Help! I have Mice in the house!! What do I do?

Answer 1

I've tried almost every method known and this is what I've found works and doesn't:

(1) snap traps: can work well if used properly and in right place. After a few successful kills, mice will become shy.
(2) glue traps: very effective. make sure you use them where mice travel. They will adapt to them (by avoiding them), but not as quickly.
(3) Sonic devices. Do not work. Mice live in noisy factories and paper mills. They simply adapt to the noise.
(4) Moth balls and other smelly substances: Can work, but given a choice between oil of peppermint smell inside and cold outside, a mouse will choose the former.
(5) A cat: Yes some cats are good mousers, but if you have a good infestation, cats can't do it all. Nor the breeds of dogs which are mousers. Mice have adapted to life around humans, which includes dogs and cats.
(6) a pet rat: Very effective, even in a cage. Rats kill mice in the wild and the presence of "rat smell" is stressful for mice and often enough to get your mouse population to move out.
(7) a "bucket trap" several variations exist including this one:
http://glass.typepad.com/journal/2005/09/how_to_catch_a_.html#comment-28885586 the problem is older mice do not fall for it as easily.
(8) poisons: will work but severe drawbacks.

So what to do ? Mice are smart creatures(or at least smarted than you think) and will adapt after a few of their fellow mice have died. Best to use several effective methods and they will find somewhere else to live.

Answer 2

There is nothing worse than discovering mice in your home! The best way to rid your home of them is to find where they are coming in. Under the cabinets where water lines come in are likely places. If there are openings there, use steel wool to stuff the holes to block them.

Then, for the ones already inside, use traps. Dont put down poison, its dangerous, and if you have kids or pets you are asking for trouble. The important part is placing the traps where the mice run. They like to run along walls. Look for the droppings and put the traps, baited with peanut butter along the walls, under cabinets, behind the fridge and stove and places like that. Check the traps daily and keep looking for places where they can get in.

If you have a crawl space or basement, mice hate the smell of moth balls. You can put some near where they might be coming into your home. Dont use too many becasue they are very strong. Good luck! Persistence is the key to you winning this battle.

As a last resort, you can hire Terminix to come in and treat your house. Actually, if its in your budget you can go that route first. They are professionals, and they guarantee results.

Answer 3

There are several things you can try.

1) Get a cat or two, if you can handle taking care of them. I have a pair, but no mice!
2)Use mousetraps.
3) Use baits, if you don't have any pets or kids to watch out for.
4)Find out where the mice are getting in, stuff the holes with steel wool, then caulk or seal over it.
5)If all else fails, call an exterminator.
6)Clean the house thoroughly so there will be nothing to attract mice, and to get rid of any little 'presents' they might have left.

Good luck!

Answer 4

There is a product called Real Kill mouse bars sold only at Home Depot. It is for indoor and outdoor use. It is not messy and had an ingrediant called "bitrax" in it which will activate a gag reflex if a child or pet try to eat it. It attacks the central nervous system of the mouse, so its more humaine that Decon which dehidrates. Place them in possible entry ways, under cabinets or near food sources. They come 12 in a pack and are only around $5.00 or so.

Answer 5

I don't suggest using poison- we had a kitten die after eating rat poison a former owner had put out in the back of a corner cabinet. I had little field mice once and between my cat and a couple traps they were gonners. Use peanut butter on the traps, they can't steal it like they will cheese. If you also have a cat though---put the cat away first. Mine was not impressed when the trap caught her little whiskers. (The one night I forgot to put kitty away first. I guess she couldn't help herself!)

Answer 6

in case you get a capture, use peanut butter to bait it. Dcon works somewhat properly. The glue traps are sturdy, yet in case you do not get it quickly after it catches the mouse, he will bypass to any lengths to get off of it. We positioned glue traps out, and contained in the morning merely had component of his foot - he were given away. Mice like cheese, yet seem to love peanut butter extra useful. there is also a poison bait at maximum farm elements (i don't know the call, besides the undeniable fact that it truly is offered in a block) and it fairly works tremendous - yet no longer chance-free once you've different pets that would want to are available in contact with it. I hate to say it, yet in case you talked about 1, in case you've extra. if you're fairly freaked out, call an exterminator. yet i might want to bypass get some mouse traps and set them. lower than sink, close to range, in cabinets are all sturdy places.

Answer 7

Meow!

We have/had mice.
We used plastic traps with peanut butter. Mice ran in didn't run out. It worked a few times.

I brought home a kitten. Roomate brought home a snake.
Team work. Catch and dispose.

Answer 8

Buy a sonic repellent that you plug into the wall. They'll run out of your house like scared liitle mices

Answer 9

Okay, you can go to any hardware store, or even like a Walmart, and look for mouse traps, right........sometimes they come in a package of like 4, or 6 of them.. Get one of those pkgs... Then go to the women's cosmetic's dept. And get you a bag of cotton balls, and some peanut butter, of any kind. Preferably the cheap stuff, because your only going to be using a tad of it anyway's.. Once your home with all of these items, set the mouse traps all around the house where you usually see them along the walls , would be my guess is where they usually like to run... Then, once there set, put a tad of cotton with a tad of peanut butter on one side of the trap........the side, that will end up snapping there heads.. is where you put it at.. they like the peanut butter for food, and the cotton for nesting with.. Its sad once you kill one, but they can become "pesty" if you dont do something about them anyway, so.. there you have it, and this has worked for our family everytime we had them growing up in the Big City, when we were small kids, mom used to set these traps, and we watch her successfully catch every last one of them with this type of set up! Good Luck, and dont feel to sad when you see these white furry creatures, all with thier heads, ready to be chopped off, by the trap!! Us kids used to feel sorry for them.. Smile!!!

Answer 10

Count your blessings...

Now get a cat.
Then, once the mice are gone, if you can't get rid of the cat, get a dog.
But, if you can't get rid of the dog, get a lion.
If you can't get rid of the lion, get an elephant.
Then, if you can't get rid of the elephant, get a mouse....

Where do you wish to be in the cycle? Count your blessings!