How to get rid of mice

[PingSpike]

I've got mice in our attached garage. I believe they are using it as a staging area to launch an invasion on the house. In fact, my cats intercepted one of their scouts, but due to poor training and discipline they did not dispatch it. So far, no mouse behavior has been detected in the kitchen and there are no food sources in the garage so I assume they're just in there because its warm.

So far I've been using snap traps. The rate of kills has dropped off though, and I'm concerned that just means I've killed all the really stupid ones, not that I've gotten rid of them. Or perhaps they're just trying to lull me into false confidence and keep me busy while they gear up for the main assault. I've been running network cable through the garage recently and this morning I noticed my pull line had been partially pulled back up. I suspect a rodent. Mouse turds have also been discovered in the vicinity. I'm concerned the mice will try to get through my network cable hole and possibly knaw up all that cat6 wire that was just pulled.

Anyone have any experience here? I want to eradicate them before it gets any worse.
Is there something you can smear on wire that mice will not chew?
Are there any repellent products you guys have used and would recommend?
I'd rather not poison them since they'll probably die in my walls or something, but I'm no longer totally against the idea.
Those pull in high pitch things sound like bullshit, am I wrong?
There are strobe lights that I've heard some good things about, but they're pretty expensive.

One thing we should stop doing is feeding the birds outside the house. I feel its mostly attracting rodents, but I do like the birds. Still, no one had reloaded the bird feeder all summer out of laziness and I was catching quite a few mice.

 

[Sea Moose]

Install an air conditioner

 

[murphy55d]

we used bait traps in out of the way places so our cats wouldnt eat the poison. they worked great, probably within a week no mice. of course i got lucky and none died in our walls, so, ymmv.

 

[Pheran]

Originally posted by: Sea Moose
Install an air conditioner

Sadly, I came in here to post this.

 

[Sea Moose]

Originally posted by: Pheran

Originally posted by: Sea Moose
Install an air conditioner

Sadly, I came in here to post this.

Fortunately I am qualified to install one!!!

 

[K1052]

All right, we got seven canisters of CN-20. I say we roll them in there and nerve gas the whole fucking nest.

 

[Nerva]

well i came into say nuke it from orbit, but just noticed the subtitle

 

[JJ650]

Kill them with fire.

 

[nageov3t]

I had a mouse problem two winters ago.. I never saw a mouse, ever, but I came back from a long weekend to find a bag of bread on my kitchen table had a whole chewed open from the side and there were crumbs all over the table.

I sprinkled powdered fox urine around the outside of the building, had my landlord put traps in the basement, and I put cotton balls dabbed with mint extract around anywhere in my apartment where I thought they might have been entering from. never had the problem again.

 

[69Mach1]

For starters, seal any holes to the outside of the house. Anything you might need to open again, use steel wool to seal, they can't chew through that. Usually having a cat in the house will prevent mice from coming out into anywhere the cat can reach, they can smell them. Make a chlorine bleach mixture to wipe in drawers and cupboards, they don't like the smell and it will sterilize any place they have been. I've read that fabric softener sheets in a drawer or cabinet will keep them out(also because of smell), but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[PingSpike]

Yeah, I've heard the mint extract works. I might get some of that since it probably smells better then fox piss.

 

[PingSpike]

There's a gap between the cement floor of my porch and the foundation of the house that I have a sneaking suspicion they're also coming in from. I can't see in there enough to say anything about it, but my cats have say and stared at the wall near this point quite often, sometimes batting at the wall. I couldn't hear anything, but I don't hear as well as a cat.

I guess I could dump/stuff some moth balls down the crack outside the house to at least make it unpleasant. Or maybe mint extract. I really don't want my house smelling like fox piss or mothballs, or at least not the porch.

 

[Possessed Freak]

2 years ago, we had mice in our kitchen... ~20 of the bastards. We caught 18 of them with snap traps (good ole peanut butter was the bait) and eventually borrowed a mouser cat and she killed the last 2.

 

[SuperSix]

Put some 'tussin on it

 

[ch33zw1z]

http://www.google.com/search?h...ap&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g7g-m3

bucket mouse trap

 

[DougK62]

I'd also like to know about those high-pitched noise things that you plug into an electrical outlet. Are they bunk?

I've used glue traps with great success.

 

[Modelworks]

Bobcat urine.
http://www.pestcontrol-products.com/urine_bobcat.htm

Yes it does work, but if you live in an area like I do that has bobcats it can attract them.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: DougK62
I'd also like to know about those high-pitched noise things that you plug into an electrical outlet. Are they bunk?

I've used glue traps with great success.

They can work but the problem is the output is usually too low. A 60khz piezo can produce the sound needed but it has to be loud . The problem is high frequencies, even though we can't hear them, can cause headaches in people at high volumes.

