topic Re: a mouse problem in Community Chat

a mouse problem

newjersey — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:27:37 GMT

I live in an apartment building and last week and then again just tonight, a saw a mouse. Glue traps were put down in the apartments when tenants started noticing mice in January. Also, the maintenance man put some green/blue square looking things on my floor, which he said had poison in them, I bought myself two bottles of Peppermint oil spray and yet I have this mouse. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know a mouse/mice can't hurt me, but just the thought of it running around on my floors makes me sick and very nervous, and I'm already a nervous person. Thank you.

Re: a mouse problem

Kalli — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:49:08 GMT

@newjersey wrote:
I live in an apartment building and last week and then again just tonight, a saw a mouse. Glue traps were put down in the apartments when tenants started noticing mice in January. Also, the maintenance man put some green/blue square looking things on my floor, which he said had poison in them, I bought myself two bottles of Peppermint oil spray and yet I have this mouse. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know a mouse/mice can't hurt me, but just the thought of it running around on my floors makes me sick and very nervous, and I'm already a nervous person. Thank you.

@newjersey , It's jmho... my solution is to buy the old time traps that instantly kill the mice. I don't want to kill them but they can't live in my house! However, I don't want them to suffer and I think it takes a while for them to die if you use the glue traps or poison, which I imagine is a prolonged, painful death, too.

I'm a squeamish type but I can set the trap myself. I buy caramels, the kind that are square and in clear wrap. Unwrap one, warm it in my hands, pull it into 2 pieces, squish one into the wood and set the trap. Some mice can steal a piece of cheese without setting off the trap but they usually can't do that to caramels once you warm it up and press it down on the wood. Full disclosure: I usually make Dh remove the dead mouse. But I've also just put them into a plastic grocery bag and thrown the whole thing out.

Whichever solution you use, do it right away. Don't wait or you'll have lots of mice in a very short time! (speaking from experience)

Re: a mouse problem

River Song — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 04:01:44 GMT

Victor original wood mouse traps at the hardware store or Walmart. Inexpensive and they work. The caramels is a good idea as bait, peanut butter attracts them, too, but they can eat peanut butter off the trap without setting it off.

Re: a mouse problem

pugvette74 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:09:54 GMT

@newjersey mice HATE mothballs. They will leave your home very quickly. I know mothballs aren't the best smell, but it works.

Re: a mouse problem

Carmie — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:22:33 GMT

Last winter, we had mice for the first time. I think I brought in a flower pot to protect the plant from freezing and a mouse was hiding in the dirt.

The next morning there was dirt all over my kitchen table and a big hole and tunnel in the dirt in the pot.

To make matters worse, The mouse must have been pregnant. In all, we killed 14 mice over several months.

We tried the sonic mice repellers, peppermint oil, sticky pads, wooden mouse traps and finally those new modern plastic traps.

Most were caught on the plastic spring traps and the last one that took a couple of months to catch was caught on sticky tape. I hate the tape, but was desperate.

My suggestion, try peanut butter on those plastic spring traps...they work.

Re: a mouse problem

catter70 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:42:43 GMT

Glue traps are the worst. They are a very slow death. I bought a trap that kinda looks like a squared small container. Lift the door, put the bait towards the back and when the mouse goes in, the door shuts and the mouse is trapped. Take it out and release it. I released mine in a wooded area down the street.

Re: a mouse problem

Roscoe the Rascal — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:29:08 GMT

@Carmie wrote:
Last winter, we had mice for the first time. I think I brought in a flower pot to protect the plant from freezing and a mouse was hiding in the dirt.
The next morning there was dirt all over my kitchen table and a big hole and tunnel in the dirt in the pot.

To make matters worse, The mouse must have been pregnant. In all, we killed 14 mice over several months.

We tried the sonic mice repellers, peppermint oil, sticky pads, wooden mouse traps and finally those new modern plastic traps.

Most were caught on the plastic spring traps and the last one that took a couple of months to catch was caught on sticky tape. I hate the tape, but was desperate.

My suggestion, try peanut butter on those plastic spring traps...they work.

This is what I use with great success. Had troubles in my garage and sometimes get one in the house. My cat got the last one.

I always keep a couple in the garage loaded and every now and then catch one but sure came a long way when I started. Use to keep feed for squirrel and birds in a garage and moved outside to a metal garbage can and then eventually hardly feed and never feed later in the day. Made a big difference. I use the ones from Menards and sturdy and worked better than the brand I got from Walmart.

