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Mouse in the house
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WilliamM2
Diamond Member
Wouldn't it be best to find out how they are getting in the house?
Had one in my house ONCE in 2007. A small gap hidden by the vinyl siding in an corner after adding an addition. That corner was done by my father in law. Oops, but it was free labor.
I had always felt cold air coming in in that area, and my cats would go crazy in that area. so we knew where to look. He only got in the one wall bay, stashing his acorns. Pain to remove the whole corner and adjacent siding. Haven't had on before or since. And we live in the woods.
Muse
Lifer
I just ordered these, 6 pack. Appear to be more durable than the Hdama traps.
Muse
Lifer
115 year old house. Mouse proofing it would be impossible.
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
Your not kidding, are you? When Moms was still alive and still able to get around on her walker, I would see a mouse bound across the floor in my own room, and then later -- saw one jump across the floor from a couch to space under Moms' hospital bed. I put out traps, and probably caught a couple. Then one evening, I was in the kitchen which adjoins the den where Moms slept. There was a plastic grocery bag on the kitchen floor and I was startled with two young mice pups that had somehow dropped onto that bag.
I had on my Timberland hiking boots. I took a flying leap, landing with one foot on top of each of those babies with my full weight of 190 lbs.
DEAD! THEY WERE QUICKLY DEAD! DID THE SUFFER? WHO CARES!
That was in 2019, and that summer, a neighbor notified us of a termite infestation in our building of four townhome units. We made plans with the neighbors, called Orkin and set up reservations at the local Holiday Inn for about four days. Orkin covered the entire building in a tent and fumigated it.
Since then -- it's been almost seven years -- there have been no pests in this house, and that includes any of the the rodent mouse!
Life is hard enough so I don't fret over "cruelty to rodents". I don't tolerate ground squirrels in my garden, either. I poison the F***ers! I don't care how "social" and intelligent they are. Tomatoes are far more valuable.
Muse
Lifer
Yo, I get where you're coming from with the squirrels. Some people think they're cute and adorable. I grow tomatoes too. For quite a few years they seemed to pretty much leave my tomatoes alone but where major problem for my yearly summer kabocha squash patch. Once a squirrel had enjoyed one of them they'd come back, pretty much daily for another attack. I'd lose a lot of the crop to them. I declared war. I've shot a couple, I guess, with my single loader pellet gun. I've caught some in my have-a-heart trap and released in the hills. I've caught a couple in rat traps, dead.
I discovered a remedy on the internet that pretty much works. Simmer some hot pepper flakes in water for a couple minutes, sieve out the flakes and put the juice in spray bottle and spray the squash. The squirrels hate the hot taste in their mouth and don't come for seconds. I spray every week or two during the time the attacks would happen, which is when they are closing in on full ripeness.
Last summer, I lost a fair proportion of my hanging tomatoes to some rodent. I don't know if it was squirrels or rats. I put out traps but caught only one. I figure it's apt to happen next growing season. Don't know what I'll do. Yet. Maybe the pepper spray, just wash the tomatoes before eating or cooking with them if it wipes out most of the pepper hotness. I don't think I want to mess with poison.
Muse
Lifer
Pay up!My money is on the mouse. 😛
Muse
Lifer
They are likely more durable but the Hdama have a feature I really like, removable bait container. Just received 6 of them yesterday. I also got 6
Victor Power-Kill Humane Mouse Traps M393SSR. Have 18 new mouse traps that are far easier to set and are far better designs that the old wood plate traps I've always used. Caught one mouse so far. I think there are probably more in the house, will see.
bba-tcg
Golden Member
If you have anywhere close to 18, I'd say you're living in their house. Hope they don't have a Muse trap...
BTW, I also have a cat. She does mice pretty well too.
BoomerD
No Lifer
Try securing the bait in a bit of fine mesh. I raided my wife's sewing supplies and got some "wedding veil" mesh. (AKA tulle) Put the bait inside the mesh, tie or otherwise secure that to the trigger. They MIGHT be able to lick off any peanut butter that oozes through the mesh, but they can't steal the bait.
BoomerD
No Lifer
As for snap traps, I lean towards the Victor brand. I tried a TomCat once...worked fine for a rat or two...decapitated the fckrs...then broke.
