I've got moth balls down, bicarb and have put peanut butter onto 2 mouse traps. Apart from getting a cat (which I'm not able to at the present time), what more can I do? I was watching the telly and one just walked over the carpet and I nearly had kittens!!!!
2007-03-08 19:39:00 · 32 answers · asked by Say It Like You Mean It 4 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
If you live in plymouth you can borrow my cat for a day or 2 he likes catching mice and rats. or the only other way i know is to buy some rat poison that will kill them
2007-03-08 20:28:07 · answer #1 · answered by nik2bitch 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A cat is unlikely to solve the problem- very few cats will actually catch mice and rats.
Several ordinary mouse traps are the way to go and I would suggest a bait that is hard and crunchy like dry bread crust sop that they have to gnaw on it (and I usually use a bit of thin copper wire or electrical fuse wire to to make sure that it stays in place) the pressure of the gnawing will trigger even hard to "spring" traps. Put a smear of meat dripping/margarine or peanut butter underneath the pan that the bait is for two reasons- (1) it encourages the mice to come to the trap and nubble on the bait (2) if they are not real hungry they will still go sniffing around to find out what it is and the pushing on it is also likely to spring the trap.
DONT use a huge bait as you want to mouse to have to put all/most of his head over the base so they he is killled when it goes off- too big a bait may meant only part of its face is over the trap and is pushed out of the way when it goes off.
If there are baby/young mice running around they may not spring the trap because babies have smaller mouths and nibble gently enough not to spring a trap so if the bait is dissapearing try one or both of the following .. (1) use a bait that is heavier like a piece of candy as the extra weight makes even a small amount of pressure likely to set it off or as I tend to do... get the lever bit that is inserted into the pan and file the end with a nail file (a little) so that ther is no grove for the pan part to catch in (smooth it ) and take a little of the the top side so that the end has a bit of a slope- be careful and try it as you go as this makes them much more sensitive and therefore harder to set BUT also much easier to trigger and you will also catch the little guys. If you are filing the arm do a little bit and keep trying to set it and spring it until its more sensitive but not impossible to set.
Good luck with the mouse catching!!
2007-03-08 20:22:53 · answer #2 · answered by magpiez 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well, having kittens would help (LOL). Seriously, sticky traps are helpful. Make sure whatever traps you set that you set them along a wall. Mice travel along walls and not out in the open if they can help it so that's a big one. I've had more luck with the havaheart traps than with traditional traps. For some reason they seem to be more inclined to go in those traps perhaps they feel safe inside.
Also, believe it or not, the ultrasonic mouse deterrents actually work if you turn them on for a few days and off for a few days.
2007-03-09 03:36:43 · answer #3 · answered by SC 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep up with the mouse traps because you DON'T want to use poison. Nothing stinks like a little hidden dead mouse. Now if you look in the hardware stores they sell a sound device that repells mice. They are expensive but buy one for your bedroom. Then each time you can afford another one, place a mouse repeller in each room. With your traps (peanut butter mixed with sugar) and sound repellants you will be able to rid your home of mice.
2007-03-08 19:53:24 · answer #4 · answered by ricketyoldbat 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bait the traps with Rolos, the mice love chocolate and the Rolo sticks to the trap mechanism, so very hard to remove - the clever little beasts will remove some but this tends to work 8 times out of 10.
Don't leave the Rolos in the trap for too long in case it melts and gums up the trap works.
Go for a really good trap not the cheap & nasty versions - also forget the humane or 'walk-through' type traps - they don't work.
2007-03-08 19:53:40 · answer #5 · answered by JR Ewing 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Having kittens might have helped!!
Seriously, getting a cat is probably the best long-term cure for mice, but if you can't do that try to seal all the places mice can come inside. Make sure you don't have food out where the mice can get at it, and use glue traps, which are a little gross but very effective.
They are hard to get rid of. Good luck.
2007-03-08 19:58:00 · answer #6 · answered by Warren D 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It took us about two weeks to get rid of a family of mice. The problem was that some of them were too small to set off the traps. So we'd wind thread around the trap lever, then coat it with peanut butter. (Supposedly their teeth will catch on the thread.)
When some of them STILL managed to lick off the peanut butter off and get away, we had to go the poison route.
I really felt bad about killing them, but seriously, I couldn't deal with them in the house.
You might also want to figure out where they're coming in from and seal that up so you don't get anymore.
Oh, I had to thumbs-up the guy who told you to go ahead and have kittens. Hahahaha.
EDIT: Please don't use glue traps. It's bad enough they have to die, but glue traps are the most inhumane way to do it. Even poison is bad, but not as bad as glue traps.
2007-03-08 19:50:28 · answer #7 · answered by maxximumjoy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need more traps and you have to make sure they work properly. Many have small burrs left on the triggering mechanism that you must file off. You should also store food in tightly sealed plastic containers. If you don't have children or pets, set out D-Con where you've seen mice, or traces of mice. Good luck, it'll probably take a month to get rid of them.
2007-03-08 19:57:01 · answer #8 · answered by jelesais2000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use poison sachets laid close to the wall. Check them every day to ensure that the bait is being eaten. Keep it up untill no bait has been taken for a week.
I hate to recommend the use of poison but it's better than letting the mice get established and breeding. Also make sure that no food waste is available. Put bins outside and keep floors scrupulously clean.
2007-03-08 22:32:13 · answer #9 · answered by des c 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try and find out where they are coming into your house from.
Look in the rooms where you see them in particular and check the walls for cracks and crevices. These need to be filled in for a start.
Mice tend to use the same routes so once you have located where they are coming in from, this is where you lay your traps.
As I say the best thing is to find all the holes in your walls, no matter how small and fill them in with polfilla
2007-03-08 20:30:19 · answer #10 · answered by vanillaos 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