topic Re: Mice! in Community Chat

Mice!

chlema — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 18:15:54 GMT

Just recently I find that I have a few little critters that are not welcome in my house. I have never ever had mice in the summer months and am always careful how I store food. I think in all my 45 years in my home I can count on one hand the number of times the mice wanted in, and it was always in late fall when the weather started to get cold.

I really don't know why they are coming in now, however the one change is that last autumn my neighbor decided to level his back yard and the excess dirt is piled right next to my fence. This pile is about 4 feet tall and 8 feet long. He says he is going to get rid of it but so far it is still there. Do you think that mice would consider this a good place to live and multiply? They are a nice young couple and don't want to be seen as an old grouch complainer :-(.

Re: Mice!

NativeJax — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 18:26:04 GMT

I do not think a dirt mound attracts mice. My experience with mice wandering into the house was at my in laws farmhouse, which was very, very old...so old you could see under the house thru the floor. Anyway, they use to get in when the property needing mowing. It is since torn down and this was many moons ago. My second experience was in an old home I rented...I had a couple of mice get in, the perimeter of the house had thick bamboo and the landlord would not allow us to cut it down...if too was an older home. I simply brought some mice traps and eventually they went away. I did not use poison because they will run off and die causing an odor if you have trouble finding them. Mice look cute but they carry a lot of disease.

Re: Mice!

tansy — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 18:45:22 GMT

@chlema -- if you know how to do a search here, there was a recent thread on mice in the house. I didn't continue to read it but it might have some good suggestions in it.

Re: Mice!

hoosieroriginal — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 19:24:10 GMT

No, don't think the dirt has anything to do with it. If there is any little hole anywhere, they can find their way in - they are NASTY! I usually see them in the winter though.

Re: Mice!

itiswhatitis — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 19:25:31 GMT

@chlema wrote:
Just recently I find that I have a few little critters that are not welcome in my house. I have never ever had mice in the summer months and am always careful how I store food. I think in all my 45 years in my home I can count on one hand the number of times the mice wanted in, and it was always in late fall when the weather started to get cold.

I really don't know why they are coming in now, however the one change is that last autumn my neighbor decided to level his back yard and the excess dirt is piled right next to my fence. This pile is about 4 feet tall and 8 feet long. He says he is going to get rid of it but so far it is still there. Do you think that mice would consider this a good place to live and multiply? They are a nice young couple and don't want to be seen as an old grouch complainer :-(.

Someone else recently had this problem and it was full blown discussion here. You might search for it here to get ideas about what others had to say. It's not a week old so finding it should be pretty easy.

Good luck.

Re: Mice!

Mominohio — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:02:23 GMT

Temperature change of just a few degrees will cause them to move. If it has cooled down at your place recently that could be it, or even if it is very hot out (as many places are seeing warmer than normal temps this summer) they could be seeking to get in out of the heat or seeking water.

Best cure, adopt a cat!

Re: Mice!

JustJazzmom — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 03:58:07 GMT

The neighbor might have had mice in his yard, and when leveling it, they scattered and went elsewhere or to the nearest place -- your property. Make certain all openings in your foundation are sealed, screens repaired, doors shut tightly.

Make sure no woodpiles are near your foundation for them to reside.

Spirit of peppermint oil might repel them but they could get in another way. Check your roof and gutters that they are sealed with no holes in roof or where gutters are attached, no holes in the fascia of the wood.

If you have central A/C, make sure the opening (usually an aluminum downspout covering the electrical wiring) is caulked at both ends with caulk and/or expandable spray foam. Mice can navigate walls or trellises too.

If mice are found in the home, place mouse traps with some peanut butter on the trigger and place them where the walls meet the floors. Many mice are nocturnal so check in AM to see if caught.

Never assume that if you see one, you have no more!

Re: Mice!

ECBG — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:14:06 GMT

@chlemaThey are usually from high grass as well as fields. It could be that your predator birds have moved on or you may have lost black snakes from your property.

There are mouse traps that you can just put in the trash now:

No View, No Touch mouse trap set of two

These are from Home Depot.

Rite Aide Drugstore also has some as does amazon if you care to wait.

Re: Mice!

JustJazzmom — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:26:38 GMT

I just went to the d con website!

Go to the product finder section and answer a few questions to determine which product is right for you.

I LOL'd at the questions asked

1) Do you want to know where the mouse's body is once it's dead?

Of course!

2) Do you want to know for sure the mouse is dead?

Well, duh!

3) Do you want the trap to conceal the mouse's body?

Like a mouse-oleum?

4) Do you want to see a little bit of the mouse to be completely sure it's dead?

Heck, no!

Re: Mice!

newziesuzie — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:35:17 GMT

@tansy wrote:
@chlema -- if you know how to do a search here, there was a recent thread on mice in the house. I didn't continue to read it but it might have some good suggestions in it.

I just posted to the earlier "Mouse"

thread to put it here on the first page

of CC.

@chlema Here's the link for you 😊

http://community.qvc.com/t5/Community-Chat/Mouse/td-p/2934403

Re: Mice!

Kachina624 — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:06:08 GMT

I recently had a mouse that wanted to visit with me right next to my chair where I watch TV. I put some Decon poision in a plastic cup out of the reach of my dogs and the problem was gone. It has been exceptionally hot and dry here. I wondered if they might come in looking for water.

Re: Mice!

Drythe — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:15:39 GMT

I would borrow a friend's cat or cats for a few days.

Re: Mice!

september — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:23:13 GMT

@Drythe wrote:

I would borrow a friend's cat or cats for a few days.

