Community Chat

[chlema]

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 :-(.

[NativeJax]

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.

[tansy]

@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.  

[hoosieroriginal]

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. 

[itiswhatitis]

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@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 :-(.

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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.

[Mominohio]

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!

[JustJazzmom]

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!

[ECBG]

@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.

[JustJazzmom]

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!

[newziesuzie]

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@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.  

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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