topic Re: Well, mice again! in Home

Well, mice again!

qualityshopper — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:18:47 GMT

I posted on here a while back about having an invasion of mice. After trapping 2 adults and 8 babies and having gone now for a little over three weeks without any more sightings or trapped one, I thought I was finally free of this. But NO!!!!!

All of a sudden last night, they appeared in the living room again and scurried all around. Mind you, I have a ton of traps out. Checked today, and not one has been trapped. My relative who have been helping me with this came down and reinspected everywhere. Couldn't find any signs of them, nor could he find any other entry points. I'm about to lose my mind. Just don't know what else to do. I have different kinds of traps out as well as the poison bait that Orkin left. They're not even touching that stuff. I absolutely don't know what else to do. Just wish I could leave this house!

Re: Well, mice again!

fthunt — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:30:56 GMT

Years ago - discovered mice climbing the copper pipe that comes up from basement to under the kitchen sink. Found droppings there.

Right now - have vent pipe (basement) that was installed for a prior hot water tank that the new tank couldn't use. Occasionally a mouse crawling in garden finds that open pipe - I keep a loaded trap there = with success.

If you have garage doors - mice can squeeze under doors or any slit of an opening. Bird seed: keep in metal can.

Call an exterminator..........................

Re: Well, mice again!

Nightowlz — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:44:35 GMT

They are getting in some place. It could be hard to find since they can squeeze thru just about anything. You will have to find it to stop them from getting in.

We had one in the living room that DH tried to catch. LOL!!! We were moving furniture trying to get it when it went out the corner of the living room wall at the baseboard to the outside. DH said there was a small hole in there. He stuffed it with steel wool.

We had another one that I guess was stuck in the wall & could not get out. I kept hearing what sounded like something moving up the wall than falling. A few days later it smelled horrible so I assume it was now a dead mouse.

Those are the only 2 times we had a problem.

Re: Well, mice again!

itsmagic — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:34:54 GMT

Oh no - I can sympathize since I also hated when I had mice in my house three years ago. I called a critter control company (not Orkin) and they went around my house and plugged all holes they could find plus put six poison bait boxes around the outside of my house (they attach to my foundation wall) in order to possibly get them before they tried to come in the house. The guy also crawled into my attic and put some poison bait boxes up there. We’ve been free of mice since then. I have the guy come out once a year to replace the bait in the outside boxes and they were pretty much empty this year so I know the mice are eating them.

Re: Well, mice again!

x Hedge — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:40:18 GMT

@qualityshopper

You have my sympathies!!!

It's likely those were already born inside, when you were trapping their elders.

Try spreading a thin film of peanut butter on the outside of the bait block. That peanut smell will draw them, so hopefully they'll make a meal of the bait.

My 'yard cat' BabaLou is just 6 months old, but he's proving to be quite the hunter.

I've seen him chow down on 4 mice, and 2 bigger rodents. Whereas my inside cat, a true pet, probably couldn't catch any mouse that managed to get into the house.

So I'm relying on Baba to grab them while they're outside. It's amazing how tiny a space they can squeeze through. I've seen a mouse flatten out and go from one room to the next under a closed door.

Re: Well, mice again!

NickNack — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:43:56 GMT

I'm sorry you're still having to deal with this. You've just got to find out where they're coming in and plug the hole. Where are there the most droppings? When I had them, the droppings were in my bathroom cabinet. The pest control guy found a teeny tiny hole in there and plugged it. Then he put poison (bait in boxes) in the back of all of the cabinets and in the air return vent. I never saw a mouse again. I would have never found the hole on my own.

Re: Well, mice again!

Annabellethecat66 — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:45:30 GMT

Get yourself some good old fashioned traps. Put cheese on it but press it down so it isn't easy to pull out.

If they don't prefer cheese, try peanut butter. I've had mice that prefer one over another.

I'd tell you my cat (Jack the cat) story (it involves a mouse) but I don't want to mess up your thread.

Let me know if you guys want to hear it........

Re: Well, mice again!

Gorgf — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:49:19 GMT

They come in my dryer vent. Some years are worse than others. Basement is the worst area for me and up they go to the kitchen. Annoying especially when the bait is gone and the mouse also

Re: Well, mice again!

Mominohio — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 18:52:34 GMT

I don't want to discourage you, but the battle with mice can be endless! I have no issues, as we have a couple of cats, but my mom lives right next door and cleaner than clean, and we battle them at her place something awful.

I don't know where you live, but as the weather changes, just a couple of degrees drop will send them looking for inside space. They find ways in you can't even see. They can get up and under tiny spaces hidden under things like siding and trim.

In my opinion and experience, being kind and trapping isn't going to get it. You have to either get cats that will hunt and keep them out, or use chemicals that kill.

Investing in a pest control company that comes out and puts bait traps on all levels of your home, and then maintains them every 30 days by refilling them is the initial thing that will make a difference.

So many people try to do it themselves, or to be 'kind' and not destroy the animal, but in reality they will just keep coming if you have a true problem (as opposed to finding just one mouse in the house in a decade kind of thing)

They carry disease, they poo and pee on everything they crawl on, they can get up and into anyplace (not just on the floors or in cabinets), and they are destructive, and can chew through wiring which can be very dangerous.

