Mice problem...making me cry/how to get rid and pls help me rationalise my thoughts

[nettermum]

Discovered I had mice 2 weeks ago. I discovered them in kitchen from the fact that ready made completed packed rice was chewed through and droppings

I have a phobia of mice or and furry things. I am taking steps to cover food eg breakfast cereals in hard plastic containers, sweeping kitchen so no crumbs on floor etc.

Think they are in loft as I hear stratching sounds in the ceiling or walls Or I dnot really know if that noise is on floor.

I am so scared of them that for example I close the kitchen door after use nd before I open the door I make my presence known to them e.g. Banging the kitchen door or making a noise. I don't want to be greeted with a furry thing with its beady eyes starring at me.

Every time I come in the kitchen I feel I have to wash all plates, cutlery, mugs in hot soapy water before I use them. If I leave the kitchen and go back in I feel I have to spray down the work surfaces with dettol and if I want a bite to eat everything has to be washed in hot soapy water because mice might have come out and roaming round without me there.

My worst fear is coming face to face with a mouse or worse still a mouse going over my feet ( im know wearing long boot slippers round the house) or going over me whilst asleep.

Please help and advise:

1. what's the best way to get rid of the mice super quick.
   
2. what is the strongest mouse poison available to buy the type exterminators use?
   
3. do mice frequent in bedrooms/ bathrooms or are they just in kitchens/ dining and lofts? The master bedroom where I am has a water storage tank in a cupboard
   
   Will have to ask hubbie to lay down more poison/ traps. It doesn't help that hubbie taking this all in his stride and doesn't really understand how much this is affecting me.
   
   Please help:( and also share if you have had similar phobias about mice in house

[DelphiniumBlue]

Gosh, I remember doing exactly that, stamping my feet outside before opening a door, etc. It's horrible, and I completely sympathise.
What we did to get rid of them - pulled out all the furniture and checked for tiny cracks and holes where they might be getting in. Just to make sure, covered the affected rooms with flour before going to bed, and and then checking the footprints in the morning. Sealed up every crack with sealant. Put chickenwire/mesh over airbricks ( that's where they were getting in and out from). Then put down poison, and keep it topped up. Check especially under kitchen cupboards.
Call in professionals if that doesn't work.

[flumpybear]

Work out where they're getting in and block it with chicken wire dual pky at least??!!!
Are you in the country .... ??if yes u need to get a hold of your fears ... mice are everywhere .... they're actually very cute!!! .... outside and not causing problems!!!
Oh also best advice ... get a cat ... female =ruthless and not so affectionate if you don't like fluffy things
Good luck!!

[PlugUgly]

Oh poor you ! We had this problem and every autumn I would feel miserable because I knew they were coming back. Ring your local council as they often (for a small charge) lay poison for you etc
Be sure they put the strongest available as mice breed more young dependant on food supply and we were using a too weak poison and were in effect feeding them! We ended up overrun! I was terrified and like you I was constantly cleaning and bleaching, every thing felt filthy and spoilt.
You wouldn't believe the tiny holes they can get through, also they can virtually squash themselves flat to get under doors. One thing that really helped was putting strip of wood down on the threshold of the door so they couldn't get under, also check near any pipes, even the tiniest hole can be an access point from the loft, fill any hole with tin foil, packed in tightly. Chocolate buttons on traps works better than cheese and place along skirting boards.
I do feel for you OP, I didn't find them cute at all and it actually put me off living in my house, unfortunately I have had them in every other house I have moved to since (unlucky!) and after many years I have learned not to panic and to plan my defence at the first sign, good luck!

