Had a mouse problem for nearly a year. HELP

I know you dont want an actual cat but would it be worth getting hold of a tiny bit of soiled litter (urine I mean), or a blanket from a cat bed from someone who has a cat and strategically placing it in the areas you think the mice are? I know that sounds gross but if you place tiny amounts, the mice would smell it and leave as cats leave pheromones where they regularly go which mice recognise. I know its not ideal but putting up with that for a few weeks seems a better option than mice running around. Might be worth a try.

Oh, just seen you don't like cats... Shame

We had a mouse problem when we moved in to our new home 2 years ago. Apparently the previous owners had been trying to deal with it for years. Our cat put an end to the problem within a few days!

I personally don't think a cat needs to actually catch the mice. I live in a London terrace, had an ongoing mouse problem for about 5 years. In the end the only thing that was doing anything were the glue traps and yes I'm well aware of how awful they are but nothing else was catching any. Like OP I couldn't go around ripping out cupboards to get to the holes and I'd tried everything else. I got 2 kittens (they're 4 yrs old now). From the day I brought them home, I've never seen another mouse (or evidence of one) again. And yet they've never actually caught one.

That being said, if OP doesn't like cats it's not a solution. You have my sympathy OP. I remember well how awful it was. I came down in the night once to find 5 mice scampering all over my kitchen work surfaces! It was horrible. If you're in a block I'm not sure what you can really do. For every one you do catch/kill there's many more waiting to take their place. I hope you can find a solution that works.

Is it council rented or private rented? If it was private rented, honestly I’d be looking for somewhere else.
Can you speak to shelter to see if they have any advice because I feel like the owner needs to take some responsibility here too seeing as you’re limited in how you can approach this due to the house being a rental.

Where are the droppings? Do they appear every morning?

When I had a mouse problem the droppings appeared every morning. If that isn’t happening then it might just be that they are mainly living next door??

agree with all the advice here, particularly around getting rid of all food sources and being scrupulous with leaving the kitchen immaculate every night.

Got rid of my problem with a kitten - sorry!

In America (grain area) we use buckets with a tip lid they can't get out of. Some have water in to drown them but that is very cruel.

When we had our rat (ergh) problem, I found the council pest controllers to be useless. We hired one privately, who was great. He not only baited, he helped us find access pints - and importantly, told us what to say to the council, in order to get them to fulfil thier statutory duties.
He costs £45 a session, and we still gave him come every month, just to keep an eye on things.

What is your landlord doing about it ?

Not all cats are mousers, my cat is useless. I've had mice recently and a combination of these with their bait/poison Lockable Indoor Mouse Bait Stations x 8. Pest-Expert.com and being completely scrupulous about storage seems to have got rid of them. I know you've tried lots of poisons, but these seemed to help where nothing else had for me.

There are definitely holes you're not finding. We had this issue, on and off, and turns out there was a classic, cartoon-style hole behind the dryer. 🤦🏻‍♀️

If the landlord isn't playing ball I'd really consider getting a cat or a small terrier in to sort the mice.

Good luck!

Not true,they won't come if there's nothing to come for ,the OP needs to find where they're coming in.

If you live in a block or terrace there's no point getting rid as they'll just come back from neighboring properties. Traps and poison pointless.

Cat, or move.

Don't get a cat,there's absolutely no guarantee it'll be a mouser.

Are you trapping and baitinng at the edge of the rooms? Where have you found droppings? Are you using snappy traps? You can sprinkle talcum powder down and see where it is disturbed and it can show where they're coming in.

We have had mice a couple of times (different houses) - when we have had pest control out, they have done no traps, just very strong poison and hole blocking and they have been great at getting into tight spaces without causing damage. I think you've just had bad pest control.

Are you in London? If so I can message you with who we have used

I have lived in rural areas for most of my life.
Mice are everywhere, traps won't solve the problem and most of them are horribly cruel.
Cats are helpful but the single biggest solution is don't have food around that mice will eat.
I agree with Reugny.
Mice come to visit, I do see them from time to time- inevitable as I live surrounded by forest. But they never stay, partly because I have cats, but mostly because there is no accessible food.
Mice will chew through plastic or paper and eat flour, pasta, lentils, biscuits etc.
I keep food stored in metal tins or sturdy plastic boxes. Bread is kept in the fridge and no food or crumbs left on surfaces or floors.
Living in the country it would be a constant battle against mice otherwise.
You can block up holes, but mice will find ways in, and squeeze through tiny gaps. I don't even bother sealing up holes and gaps.
Mice won't stay in a place unless there is food.
If there is nothing to eat they will move on.

All the cat rescue places are overflowing and they need foster homes, could you foster a cat/cats rather than committing to having one ongoing?

Have you pulled out your fridge? There's often a reservoir of water at the back that provides mice with water. If you have this, empty it and clean it out.

I'd echo the previous poster about not having any crumbs of food anywhere, ever. Crisps in a lidded container. No bins left with anything in overnight, ever. Remove their food sources.

For glue traps to be effective you need more than you think and they need to be down a good while, because mice have neophobia and will avoid new things in their path for a good while. But, they also must be checked twice a day.

Where are the droppings and so you ever find gnawed food?

My neighbour to the right of me has no idea why I have mice as she doesn’t have any. My neighbours to the left of me don’t have any mice as they have a cat.

Your neighbour to the right probably doesn't have small kids so can easily be scrupulously clean.

And your neighbour to the left has a cat which is a mice catcher as well as deterrent.

I grew up in old houses and the solution was with young children/lots of people get a cat, and with less people be very clean so there was absolutely nothing for them to feed on. This includes cleaning the toaster after use, washing dishes immediately, wiping down counters after use etc

You need to experiment with bait in humane traps. There are some really good ones now.
Make sure the traps are where you've seen the mouse or droppings, and against a wall.
Absolutely all food goes into mouseproof containers.
Please don't use poison, and definitely not glue traps.

We had this problem and got a cat. This was 6 years ago. Not a single mouse since.

Seriously, get a cat. They’re not that bad. Certainly they are less bad than mice.

There are (very simply) three types of bait. Two based on warfarin, which can either be single-feed (eaten once and dies), or multi-feed (eaten many times, the poison builds up, then it dies). The third is vitamin D3. Sadly, baits are very hit and miss, as mice and rats suffer bait shyness (they avoid new things). Traps fail for the same reason.

Sadly, I'd go the glue boards. They're not nice... no getting around that, and they're due to be banned next year... but they work. The mouse gets stuck on them and then has to be killed humanely after (within 12 hours). They cover a wide area so the mouse will have a better chance of running over one.

There could well be tiny holes- adolescent mice can squeeze through a space as thin as a ball point pen so even tiny holes lets them in