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[Pooky1]

We have had a mouse get in ocationally and traps get them. Lastly it seems worse.I have caught over the last couple months liklike at least 8 have been caught. I put out extra traps and I bought poison you put inside a locked thing.I put a couple outside and inside. I'm hearing them around daily  haven't caught any in a few days and when I opened locked poison boxes poison isnt touched. Like 5 years ago we had big blue bug come out and had them for 4 months. A couple got trapped but there poison never got touched either. I just ordered peppermint repellent. Coming in today. Anything you guys are doing to deal with this. Suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[CalminHeart]

IMO, You need to find out how they get in and fix that.

[qualitygal]

Call an exterminator.  They may find the point of entry so you can get it patched up to stop the visits.  Once and for all.  All the mini stops so far, will add up to a visit or two by an exterminator.  What will be done, by them, should be safer for you too.

[We rescue cats]

Apparently the mice have a scent trail into your home, we live in a very rural area and battle them often. . . especially in the camper. I encourage you not to use poison, it kills more than the rodent if another animal eats the dying mouse. We have tried using dryer sheets, Irish Spring soap, Grandpa Gus (I think that was the name) and the sonar plug-ins. I finally had our exterminator search the camper, find the entrances and we plugged them with steel wool and wire netting, in addition we checked it every few weeks. That worked. It wasn't the easy answer but it worked. Bad news is we bought a new motorhome this year. . . we start again.

[Eileen in Virginia]

I second the suggestion to get an exterminator to figure out where they're getting in and address the problem. Fresh mouse droppings carry the hanta virus which I believe killed Gene Hackman's wife. Have you considered getting a cat as a backup mouse prevention method? My in-laws lived in the North Jersey suburbs (not rural at all) and usually had a cat as a pet. The only times they had mice were when they were between cats. 

[gardenman]

Mice always find a way to get inside. They can squeeze through ridiculously small openings. Block one, and they'll find another. 

In Tracy Kidder's book "House" where he follows the construction of a new house, one of the contractors talks of a contractor who would never finish a house until a mouse had moved in. He felt that proved the house was livable. One of his subcontractors then started keeping mice as pets and would release one into the house so the contractor would finish the job and the subs would get paid. 

Your house is everything a field mouse wants in the world. Warm, dry, safe from predators, and with enough food to survive on. Who wouldn't want to live there? Traps and poison are the best options.Most mouse/rat poison is warfarin which simply causes them to bleed to death and is metabolized by the mouse, so there's little risk to anything that eats the dead mouse. I wouldn't recommend eating one, but anything eating the mouse is likely a lot bigger than the mouse and whatever warfarin is unmetabolized is likely insignificant to the animal eating the mouse. You're not going to kill half the wildlife around you by poisoning mice.

[nascarfan]

We have a pest control company monthly and still would have the occasional mouse get in the house.  A couple of years ago I purchased the plug in pest control devices from HSN and put one on every floor.  I haven't had a problem since.  

[Still Raining]

If you see one, then all their friends are also frolicking around.  One is the tip of the iceberg.  

Have you sealed all your pipes, vent screens and such?  Is everything, including in the garage, being stored well?  Pet food, granola.....

They are truly little devils.

[hkrgrl]

lots of good advice here.

what we did a couple of years ago:

1.  clogged any gaps in pipe etc with steel wool

2.  made sure ALL food items are untouchable

3.  removed any standing water or water source inside and outside

4.  sprayed perimeter of house with peppermint every month

5.  bought plug in sensors expecially for mice, put them all on ground level and in crawl space.

we have had none for the past 2-3 years...

its very hard to find point of entry since they can squeeze in through a tiny crack and they are excellent climbers. 

best to seal whatever you can and don't leave doors open when going in and out, especially in the Fall and Winter.   they are so fast, you won't even see them..

worse comes to worse, get a cat or two.  they 'know' and won't come in your house. 

if you see one or their droppings, there are many more....  i did read that if you see them in the daytime, it means that there are a lot of them and they are looking for food.  its very rare to see them in the daytime.  they are night eaters...

our cat caught a couple the first years we had him and then, none!  we are catless now, so other measures are taken.

best of luck!!!!

“And don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.” — Rumi

"Winter is nature’s sleep.” — H.S. Jacobs

[sunshine45]

we have regular extermination once a month. it costs us about $60 for inside and outside of the house. if we have any other issues, they will come and take care of it.

that has been the BEST way for us to deal with mice because WE dont have to deal with them.

you also have to make sure that every little crack, crevice, spaces around pipes are all sealed well. this time of year especially, they want to come in from the cold and will be looking for food.