartment buildings, and mice in the first one made me move out. The building I live in now is taken care of much better, but I had a mouse in here too! I've been living in the building for a year and never really noticed it before. My apartment is sorta messy, but that shouldn't attract them, just give them more places to hide, right? Also, in this building, and the last one, there are 3 floors with about 45 apartments total, with the basement serving as the garage (garbage recepticles are kept in the garage as well). We have the radiators that are along the floor... Are apartments like this just prone to mice? I know that I didn't have one stow away in my stuff when I moved either because I went through all of my stuff when I packed it too. Can anyone offer me any help or suggestions? Knowing that there's a mouse somewhere even in this buiding just gives me the creeps!

I am aware of different traps that are available... I just would like to know how to avoid having to use them in the first place! Is it a thing with the radiators that run along the floor that gives mice a way to get in? Does the size of the building make a difference in the likelihood of mice coming in? Is it the fact that the basement serves as the garage? My lease isn't up for about 9 months yet, but I would like to know if certain characteristics/styles of apartments are more prone to mice so I know what to look/watch out for when I move... Thanks!

Answer 1

You definitely want to be super careful about leaving food out. Never leave any crumbs or food scraps out overnight. Mice can get into cupboards easily, so makes sure all your cereal, pasta, flour, pet food, etc. is in metal or plastic storage containers. You can also put these items in the refrigerator, if you have room.

I've had great success with this trap in my house:

http://veganstore.com/index.html?stocknumber=266

I've caught over ten mice with it so far and it can be used over and over indefinitely. Or, you can try making the free homemade humane trap described here:

http://www.helpinganimals.com/wildlife_livingWithMice.asp

If you do live trap mice, please be sure to check the traps several times a day and release the mice promptly, approximately a mile away from your home. It is much more cruel to allow a mouse in a live trap to slowly starve to death than to kill it quickly with a snap trap. Also, if you use the live traps outside, put some bedding (torn-up paper towels or cotton balls) inside the trap so the mice won't freeze to death during the night. When you release the mice, do it in an area with some sheltering bushes or plants. If you are a kind person, you might also leave a little bird seed or oatmeal for them.

The absolute cruelest traps are glue traps. Mice have been known to gnaw off their own limbs and tear off their skin in an effort to escape, as they starve or dehydrate to death or suffocate in the glue. Poison isn't any better, as the mice die slowly and painfully from internal bleeding. It can take up to a week for them to die.

It doesn't take much extra effort to be kind. You will feel better and so will the mice! Good luck!

Answer 2

It doesn't matter how messy a place is or what's around. Get a white rat as a pet, and you will stop getting me. It may sound far fetched, but there is something about white rats that deter them. Trust me, we had a run-down abandoned house next door to us that attracted all kinds of mice, and we would get some of them coming into ours all the time when the weather started getting cold out. I had gotten a white rat for a pet after someone telling me this a long time ago, and had not seen any mice since I brought that pet home. The rat lived about 6 years, then died, and about three days after it died, the mice started coming in again.

Answer 3

Mouse In My Apartment

Answer 4

sure messy attracts them, they love paper and they have lots of places to hide , at this time of year heat is what draws them. every sort of building ive ever seen can get mice, my previous house had water pipes that came into the basement through holes in the ground and the mice walked along the pipes and moved in, even with six cats the mice were happy as clams. get glue traps to catch the mice. make sure there isnt so much as a bread crumb out when you leave home or go to bed. clean up your apt and throw away any thing you dont need. store things in good plastic containers .you need to keep all your boxed foods inside of plastic containers too because they can chew right into the boxes of food. the only food out should be the bait in the glue traps. the garbage in the basement might be drawing things too.

Answer 5

Well Bet. your problem is easy as 123 Because you have given the answer so elequently. Your problem as you say, your apartment is DIRTY my dear that is why rats are following you so much, so take a day to clean that apt. out befor the rats started running rampant all over the building. YOUR APARTMENT IS DIRTY. I have just seen where some one Else are complaining or asking how to get red of the smell of a dead mice in the house
and now you come with your rat story. The only way to get red of
the smell is to look for the mice and get red of it then you will get red of sent & mice.some people are so weard.>>>>>.

Answer 6

well its lk this u live in a place were rodents can get in by various ways may be preventing is not the answer but /// you can get some bait that will feed them and they will cary to the nest and dye called one shot its green pellets or get some glue traps also fix any holes u hv aroound base boards also plane peanut butter and cheese mixed will constipate them and they will dye good lk

Answer 7

Glue traps are the best method to trap rats and mice.

I found detailed information at http://www.pests.in

Answer 8

Interesting question

Answer 9

I agree with what has been said