 

[her209]

Boric Acid

Potential Health Effects
----------------------------------

Inhalation:
Causes irritation to the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. May be absorbed from the mucous membranes, and depending on the amount of exposure could result in the development of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, drowsiness, rash, headache, fall in body temperature, low blood pressure, renal injury, cyanosis, coma, and death.
Ingestion:
Symptoms parallel absorption via inhalation. Adult fatal dose reported at 5 to > 30 grams.
Skin Contact:
Causes skin irritation. Not significantly absorbed through the intact skin. Readily absorbed through damaged or burned skin. Symptoms of skin absorption parallel inhalation and ingestion.
Eye Contact:
Causes irritation, redness, and pain.
Chronic Exposure:
Prolonged absorption causes weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, convulsions and anemia. Liver and particularly the kidneys may be susceptible. Studies of dogs and rats have shown that infertility and damage to testes can result from acute or chronic ingestion of boric acid. Evidence of toxic effects on the human reproductive system is inadequate.
Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:
Persons with pre-existing skin disorders or eye problems, or impaired liver, kidney or respiratory function may be more susceptible to the effects of the substance.

 

[KeithP]

Go to a local animal shelter and see if you can find the location of a feral cat colony. Trap one of the feral cats and keep it in the garage awhile. Mouse problem solved. After the mouse problem is solved, start feeding the cat regularly but let it outside. It will probably hang around for the food and extend its mouse killing zone to the area around your house.

-KeithP

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: KeithP
Go to a local animal shelter and see if you can find the location of a feral cat colony. Trap one of the feral cats and keep it in the garage awhile. Mouse problem solved. After the mouse problem is solved, start feeding the cat regularly but let it outside. It will probably hang around for the food and extend its mouse killing zone to the area around your house.

-KeithP

I had some maine my excellent compatriot cats . They are awesome mousers. One cat cleared my moms house of a mouse + rat problem. When a cat brings you a 6 inch rat in his mouth, you know the mice fear him.

 

[hanoverphist]

when my slob neighbors moved, their mice chewed a hole in the corner of my side door and infiltrated my house. i killed them with snap traps for a while, then i got the sticky peanut butter paper things, which worked well. if you can keep the dogs from licking them. finally found their nests area and commenced to killing. hammer, boot, pine sol (kills faster than bleach) and my blow gun were the weapons of choice for me. overall, the pine sol kept them away from the areas they were trying to nest in. sealed the hole in the door when i first saw it, was mouse free in a week. that first night of finding their nests was crazy, 5 hours straight hunting and killing mice. i nailed the last one to the wall with my blow gun in my office (the door they came in thru) and took him outside. i didnt kill him, shanked him with the dart. im sure he went back to his mouse buddies and told them of the horrors of entering my house.

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I've got mice in our attached garage. I believe they are using it as a staging area to launch an invasion on the house. In fact, my cats intercepted one of their scouts, but due to poor training and discipline they did not dispatch it. So far, no mouse behavior has been detected in the kitchen and there are no food sources in the garage so I assume they're just in there because its warm.

So far I've been using snap traps. The rate of kills has dropped off though, and I'm concerned that just means I've killed all the really stupid ones, not that I've gotten rid of them. Or perhaps they're just trying to lull me into false confidence and keep me busy while they gear up for the main assault. I've been running network cable through the garage recently and this morning I noticed my pull line had been partially pulled back up. I suspect a rodent. Mouse turds have also been discovered in the vicinity. I'm concerned the mice will try to get through my network cable hole and possibly knaw up all that cat6 wire that was just pulled.

Anyone have any experience here? I want to eradicate them before it gets any worse.
Is there something you can smear on wire that mice will not chew?
Are there any repellent products you guys have used and would recommend?
I'd rather not poison them since they'll probably die in my walls or something, but I'm no longer totally against the idea.
Those pull in high pitch things sound like bullshit, am I wrong?
There are strobe lights that I've heard some good things about, but they're pretty expensive.

One thing we should stop doing is feeding the birds outside the house. I feel its mostly attracting rodents, but I do like the birds. Still, no one had reloaded the bird feeder all summer out of laziness and I was catching quite a few mice.

Try Peppermint oil. You can get it at any health food store, simply soak cotton balls in the oil and place them in the areas where the infestation is the worst...mice hate the smell and your house will smell like candy all year round. You may also want to sprinkle some Cyanne pepper on the cotton balls so the mice don't decide to venture off with them.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
Yeah, I've heard the mint extract works. I might get some of that since it probably smells better then fox piss.

I wouldn't put it indoors, but it's not really noticeable to me outside. I just sprinkled it around the entire base of the building and especially around the basement windows/door.

 

[2canSAM]

Originally posted by: DougK62
I'd also like to know about those high-pitched noise things that you plug into an electrical outlet. Are they bunk?

I've used glue traps with great success.

We bought some on a whim and they worked great. I will have to pull the model # later though. I too was skeptical but they do the job. We live out in the country so mice were always a problem in winter. Another thing that helps is mothballs in the crawlspace, just use them sparingly because their smell can be overpowering