[nettermum]

DelphiniumBlue
Thanks for the advice. im relieved that its not only me thats stamping feet, banging doors to enter rooms with mouse problem. will be carryng out all things you mentioned. didnt realise they could come through airbrick

PlugUgly
thanks for your advice. definately will get wood for doors.....gives me a chill thinking about mice squishing under doors. will get some choc buttosn for traps sounds really silly but didt realise mice like chocolate assumed they just like cheese and bread the most.

flumpybear
Thanks. Im ok with furry creatures in the country just not invading my home e.g. im ok with foxes as they are not trying to enter house or right next to me face to face . Yes agree I definatley need to do something about my fears. i dunno its the combination of the mice being really small and furry that gets me scared

[Sitoff]

We have mice too at the moment. They seem to have come is as the weather has turned. I am afraid I am using poison and am now horrified to realise I may be contributing to the problem and actually feeding them. In any case I am not convinced it is better as I have found 2 dead mice this week and I am terrified of those too. There are so many gaps in our house I am not sure where to start. You have my sympathies.

[treetops104]

We live beside a field and had mice but got one of the plug in devices that sends out ultrasonic noise and have never had a mouse since and this was years ago. They just don't come near the house which means you aren't dealing with dead mice either! It can be so horrible, hope you get it sorted!

[Maudlinmaud]

I'm so sorry you are going through this.
This is the reason I have two cats.
My childhood home had them every winter and it was awful.

[cozietoesie]

Unfortunately, not every cat is a mouser. There's a belief that just having a cat around will make mice move but I've never been too sure about that. Remember, though, that if you have a cat, it's best not to use poison - a rodent who is slow and ailing from having eaten some poison could make an easier target for a cat and then the cat could eat the poison also. (From ingesting the mouse.)

[PlugUgly]

Just a quick positive, apparently if you have mice it means you haven't got rats as they don't inhabit the same place

[dairyfarmerswife]

Poison probably quickest. The rules have changed recently and the strongest poisons are now only available to professional users.

Traps are effective but keep checking, and empty and re set after catching. Attic/loft are good places to set traps. Mice and rats are neophobic so will notice new things - poisons, traps etc and take a while to become complacent about them and eat bait. Chocolate and cheese both good on traps but make sure the bait is well fixed so they can't steal it without the trap going off.

Re being frightened of them - can you rationalise it that they are far more frightened of you than you are of them - much like spiders? What's the worst that would happen if it runs over your foot - it's not going to chew your leg off.

I agree it's horrid thinking they have been on your plates etc. Are your plates in wall cupboards, or can you move them, even temporarily? I have never found mice evidence in upper cupboards, and I live on a very old house where mice seem to get in easily. I have cleared mice evidence from all of my lower cupboards but never the ones at eye level.

In our house they definitely frequent the airing cupboard, where the hot water cylinder is. I think that's because they run along the water pipes from the attic and into the cupboard.

I have all but resigned myself to living with mice on some level, as long as they stay out of my food and clothes I will put up with them in the attic. We have recently got a cat, and she has caught a mouse in the house but whether she will control them all I'm not sure!

[cantseemtohaveitall]

It sounds bizarre - but I have found it really works - using peppermint oil. Mice can't stand the smell of it apparently - soak cotton wool balls with it and either leave them next to areas you know they're going and/or stuff holes with them.
Make sure you stuff wire wool (thick stuff that can't be chewed through) in every small hole you can find (our house full of them, but every small hole counts - if you can put the end of a biro in then it's small enough for a mouse.)
And get the electronic plug in things - we have a couple on constantly in our house. We had a bad mouse problem at one stage, but no sign for 18 months now, using all of the above methods!

I totally feel your pain though - I'm completely phobic too and hate the thought of them running around - and seeing them just makes me go cold! Good luck.

[jazzandh]

I had a mouse in my loft overwinter a couple of years ago....I purchased a rentokil trap online..... this

The mouse was dead in the trap within 24 hours. I think the poison paralyses them very quickly and kills them fast. As horrible as it sounds I knew I had got it! I disposed of the whole trap mouse and all (and had bought several traps for this reason).....

Good luck

[insan1tyscartching]

Peanut butter or mars bars works well on traps. Because they have to work a bit harder to get the food off there is less chance of them grabbing and running. Poison takes a while so I'd have traps and poison down together.

