getting rid of mice

[nageov3t]

mouse ate peanut butter off of 4 different traps before getting his leg caught in the 5th one. My fiance just called me and hysterically told me how it was still twitching and when she tried to beat it with a shovel, it ran up the wall with the mouse trap stuck to its leg, and had to chase it down and finally kill it. apprently it was still very alive. after this traumatizing experience she now has decided to put poison behind the oven. i really dont want this because i dont feel like having to smell dead mice behind the oven. but i'll be gone for the next two weeks so hopefully the smell will be subdued by then. we caught three in a week. the first one was a bigger one, followed by two smaller gray mice. I still suspect we have a few more but i have no idea

more than the smell, I'd be concerned about the rotting carcases attracting flies and roaches.

 

[PingSpike]

Tie strings to the traps and attach them to a heavy object, then near kills don't run away with the trap.

 

[highland145]

I managed to get a second one last night myself.

Going to set traps again tonight and see if there are any more (but I think there were only 2... we will see).

Doubt it but hopefully. Mice breed at a crazy rate.

evident, had the same happen at an old office of mine. CSR was sitting on her desk when I came back from lunch. Mouse was dragging the trap around the office. That one got out of the trap before I could mash it with a 2X4. Smelled him later though.D: If the S.O. poisons one and it dies in the walls, she won't do it again.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Before you do anything to trap/kill them, fix the problem. Then you'll only be left with the existing ones. Sticky traps are beyond inhumane, go with snap traps or electric ones. There are some electric ones that will capture like 10+ at once.

Semi cruel, a bucket of water with a wire going accross and put blueberries or other floating food in the water. They'll go on the wire, fall in and drown. Still less cruel than the glue traps though.

If there's only a few, cheap snap traps are the way to go.

 

[evident]

we're pretty clean people, we never have dishes in the sink and there's never any food on the countertop, maybe coffee grounds but never anything else.

I think the main culprit is the cat food station. that's located near the fridge and is on the same wall that can be traveled by the mice..

I spent yesterday trying to figure out where the hell they're coming in from. I looked outside but dont really see any holes in the base of the house where they could enter. where else should i look? It seems like they can go up walls, is this true?

 

[Zargon]

yes they can

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah, like squirrels and chipmunks their sharp tiny claws can allow them to climb straight up almost any surface. I've even seen chipmunks climb up metal poles. There's like no grip on those given it's non porous, but they can still do it. I assume mice are similar.

Check stuff like dryer vents, in fact mice can fit in the most ridiculously small spaces ever. If it's a brick house, check for bricks that have no mortar at all, these are vents so the wall does not retain moisture. They can probably fit through that crack. Put steel wool or other material that will still allow the air to flow. This will also help keep bugs out.

 

[nageov3t]

I've read that a mouse can fit through any hole bigger than a nickle.

 

[ichy]

I live in a mouse infested city, and 95% of mice problems are caused by food that they can get to. If there's no food source you may get a few who come in to your home to get out of the heat or cold, but vermin mainly go where the food is.

Re: glue traps, I hate them. Mice are disease-spreading pests so I have no problem killing them, but I try to do it quick & clean. Every snap trap I've ever killed a mouse in has come down on its head and smashed its brains to pieces instantly. Instant lights out for the mouse. The thought of them tearing their limbs off on a glue trap makes me shudder though.