Re: a mouse problem

Neetgal2 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:07:39 GMT

Good luck. I'm not opposed to the mouse as much as I am my cat bringing it to me at night in bed.🐭🐈‍⬛

I tried both traps no luck, they come up through the basement in the winter after the shed was cleaned out for a couple years. I also bought the peppermint oil. The exterminator suggested a caulk that expands around the water pipes under the sink. So far it worked.

Re: a mouse problem

char1976 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:10:04 GMT

We use an electronic mouse trap. Think of it as an electric chair for mice. They also make one for rats. We live in a wooded area and have a real problem with them. Victor makes them. You bait the trap, turn it on (runs on batteries) they step on a metal plate and it zaps them. It may seem extreme but more humane than a glue board. The cats couldn't catch them all. We had to do something they chewed the wires on 2 vehicles and to get them fixed wasn't cheap.

Re: a mouse problem

Eileen in Virginia — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:23:35 GMT

Mice are not harmless. They can carry the hantavirus, which can be fatal to humans.

Re: a mouse problem

RespectLife — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:20:08 GMT

@Eileen in Virginia wrote:
Mice are nor harmless. They can carry the hantavirus, which can be fatal to humans.

Yes @Eileen in Virginia is right.

That's how Gene Hackman's wife died.

Re: a mouse problem

walkingal — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:54:29 GMT

@newjersey I am exactly like you when it comes to mice, or any rodent. I am petrified of them. My town has a problem with rodents, mostly because of buildings being torn down, rebuilding, and reconstruction. I have a standing appointment with an exterminator who comes once a month to my house. We have inside and outside bait stations. The inside bait stations may be good for your apartment. Many hardware stores carry them. I don't know if Home Depot or Walmart carry them, but I would check.

I hope you can get rid of those critters! Good luck.

Re: a mouse problem

cindyNC — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:54:45 GMT

Hope you can catch them. They need to call a professional exterminator if it's the entire building.

I follow the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center on FB. Glue traps are the worst as other animals can get caught in them if they try to consume the mouse. They get a lot of snakes that have been caught in glue traps, get them off the trap and rehab them before releasing them.

Funny story. We used a glue trap many years ago. I fell asleep on the sofa waiting for a service person. Woke up when the husky put his face on mine with the back of the trap across my mouth. Rolled my eyes to the side and saw a mouse tail down my cheek. The dog had picked up the mouse in the trap and woke me up to let him out. Fastest I've ever woken up!!!!

Re: a mouse problem

Desertdi — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:05:54 GMT

I would think the rodent problem is the responsibility of the BUILDING OWNER

Re: a mouse problem

Kachina624 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:37:14 GMT

I can't get mice to even nibble at spring traps anymore. I think they've gotten a lot smarter.

The only thing that has worked are the glue traps. However, in order for them to be effective, you have to study the paths they travel and place the trap along that path preferably at an entrance or exit point. I once caught three in the same glue trap using this theory.

Re: a mouse problem

silkyk — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:46:50 GMT

Get a Silky Terrier! The last 2 mice/rats we had were attracted to the apples that fell off of our tree and decided to move on in. Our little dudes took care of the problem. Who's a good puppy?!!!!!

Re: a mouse problem

SharkE — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:57:37 GMT

Yuck, get a cat, call the exterminator, sounds nasty

fleas on mice seems like have been responsible for long ago diseases . Black death? Spanish flu ?

something like that.

Re: a mouse problem

Xivambala — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:02:09 GMT

I rented an apartment home while living in Illinois. After a year or so, my cat found a mouse inside. He had fun but I did not. The management was totally useless for anything. I inspected the entire unit and covered ever hole I could find no matter how small so nothing could get in. Well, I still had a mouse until I found gaps in the utility closet where the furnace and water heater were. Once all those holes and gaps were were closed, I had no more mice!

Re: a mouse problem

SharkE — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:07:45 GMT

my idiot husband always left the hallway leading out to the garage door open in the morning before I got up and I got a mouse. took me 2 weeks to finally kill that

son of a witch. threw a cloth over it and busted it over the head with a broom.

Mission accomplished. then I taught him how to close a door pull it too tight.

Re: a mouse problem

Kachina624 — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:08:39 GMT

@SharkE. Fleas on mice or rats cause Blubonic Plague. Fleas on deer mice cause Hanta Virus.