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Original poster

Mouse in the house

110 replies

Gwenhwyfar · 29/11/2019 23:35

I hear noises in the kitchen, went to see and a mouse ran past. It went back to behind the boiler. I suppose that could be the entry point. If so, there's no way I'd be able to seal it as I can't get there.
What should I do? I'm quite scared at the prospect of mouse traps, but I find poison to be too inhumane. I rent, but I suppose I should try to fix the problem myself before calling the landlord?
Or should I call the landlord on the basis that it may be affecting other flats in the building with the same landlord.

OP posts:
Devereux1 · 01/12/2019 11:09

I'm not going to walk a mile away to release a mouse that will then just go into someone else's home.

Unlikely, the ones you have were probably born under your floorboards or very nearby. I live in a city and have made numerous trips to a park, and released them all there.

They are intelligent creatures who deserve better, and some human kindness. Please, get a humane trap and release them to live their lives. Sad

HeronLanyon · 01/12/2019 11:10

I use plug in mouse sound deterrents after seeing one shortly after moving in. I’ve always thought they worked (no sightings or droppings or smell etc) until I saw one few weeks ago in the middle of the night quite happily running by one in my kitchen. I had caught it unawares and I now wonder if they get up to all sorts when I’m sleeping !
I am not ground floor but in very old house with definite mice in ground floor flat. We assumed the persistent rain may have led them to higher ground so to speak.
Following thread - good advice.

HeronLanyon · 01/12/2019 11:13

Agree fully with not killing them (unless possibly there is a huge problem and no alternative). I’d happily walk to release - have history of doing just that repeatedly when a cat began bringing in nightly frogs and newts. Local ponds are now bursting with relocated populations !

TheYear · 01/12/2019 11:18

Snap traps are the best option of a bad bunch. It’s not nice having to kill them but mice are dirty and can be dangerous (i.e electricals).

Is there any way you can take that rubbish bag to a tip?

Rosepetals30 · 01/12/2019 11:19

Unfortunately the humane ways of catching mice can also be the ones with the smaller success rate.

It’s something you need to get on top of Like, today, they breed like hell.

Poison isn’t the answer, they can die in the walls
Sound deterrents ... don’t deter mice, they are a rip off.
I find people recommend cat litter - mice aren’t scared of the smell of cats

ThatLibraryMiss · 01/12/2019 13:41

Humane traps are not humane. Apart from the stress of being caught and transported, a mouse in its own territory knows where to find food, water and shelter. A mouse released in a strange place has no idea of those things and will die slowly of starvation, thirst and exposure, not to mention being in another mouse's territory.

Good snap traps are a quick clean kill. Bait them with the top layer of Mars bar (the toffee bit) with a bit of the chocolate stuck on.

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 01/12/2019 13:54

"Unlikely, the ones you have were probably born under your floorboards or very nearby. I live in a city and have made numerous trips to a park, and released them all there."

But surely they will just walk back to the nearest house?

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 01/12/2019 13:56

"Is there any way you can take that rubbish bag to a tip?"

No. The tips are far away. I don't have a car and couldn't carry that in a bus or taxi. I have thought about putting the rubbish bag in a bag made of sturdier material so they can't climb in and out any more. Mouse is no longer in the bin bag for the moment.

OP posts:
Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 01/12/2019 13:58

"t’s something you need to get on top of Like, today, they breed like hell."

I've had the snap trap down since yesterday. It's not working. I'm going to go to Wilkos now and hopefully find better ones. I'll also try the Mars bar thing.

OP posts:
Likethebattle · 01/12/2019 15:13

Mars bar is the best bait. Break some off and squish until it’s really sticky and stuck well on the trap. The thing is you will be infested. Put out 4 traps you’ll catch 4 mice, put down 7 and you’ll catch 7

Bluelightdistrict · 01/12/2019 15:41

@Devereux1 Hmm

They're a pest. OP can kill it/ them all she likes. If I had mice or rats I'd be doing the same. No need to try and guilt trip OP.
She's not in the countryside.