Muse
Lifer
I've got all kinds of stuff like that, I think nylon screen material would work.
I saw indications that a couple of my new all plastic traps had bait nibbled in the kitchen this morning. Traps didn't go off. I'm using nuts for bait. Hazelnuts or cashews. I have 18 new traps. Remembering where they all are is an issue. 😉 So far, I've only put out 6-7.
[DHT]Osiris
Lifer
Get a cat, mine find mice on occasion and bring them to me so I can take them outside 😛
Muse
Lifer
I really like cats but don't want the responsibility. Feeding, vet trips and bills, and what to do about if I leave the house for days, even weeks.
[DHT]Osiris
Lifer
Yeah it's a different lifestyle, worth it if you love them, but not for everyone.
Muse
Lifer
Oh, I do love them but there's the other side of it. If I got a cat it would probably be two cats. I hear they do a lot better if they have a companion cat. They'd probably be very young siblings.
[DHT]Osiris
Lifer
They do, two or more is best.
Muse
Lifer
So far I've only caught one mouse this year, it was maybe a year or two since I'd had a mouse problem at all. Plenty of evidence downstairs including two small kabocha squash having been utterly eaten, nothing but the shell of the husk left. Caught that one mouse downstairs. Now, in my bedroom I saw with my own eyes a mouse traversing the carpet in the middle of the room, several times. I put traps in the room but nothing happened.
ATM, I"m monitoring the situation. No evidence of mouse activity for ~3 days. Seems unlikely there was just one mouse accounting for all of this.
gorobei
Diamond Member
bucket traps either homemade or cheap chinese knockoffs are supposed to work well assuming you have a bait they like.
the main thing about trap placement is that mice/rats have poor far eyesight and stick close to walls/narrow passages to feel safe. you want to place your traps along those long stretches along a wall or boxes rather than out in the open wide spaces.
the main thing about trap placement is that mice/rats have poor far eyesight and stick close to walls/narrow passages to feel safe. you want to place your traps along those long stretches along a wall or boxes rather than out in the open wide spaces.
BonzaiDuck
Lifer
I've used WILCO bait traps and poison --- very effective. Now I can't buy it in California, but there's a place in Florida that ships it, and I have enough bags of it for another couple years' deployment. See it's one thing to support the Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation and other worthy groups. But if you want to grow tomatoes, you have to make practical decisions . . . . NAMELY -- KILL THE LITTLE BASTARDS!
Steltek
Diamond Member
This is how we kill mice and rats in our workshop without any poison at all.
Buy one or more boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, twice as much baking soda (any brand), and some cheapo dollar store sweet pancake syrup (in a pinch, Pearl Milling syrup works great, but try the cheapo stuff first). In lieu of the syrup, you can also use honey (real or manufactured) or sweet cocoa mix, though any type of honey or cocoa mix will obviously be more expensive.
For mice, mix one part Jiffy mix to two parts baking soda. Then, mix in some of the pancake syrup. This mixture is your killing bait for mice. The point of the syrup is to both act as an additional mouse attractant and more importantly to make sure they take as much of the baking soda as possible along with the corn muffin mix.
Take a box (cheapo dollar store plastic boxes with lids work okay, or if you have a 3d printer you can find printable rodent bait boxes at either Maker World or Printables), cut entry holes in the bottom edge of the box at ground level. To contain the mess, put a cardboard barrier at the bottom of the box about 1" or so tall. Add the bait in the box to the side of the barrier opposite the entry holes.
Place the box somewhere you have signs of mouse traffic. If you have signs of mice in different places, you can use smaller boxes and place them accordingly. By using plastic boxes, you can also place them outside around crawl spaces or places you think the mice might be entering the house or might be living in the yard.
This stuff is like crack cocaine for mice. You won't have a mouse problem any more within a few days to a week.
The same mixture works for rats if you substitute either bacon grease or beef tallow for the pancake syrup and use a bigger box.
The only issue with rats is their neophobic nature, as they have an overwhelming instinctual fear of new objects added to their environment. As a result, you may have to leave the box there for a while to get them used to it being present before you start adding bait. Or, just put the bait on a piece of cardboard on the floor (though you take the chance of the rats spreading it around all over if it is not confined in the box).
