Had a mouse problem for nearly a year. HELP

OP - we used Pest Gone Environmental .

We are South London and had rats - thankfully not inside our flat but they'd go into the flat above ours but it was still gross and as the only owner occupier, it ended up falling to me to sort. It took months (about 8) and involved having the 'rat flaps' installed and surveys of drains combined with traps and poison until my partner eventually worked out how they were coming in and we had an old Victorian pipe removed from the building. It was full on and the needed the assistance of neighbours to fix.

I'm not sure mice will come in via the sewers but if there is any chance of that, get a drainage survey. Some pest control companies will do searches for possible entry points but in our case, they were pretty rubbish and it was us that worked it out.

I know the stress this causes so I really hope something works for you.

We pay £250 a year for an ongoing service contract as we have a constant battle with mice. We get visits every 2 months (more frequently if there is an active infestation) and they provide traps, poison and remove any dead mice.

We are pretty sure they are getting in behind the kitchen units (and indeed have trapped a number there) but can't fill the holes until we replace the kitchen. And given all our air bricks are covered in mesh we think they are getting in via our neighbours air bricks (terraced houses).

But we manage to keep on top of the problem fairly successfully. All our food is stored in sealed containers and we've not seen any evidence of them having found a good source. The challenge is that without a food source they stray further in the hunt for it - we have seen the odd mouse in the bathroom for example.

Not in London, 200miles North.

That seems a lot of money OP.
I think we paid £100 +VAT for the initial visit and a review visit; which sorted it out. Thank god

I had this once in a rental property. After a year of having pest control and traps laid nothing changed. I kept all food items in containers and cleaned all floors on a daily basis. I had a niggle they were coming from behind the kitchen unit which houses the oven as it was adjacent to the garage wall. The landlord finally agree to pull out the unit and it turns out there was a huge hole in the wall between the garage and kitchen 😱. Mice and Rats apparently look for warm shelter in the winter months whereever they can get it, even if there is no food source.

Have you got a filthy neighbour above or below your flat?

The only thing that works IMO is to make sure that there is never any food left lying around. Not even the tiniest crumb. Don't leave the washing up in the sink. Keep all store cupboard food such as flour in sealed boxes. The mice won't come in if there's nothing to come in for.

Honestly get a cat or a dog... it will deter the mouse, worked for me...
years ago had a mouse problem it would appear every now and then and I struggled to sleep because of it, bought a cat and literally since then never seen a mouse since.
Moved into different house and found droppings in cupboards and in corners, house was empty for fair few months, we moved in and picked up a cat the next day and have never seen anything.
My mum has a dog and the neighbours have mice but they haven't come into her house.

I heard putting a bit of used cat litter (not wet or anything) where the mice would go help to deter them too. It's got the scent of a cat so they won't bother...
Check all holes around pipes, back of cupboards ect and seal them. Also check if there are any holes in the bottom of your sofa because they like to hide in there too

Wine gums or fruit pastiles on the snaps

Agree with @Happyhappyday. I did catch a few of the f*@#£ers on sticky traps (unethical and gross) (they were wise to snap traps & poison) but I got tired of feeling repelled by these methods. So my husband suggested getting a cat. We got a kitten and she caught a few (more grossing out) but the buggers know now not to bother us and my now 7 year old puss is largely unemployed. Even the smell of a cat keeps them away.

Unfortunately my neighbours with whom we share a wall said the mice has increased in their property. Oops.

Plenty of cats in rescues need a home. They might be the next Larry of 10 Downing Street or Hodge of Southwark Cathedral.

Does anyone and I truly mean anyone, have some words of wisdom for me? Maybe something else that I haven’t tried?

Racumen.

Cats are definitely the best thing. I had a cat. No mice. Cat passed away. Major mouse problem. Got cats. No mice.

Even if cats are rubbish at catching mice, mice fear them, for good reason, and so they find accommodation elsewhere (a home without a cat) once you have a cat.

We had a mouse problem recently. The pest control guy was fantastic. For a fixed fee,he came out for atleast 7-8 visits until the problem was solved. Tried different traps and baits in a number of locations, looked for potential entry points and filled them in.

Terraced houses with cavity walls means mouse can enter 4 houses away and come to your house because its warmer/ cosier/ more food etc. So, look for holes in skirting boards everywhere. They can climb down from the loft down the outside of pipes into the bathroom. See if there are external entry points - tiny holes in the brickwork they can squeeze through, in your house and neighbouring houses. Remove the kickboards in the kitchen and check for holes.
Put aall food away in boxes with lids, so there's no fancy dinner awaiting them. Clean the kitchen a lot!!!

We used Pestology. They were great.

Op I am in a similar situation. Rat and mice in garden . I know the entry points but it is an old lady's fence . The lady isn't approachable and never opens the door ( probably she is more cautious as she lives alone) I have all the rat poison being taken in and eaten but I still see the rat. No idea what would work either. They climb the fence when I cover their entry holes 😔. We have several 🐈🐈🐈 in the neighborhood but I dont think any of them have managed to catch the mice yet . Have you tried pest expert formula B + I am about to try that today? I desperately need something that helps.

Can you use a Blink camera to find where they are getting in? When I had nice I also tried tying chocolate to string, sticking the other end of the string to the floor, and checking where they'd gone by where the string stretched. I found there was a hole under the oven.

I'd recommend pest control though. Find a company with good reviews.

Also they never got into our cupboards and I left no food out, but they would come foraging in our house.

I know they’ll be back when the poison runs out.

We now have a similar problem with rats in a rural place. If I don’t poison them just outside the building, then they move in.

I had a lot of mice in a terrace house in London once. They ignored the snap traps but I did manage to kill them with considerable amounts of Neosorexa Gold in dishes behind the kick board of the kitchen cabinets and under floorboards of the ground floor. You need to make sure the poison you are using is effective and put a LOT down in places where they travel.

ours were visiting from other houses so I had to poison for the street. But you need to get to where they are running along…

Cat is a big responsibility though, you're taking on another problem really