As long as it isn't my cat! We had a mouse in our house a few months ago, and my cat was interested in it at first, then quickly got bored. Still don't know where that mouse went.

Re: Mice!

Toppers — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:46:52 GMT

If you just want to catch it without killing it, and then release it outdoors again away from your home, you can buy little enclosed humane traps where you can put some peanut butter in the bottom of the trap, and the mouse will go in it.

I can't remember, but I think that D-Con also makes this kind of trap.

The trap has a little section that changes to a different color on it when the mouse is finally caught in it, and the door slides closed on it.

You can then take the mouse outside and release it back outside, without even touching it.

Re: Mice!

Pearlee — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 00:52:11 GMT

@Toppers wrote:
If you just want to catch it without killing it, and then release it outdoors again away from your home, you can buy little enclosed humane traps where you can put some peanut butter in the bottom of the trap, and the mouse will go in it.

I can't remember, but I think that D-Con also makes this kind of trap.

The trap has a little section that changes to a different color on it when the mouse is finally caught in it, and the door slides closed on it.

You can then take the mouse outside and release it back outside, without even touching it.

And then it comes back in looking for food again. Uh, uh, I want 'em dead, not alive. If they want to stay alive, then stay out of my house!

Re: Mice!

Toppers — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 01:10:45 GMT

@Pearlee wrote:
@Toppers wrote:
If you just want to catch it without killing it, and then release it outdoors again away from your home, you can buy little enclosed humane traps where you can put some peanut butter in the bottom of the trap, and the mouse will go in it.

I can't remember, but I think that D-Con also makes this kind of trap.

The trap has a little section that changes to a different color on it when the mouse is finally caught in it, and the door slides closed on it.

You can then take the mouse outside and release it back outside, without even touching it.
And then it comes back in looking for food again. Uh, uh, I want 'em dead, not alive. If they want to stay alive, then stay out of my house!

Hi @Pearlee,

You don't have to release it out in your backyard, anywhere near your home.

I am sorry that I didn't clarify that.

You can take it out to a wooded area, for example, somewhere away from your home where it will be safe, and where it won't have the chance to come back to your home again.

Re: Mice!

lulu2 — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 01:14:11 GMT

Coincidentally, my husband trapped a mouse this AM (and set it free a few blocks down where there are no houses. I cannot remember ever having mice in the summer. We usually get them when the weather gets cold.

Re: Mice!

chlema — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 01:30:02 GMT

Thanks everyone for your replies. Guess I'll get a couple of traps or little houses - can't get a cat because my 105 Lab Cody has a problem with felines lol. I did have a cat a few years back before Cody, a big lazy orange boy. In all his 18 years he caught one mouse, late at night, which he proudly presented to me, placing it - alive - on my pillow. Good thing I could move better back then because I flew out of that bed

Re: Mice!

Shorty2U — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 03:55:58 GMT

I don't know the answer to your question but 2 mice threads in 2 weeks is grossing me out! lol. I have a mice phobia and we had field mice here 2 years ago and hired and exterminator and still have him come every other month because I worry they will come back! (We live behind a farmers field and we have cats who did nothing to the mice but watch! Now we have a kitten and maybe if any come in he will get them but I don't trust it so I keep the exterminator! lol). My husband thinks we should cancel but no! Lastly I thought too that they come around in Fall not in the heat so these posts are surprising to me! Good Luck! (Brr I'm actually nauseated just typing about mice, so yeah why did I read this? lol).

Re: Mice!

Toppers — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 04:42:20 GMT

@Shorty2U wrote:
I don't know the answer to your question but 2 mice threads in 2 weeks is grossing me out! lol. I have a mice phobia and we had field mice here 2 years ago and hired and exterminator and still have him come every other month because I worry they will come back! (We live behind a farmers field and we have cats who did nothing to the mice but watch! Now we have a kitten and maybe if any come in he will get them but I don't trust it so I keep the exterminator! lol). My husband thinks we should cancel but no! Lastly I thought too that they come around in Fall not in the heat so these posts are surprising to me! Good Luck! (Brr I'm actually nauseated just typing about mice, so yeah why did I read this? lol).

Hi @Shorty2U,

I'm not crazy about them either, especially because they carry diseases.

We get them only rarely.

I live in a more rural area. They have plenty of area outside to live, so I am actually rather surprised that they would want to come inside here.

They come in through the common walls in our building, where the plumbing pipes are. They only need a very tiny space to squeeze through, like one eighth of an inch.

The last one that we had came in through the dishwasher piping and then into our kitchen cabinet where our trash can was kept.

I found it one morning as I was up getting my breakfast. My husband had left for work, and I heard all of this ruckus underneath the cabinet.

It was making so much noise under there, that I actually thought that there was some other kind of critter underneath there, like a squirrel. I was actually afraid to open up the cabinet, it was so loud and noisy.

Imagine my surprise to find this tiny field mouse in there, rummaging through the cabinet!

It took off when it saw me, and that is when we were trying to decide what kind of trap to set for it.

It came back a few times before we were able to catch it, and our kitty was a really good mouser.

She would hear it come in through the dishwasher, and would sit and stare and would keep watch over by the dishwasher when she would hear it come over to the cabinet.

It didn't actually come in through the dishwasher itself, but there was space underneath the dishwasher where this paneling is, that covers up the outside space of it, if that description makes sense, that contains the housing of the dishwasher itself. That's where it was traveling, but it would use the opening in between the walls, to come in through, like the pipes.

That is what I am trying to say. Ick, no matter how you look at it.

I knew when it was here, thanks to our kitty being able to hear it with her really acute hearing.