EDIT:
For Victor rat traps, you can also try to cut up a cardboard box and use it to make (with duct tape) a long thin box big enough for the trap to spring. Then, place the set trap at the closed end of the box while leaving the other end of the box open. My uncle used to swear by using these in his farm shop building - always said it gave the little bastards a false sense of security before sending them to rat hell.
FYI - if you haven't already done so, do a Youtube search. There are plenty of videos by exterminators giving suggestions on how to rid yourself of mice and rats.
Buy one or more boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, twice as much baking soda (any brand), and some cheapo dollar store sweet pancake syrup (in a pinch, Pearl Milling syrup works great, but try the cheapo stuff first). In lieu of the syrup, you can also use honey (real or manufactured) or sweet cocoa mix, though any type of honey or cocoa mix will obviously be more expensive.
For mice, mix one part Jiffy mix to two parts baking soda. Then, mix in some of the pancake syrup. This mixture is your killing bait for mice. The point of the syrup is to both act as an additional mouse attractant and more importantly to make sure they take as much of the baking soda as possible along with the corn muffin mix.
Take a box (cheapo dollar store plastic boxes with lids work okay, or if you have a 3d printer you can find printable rodent bait boxes at either Maker World or Printables), cut entry holes in the bottom edge of the box at ground level. To contain the mess, put a cardboard barrier at the bottom of the box about 1" or so tall. Add the bait in the box to the side of the barrier opposite the entry holes.
Place the box somewhere you have signs of mouse traffic. If you have signs of mice in different places, you can use smaller boxes and place them accordingly. By using plastic boxes, you can also place them outside around crawl spaces or places you think the mice might be entering the house or might be living in the yard.
This stuff is like crack cocaine for mice. You won't have a mouse problem any more within a few days to a week.
The same mixture works for rats if you substitute either bacon grease or beef tallow for the pancake syrup and use a bigger box.
The only issue with rats is their neophobic nature, as they have an overwhelming instinctual fear of new objects added to their environment. As a result, you may have to leave the box there for a while to get them used to it being present before you start adding bait. Or, just put the bait on a piece of cardboard on the floor (though you take the chance of the rats spreading it around all over if it is not confined in the box).
EDIT:
For Victor rat traps, you can also try to cut up a cardboard box and use it to make (with duct tape) a long thin box big enough for the trap to spring. Then, place the set trap at the closed end of the box while leaving the other end of the box open. My uncle used to swear by using these in his farm shop building - always said it gave the little bastards a false sense of security before sending them to rat hell.
FYI - if you haven't already done so, do a Youtube search. There are plenty of videos by exterminators giving suggestions on how to rid yourself of mice and rats.
Last edited:
Muse
Lifer
Last summer I made great efforts to kill the perps with rat traps but with practically no success. I'd sometimes have traps that were sprung but no sign of a dead rodent, be it squirrel or rat. I don't want to go to poison, don't know if I could even get any. I figure artful use of traps should have some positive effect. I recently bought 18 rat traps with plastic bases and steel head crushers, from 3 different manufacturers (6 + 6 + 6). My garage floor is covered with hundreds of what I figure are rat turds.
Steltek
Diamond Member
The baking soda works because the mice (and rats, and most rodents in general) can't either belch or pass gas. When they eat it with the corn muffin mix, it creates gas pressure in their digestive system they can't relieve which subsequently kills them fairly quickly without need of poison.
For the rats, you have the additional problem that you are adding the traps to their environment. The traps are something new, so the rats are avoiding them because of their neophobia. My uncle always said the point about putting them in boxes the rats can crawl in to is that it helps you get around that.
If you decide to use a bucket trap (like the Vulcan Rodent Trap or one of the cheaper variants shown on Youtube) in your garage, the key to making it work is to put bait in the bottom of the trap but don't set the trap - make it so they can go in and out of it at will. Let the rats get used to it being there and being able to go in and out of it. Then, once it is an expected part of their environment, you set the trap so they can't get out.
Also, have you tried to address where the rats are actually entering your garage? In or around the garage door, or have they chewed a hole through the wall somewhere? Until you deal with this, you will never be able to truly rid yourself of them no matter how many you kill. While looking for entry points, don't forget that rats (like mice) can climb straight up most walls so make sure you check around the eves of the garage as well to make sure they are completely sealed.
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