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Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,789
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

We have never had mice in the house we live in now, thank goodness.

 

The house we moved from had a few mice every winter.  We set traps with peanut butter on a small cracker and they were gone in no time.

 

However, one time I walked out of the kitchen and running towards me from the living room and through the dining room was a mouse.  Now I am not afraid of mice, but  this one startled me and I screamed.

 

The mouse fell over and laid there.  I was afraid to walk past it for fear it would get up and crawl on me,  so I yelled until my husband came down to investigate.  The mouse was dead.  My DH said I probably gave it a heart attack when I screamed.  I don't know if that is true, but I swear the story is.

 

If the exterminator doesn't get rid of it, call me.  I can try screaming at it.

Occasional Contributor
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎10-23-2017

A tip to keep them out. Once you see one mouse in your house put mothballs outside around your house where they can come in. Every time we have used them no more mice come in and helps from having to deal with multiple mice at once.

 

Also try using a cheese curl on the trap. It’s not as easy to get off and they have to work to get it off increasing chances the trap will get them,

Valued Contributor
Posts: 860
Registered: ‎10-05-2012

@AmyRD71   Thanks for the tip about the cheese curl. We live out in the country and get a few every year.  We've had issues with them getting the food out of the traps and the traps not springing this year. The two we caught were with my more expensive Jarlsburg cheese rather than the peanut butter or plain cheddar. They are getting rather gourmet in their tastes. 

Valued Contributor
Posts: 743
Registered: ‎08-12-2012

We have never had a huge mouse problem, but in our former house we had three.  The exterminator came out each month and put out bait all around our house.  The bait was safe for humans and animals if the cap of the ground container came off for any reson.  We never saw anything out of the ordinary with the containers.

 

He told us that the mice would eat it and go back to their boro to die.  No oders and in twelve years time we had three mice.

 

Also, I bought the Pest Repellant sensors to plug in around the house and that helped a lot.

 

When we sold the house I left the sensors there and bought new ones for our current house.

 

Now this isn't saying we won't have any, but so far so good.

 

We also have the same company doing the exterior treatment each month.  Well worth the money.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,080
Registered: ‎05-11-2013

We live in the country and when cold weather starts they appear. not regular size mice, but deer mice, little tiny dudes.  Hubby set traps near cellar door and got them.  Kicker was our cat sat there and watched. She's afraid of them.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 940
Registered: ‎05-30-2011

Have you ever tried those electronic gizmos that you plug in to outlets.  They actually repel mice (at least they are helpful).   I have several plugged in upstairs and downstairs. I almost never see a mouse anymore and if one does come in despite the electronics (maybe a deaf mouse?) they are caught in a standard mouse trap that I always leave up and ready (basement only).  They not only repel mice they repel lots of varmints, spiders, bugs and other critters.  My house is nearly void of spiders anymore since plugging them in.  It even seems to help keep ants out (to an extent).

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,223
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

This happened to us last fall/winter.  We live next to a field and after it was harvested it seemed like the mice decided to move in!  It happened up and down our block.  I do think it was partly my fault because on warm days I would leave the door from our screened porch into the kitchen open so the dog could come in and out.  I did not repeat this mistake this year and so far no mice.  We were able to get rid of them ourselves but it was a process!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,595
Registered: ‎12-23-2015

wow . your cat is even afraid of them. our dog is afraid of everything. even just a brezzee blowing will scare her. big blue bug came today to do the inspection and on tuesday they will be sending out people that deal with mice. he said yes theres evidence we have mice but not bad. he said your house is very neat and clean so that helped the price.so we got the 90 day service. he said you shouldnt need more than that because your not to bad.he said having the parrot down stairs dosnt help because bird seed atracts mice plus the wine cellar smell of wine doesnt help either. he said move the parrot to another area of the house will. help. i said if we had a cat would it help. he said no. not really. he said he has 3 cats and he gets mice sometimes.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,394
Registered: ‎04-19-2010

@Pooky1 I would completely freak if I saw mice scampering around the living room looking for a comfy chair. Where there is one, there are sure to be others. Calling a professional was a good idea. Hope this gets sorted soon. Good luck.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,598
Registered: ‎09-01-2010

@Pooky1,

We have been very satisfied with the bait stations maintained by our exterminator.   Our biggest issue is rats. Having outside dogs is a draw for rats, due to dog poo and dog food.   Both dogs kill the rats who come near their food, and leave them laying for us to dispose of.   

 

We’ve always had rats on this property, due to wood piles, a granary and my brothers chicken coop, so we always have rat bait hidden in multiple places.   We use bait that kills quickly and dries the mice or rats from inside out, leaving a flat hairy body.   The bait in the bait stations works the same way, so even if the critter dies inside the house, there is no dead animal smell.