[Shannoncan]

I think you should place of couple of these sachets where ever the mice are getting in from. They will be lured in by the scent and once they eat the ingredients they will die.

[whataboutbob]

This may not be the answer you want, but nothing really worked till we got a cat, as soon as she moved in she was on the case and within 2 weeks those she hadn't killed had packed their bags. Prior to that we had traps which caught some but there were always more, we got the council to come in twice at £90 a pop, they put poison down which killed some (they rotted down under the floorboards) but again didn't eradicate the problem. If you go to a cat refuge and say you want a mouser they'll probably know how to tell if a cat is good at the job.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

You don't need a cat and some aren't mousers anyway there's no guarantee.

Put ALL food away in plastic containers.

Clear down the kitchen EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU USE IT to get rid of crumbs.

Use snappy traps and poison and block up any obvious holes with wire wool.

Get in the council or Rentokil if there's no improvement after a week or so.

You can sprinkle talc down to show where they are getting in/going.

Lay newspaper down on kitchen counters over night then you can just throw it away and have a quick anti bac spray rather than a full on megga clean before you've even had a cup of tea!

[normage]

I am so terrified of mice! I can cope with spiders and anything else of a creepy crawly nature, but not mice. I really sympathise with op. I live in a very old house, with so many ways in, I really wouldn't know where to start mouseproofing the house. We have had them quite a few times in 26 years, but not for a few years, until this week. I've found mouse droppings and vaguely thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye. One man from the council told me years ago if you think you saw one, you probably did and for everyone you see, there are eight more. My husband is also very laid back about it and doesn't appreciate how invaded and uneasy it makes me feel. I tried humane traps once, but these didn't work and I wouldn't be able to move it with a live mouse in anyway.

[normage]

When my 19 year old DD was about 3, we had mice and I shooed a baby mouse out of the back door into the garden. My DD became so hysterical about this baby being separated from it's Mother, that I opened the door and let it back in again where it promptly ran back behind the cupboard from which it appeared! This is one of our family stories that is retold every now and again.

[Mortgagedilemma]

Get some of these. It's the only thing I've found that works. I always have a couple behind the skirting boards in the kitchen and no longer have problems with mice.

We tried every trap going and they were all shit. You need poison.

[Chickpearocker]

Please don't be afraid they really are harmless and don't fret about hygiene too much. Every house I have lived in has had mice, the change of weather seems to tempt them in. Mouse traps every single day worked for us, but obviously be super careful if you have children. Also got a plug in ultrasonic thingy which I put in the kitchen. Not sure if it made much difference. We did have them in the upstairs bathroom and bedroom but after having bats the mice didn't frighten me too much 😊

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Errr don't fret about hygiene too much? They are incontinent and piss everywhere, it's important to get rid of them.

[Chickpearocker]

No I meant for the OP not to feel bad that poor hygiene would be bringing the mice in crumbs etc. I find once they are in cleaning religiously doesn't tend to work. And yes I realise most people don't want to live with mice obviously.

[kate33]

We had mice about 2 years ago and I thought I would go crazy with it. In the beginning I set up humane traps that I made myself after googling and looking on You Tube. Didn't bloody work. I started to get pissed off with their utter sense of entitlement, coming in, setting up homes and maternity units, roaming around in the night and partying till dawn. No way! For some reason my main fear was actually seeing one because for a a couple of months I only heard them. Then one day I came face to cute little whiskered face and it really took a lot of my fear away.
But that didn't mean I had to put up with them and you don't either op and you can and will be mouse free again. I used lots and lots of those sticky traps, they run over them, get stuck and you put them or your dh puts them out in the garden. Only thing is, it's a bit gruesome but then so is poisoning them. The ultimate solution was getting our cat, somebody desperately needed to rehome her and the bonus was that she is an excellent and very experienced mouser. She moved in, killed a few mice and they moved out within the week.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Sorry chick I read your post completely wrong! apologies!

[Chickpearocker]

No worries Dame