I don't want to scare you, but definitely to get it done and gone, hire a pest control company. They aren't always cheap, and it can be an ongoing expense, but when you have dealt with it like you have, getting them gone is top priority.

Re: Well, mice again!

Mominohio — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 19:02:01 GMT

@qualityshopper wrote:
I posted on here a while back about having an invasion of mice. After trapping 2 adults and 8 babies and having gone now for a little over three weeks without any more sightings or trapped one, I thought I was finally free of this. But NO!!!!!

All of a sudden last night, they appeared in the living room again and scurried all around. Mind you, I have a ton of traps out. Checked today, and not one has been trapped. My relative who have been helping me with this came down and reinspected everywhere. Couldn't find any signs of them, nor could he find any other entry points. I'm about to lose my mind. Just don't know what else to do. I have different kinds of traps out as well as the poison bait that Orkin left. They're not even touching that stuff. I absolutely don't know what else to do. Just wish I could leave this house!

@qualityshopper

keep trying other pest control companies. Orkin really isn't all that good. Sometimes local companies will go the extra mile. It took big multiple bait traps under my mom's house to do the trick. And she lives in a small house but has probably 10 traps total places throughout and under.

Make sure they have lots of them, get them under or in the basement, garage etc.

Re: Well, mice again!

x Hedge — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 19:19:20 GMT

@Annabellethecat66 , post your Jack the Cat/mouse story in the Pets forum.

I'd love to read it. 🐁

Re: Well, mice again!

RedTop — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 19:41:18 GMT

We bait traps with peanut butter or a piece of bacon fat that we sear with a match. Once that bacon fat is seared, the smell pulls the mice out to find that food source.

Obviously you have no snakes around your house tho, as they would be taking care of your rodent problem.

Re: Well, mice again!

qualityshopper — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 20:25:44 GMT

Thanks everyone for replying. I just finished calling an old friend that I haven't spoken to in a while. Because of where her husband works, I thought they might be able to suggest a company. I was actually trying to find someone who could just do a thorough inspecction of the house again to try and find any other entry points, not set up any more traps (I have soooo many out already). They ended up suggesting another pest control company--one where they know the people and trust them, so I'll reach out to them on Monday.

As I said before, I have many, many traps out, baited with peanut butter, as well as poison. I wish something would get caught so I can see if I am still having more babies or if other adults have gotten in. If what I'm having are still babies from the original two adults, then I'd sure like to know where they've been hiding for the last three weeks. They surely had to come out and eat and should have gotten trapped during that time. That's why I'm thinking they're adutls that have since found their way in. I just want this to be over. I haven't had any sleep or hardly any food. I'm staked out in my bedroom (not that it's safe), afraid to go downstairs. Wish this would hurry up and end.

Re: Well, mice again!

sann — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 20:48:34 GMT

You can set as many traps as you want, but unless you plug the place they are getting in you will never win the battle.

Re: Well, mice again!

ellaphant — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 20:54:15 GMT

Traps will NOR solve the problem. Call an exterminator qnd find the entries. Then get a cat.

Re: Well, mice again!

bonnie f — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 20:55:52 GMT

i was wondering how you made out!! i commented on your post over a week ago wondering what ever happened... keep us updated... sorry your going through this... you'd think if they patched up all entry ways and any holes they wouldn't be getting in......... good luck keep us informed......

Re: Well, mice again!

Kachina624 — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 21:00:12 GMT

When winter approaches, as in now, I put out boxes of Decon poison in the garage and on my pantry shekves. That seems to take care of them.

I had one once that I think came in through the dog door. That little devil had the audacity to sit on a table a foot from my elbow and stare at me. He got his own private dose of Decon. I now block the dog door at night.

Re: Well, mice again!

walkingal — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 21:09:17 GMT

@qualityshopper I hope you're doing better, and the new pest control company has found the problem. In my area of our county, we have a real rodent problem, mostly because of so much building demolitions and new buildings going up. I have a family owned pest control company who just recently started coming to my house monthly, instead of the bi-monthly schedule I was on. When he was coming bi-monthly, the outside bait stations around my house were completely empty! Yikes! The monthly visits are working much better. Inside my house, we have the small bait stations under the kitchen sink, den, and two in the basement near the basement door. Just the basement door stations have been nibbled on. And the ones outside around my house have been nibbled. This really gives me peace of mind. The pest contol person said this is the time of year they try to get in, plus the fact we haven't had any rain, and that makes them want to come in too.

Re: Well, mice again!

Scooby Doo — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 21:40:23 GMT

Mice start breeding when they are 4-6 weeks old. Chances are that you now have the second generation running loose. Hopefully you can get them before they do any more breeding.

Re: Well, mice again!

grandme — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 22:24:21 GMT

A couple of things. Make sure barbecue grill and drip pan clean. They love grease. Also, make sure garbage cans do not have drain holes. They love garbage. Look for any possible openings and fill with steel wool. I had them once and captured over 22 with the sticky trap. I know not the most humane but considering disease from mice droppings I had to do it. We finally conquered the invaders. Just have to take away what they are drawn to.