I saw a mouse help!!!

[raver123]

I went downstairs last night turned on the light and a tiny mouse ran away. I've checked everywhere, can't find it and found no signs previously such as dropping.

So I intend to

There is a gap behind my fridge the the kitchen fitters didn't put a skirting board (get that fixed)

My internal garage it could have came through plus the door?

Neighbour told me he fills in where the electric metre goes

Get the plug in rodent things

Should I get rentokil in also as a precaution or wait TIL these steps? Never had this before.

[TheOriginalChatelaine]

Definitely fill the skirting board and any other points of entry,. Check your store cupboards where you keep rice, flour etc, always best stored in plastic boxes or tins. Check any sideboard cupboards if you keep food stuff in there. Any floor boards with gaps are also a point of entry as is any loft. Clever little buggers too! With luck it's just the scout so act now before he invites his extended family. A cat helps.

[TheOriginalChatelaine]

Also a point of entry is under kitchen cupboards around waste pipes if you have a suspended floor. The panel at fooor level should come off for inspection. You may want to lay traps whilst you are waiting for these filling in jobs to be done. The most humane are the steel traps imho. Avoid poison as they can die in some unreachable cavity in your home and the smell is truly nauseating, or they make it into the open and die, only to be eaten by an owl who also dies a horrible lingering death.

[Bluntness100]

Just lay some traps, you can get several for a few quid off of amazon, and bait with peanut butter. We live quite rurally so always little field mice coming in, so just keep thr traps out. You don't need rentokil and those sonic things don't work.

[raver123]

Thank you for the posts! I spoke to a neighbour turns out she has an infestation in October. I wish she would have told me I prefer prevention. She doesn't seem to care, she has young kids I would be up to 90 She put trap traps and got rid of them I bet she has not! She doesn't see why I'm calling rentokil! As soon as you see pests surely you should tell your neighbours.

[Lifeofsmiley]

I had mice last year and didn’t tell my neighbour. Tried with traps myself for a few weeks but after my 5th catch I called in the local pest control company. The entry point was outside stairs and he said there was no mice living in the house just coming in one at a time.
Got the stairs fixed and haven’t had another one since or any spiders.
I agree with the pp about the poison, we learnt the hard way many years ago only only found out when we had a bluebottle infestation

[Bowerbird5]

My neighbour had disturb a rat run when doing renovations and dug under the house and outhouses. We only found out when we found we had one in the house. I thought it was a red squirrel pinching the fruit until I saw it one night ( about 2 days in) I was nearly sick. I am terrified of rats. We had a rat catcher in the next day. He put special paper down and said to ring him when I had caught it. It got off the bloody paper! He brought a large trap and we got it. It was a young one and luckily there weren’t any more. Neighbour said” Oh yes, I disturbed a rat run. “ I was livid and told him to bloody well tell me if there was a next time.
Mice we get regularly. The plug in thing doesn’t work. Save your money. If you get a humane trap let it out over a mile away or it will be back. We put poison down all the time and traps.We live in the country. Neighbours here wouldn’t mention mice as most people here get them at some stage. The only conversation would be along the lines of
“ The Jack Russell had a mouse last night. “ or “ What do you find most effective?”
We’ve just put a new kitchen in and they put a silicone foam stuff around the pipes. We’re hoping we don’t get them in. The trouble is in the summer we tend to leave the door open. We moved the bird feeders too as they were attracted to dropped grains.

[MikeUniformMike]

I was wondering what sort of help a mouse could give other than helping itself.

[RiverTam]

well, before getting carried away with yourself I'd just buy a humane trap for a few quid and start there.

I've never had an infestation, just the very occasional mouse. No need to go overboard right now.