Mice

[Storm4star]

So I have mice, was just sitting in my kitchen and saw one run over my coffee maker "shudder". They've eaten 3 bags of poison so that clearly doesn't work! I've tried all kinds of traps, nothing. We live in a terraced Victorian in London, so it's difficult to find/plug all the holes and they seem to be rife round here. The only thing I haven't used is the sticky traps, but they horrify me. They seem so cruel and I'd then have to kill them all myself. I contacted the council and they do 3 visits with poison for £130. Has anyone used a professional? Do they use stronger poison? If it would get rid of them I'd do it, but don't want to throw away £130 on the same poison I've been using! Any other tips? I keep the kitchen clean, no food left out for them to eat. All the usual stuff.

You need to find out how they're getting in and block it.

Problem is these houses are so old there's holes everywhere, and mice can squeeze through the tiniest of holes. Also, it seems that potentially they are coming in behind my kitchen cupboards and I can't go ripping out the whole kitchen!

I would buy a cat but I travel a lot so it's not feasible for me to have a pet.

Tumble drier sheets poked around. Apparently they don't like the smell.

Ah ok thanks, worth a try definitely!

Little Nipper snap traps baited with peanut butter are very good. Mice can squeeze through any hole that will fit a pencil, so you need to go round with plaster and filler to seal up any possible entry points, eg around pipes, gaps in skirting behind cupboards. I do sympathise that it’s more difficult in an old house with nooks and crannies.
This time of year, field mice often come in looking for warmth, so they’re apparent in greater numbers.

The council use the poison that works in the area at that time because they get resistant and they learn to recognise poison and avoid it. I would definitely contact the council, they might even be able to advise where they are getting in.

I would take a step back and a long hard think about your travelling. I suspect that may have something to do with it. Do the mice look a little foreign, perhaps? You see I believe they may have been brought back by you unwittingly in one of your back packs, perhaps having slipped into one of those pockets within pockets within a zip.

Which area of London do you live in? If its South Kensington, the only thing that works is a trail of Morbier right down the garden path, along the pavement, across the road, Hyde Park and then out towards Bayswater. Once they get there they won't come back.

If you live in Hammersmith the local authority have a dedicated mouse trapper, with a flute and a pied jacket and trousers. Shoudl be OK as you don't have kids.

Unfortunately I don't live in Hammersmith as I would love to get the pied piper in

When it gets to the stage where the mice are making themselves coffee, it's definitely a big problem! I'm going to check with the council what poison they use and take it from there. But I do need to sort something out longer term.

£130 paid to the council will (probably) be money well spent. As a pp said, they should be able to advise on how they are getting in, how to stop them and the poison they use will be more effective. Remember that winter is coming and that mice breed at an alarming rate.