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 01/12/2019 19:26

Bluelight - thanks. I won't be guilt tripped. I know they're vermin and I have to get rid of them.

I've realised why my first snap trap didn't work. I've now bought three more, but I've only managed to set one properly. In the other two, the bait part lies flat so won't snap. They're set exactly the same as the other one, but the one I think is done correctly has the yellow part sticking up a bit. I can't see what I'm doing wrong with that.

The first shop I went to only had bait stations so I bought that in case I couldn't find any more snap traps on a Sunday. I've put that down too.The instructions say they die quickly with it, so I'm not so worried about the pain for them, but I am worried that they will die in some corner I can't access. I can't get to under or behind the boiler, behind the washing machine, stove or fridge freezer so a dying corpse there would be a nightmare.
I've also bought one of those plugs. It makes a clicking noise and I'm not sure about it...

OP posts:
safariboot · 01/12/2019 22:25

Supposedly the poisons make the mice thirsty and they're likely to go outside to seek water, but I agree with not wanting to rely on that.

I think people will argue til the end of time whether snap traps or live catch are more humane. If you are going with snap traps in my experience these two designs work well (various companies make traps of a similar style). www.pest-stop.co.uk/products/Conventional-Traps/Sure-Set-Traps/PssPT_Sure-Set-Mouse-Trap and www.victorpest.co.uk/victor-quick-kill-mouse-trap-a .

The traditional wooden traps are effective too but they're a pain in the arse to set.

These ones I say are best avoided, they're just not powerful enough so when I used them they kept catching the mice alive but injured, not good! www.pestfix.co.uk/quick-click-mouse-trap---twin-pack.asp

Peanut butter or nutella worked well as baits.

Dead mice in a bag in the bin or buried in the garden.

LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 01/12/2019 22:43

any mice relocated to parks will die from the stress....either from the human contact or they have an internal map pertinent to their homes, they know where to find food and shelter, they have no idea about making a home or finding food in the park

just snap trap them...they are vermin, they pee everywhere to scent mark their "maps", carry and spread disease, and can cause untold damage to electrics and plumbing.

sticky bait...you want them to dabble in it to try and get it and activate the snap and set them around the edges of rooms/cupboards, near to where the electrics/water comes in or out of the house, try and fill any gaps with foil/brillo. A mouse can come through a gap that you can poke a biro in.

Inebriati · 01/12/2019 23:10

Google 'how to make a bucket trap'' and put some snap traps in it.

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 01/12/2019 23:15

I've bought five snap traps, but only been able to make one of them look like it's working and even that one hasn't worked yet. Not sure traps and I get along. I'm going to let my landlord know tomorrow anyway so maybe they'll sort something out. They're definitely upstairs as well so seems to be a whole building problem.

OP posts:
SunsetBoulevard3 · 01/12/2019 23:24

A cat doesn’t always solve the problem, unfortunately. I have a cat and she kills at least one mouse a day. She also brings them in live and dismembers them. We have had live mice running around who have escaped. We also had them coming up a hole in a pipe by the back door. The cat would sit there and wait for them to appear. I am fed up with it all. Humane traps have only worked once. I am at my wits end.

SunsetBoulevard3 · 01/12/2019 23:25

They don’t like peppermint oil apparently. You could try putting cotton balls around the house with peppermint oil on them and change them every week. This worked well for me until I forgot to do it anymore. This thread has reminded me!

Thiscoughneedstofuckoff · 01/12/2019 23:41

Ugh I know your pain OP.

I rent and have them at the moment.

My snap traps have only caught one so far and I know there must be more than one!

It’s really bumming me out especially as we have a baby and I’m pregnant Sad

I did use poison as I didn’t realise at the time that it would kill them slowly and probably painfully but I can’t hear them chewing in the cupboard now so I hope that’s worked :/

People saying “get a cat” were doing when I posted about it a while back. I imagine it is effective but not an option for most people...

Original poster
Gwenhwyfar · 02/12/2019 08:32

As well as being allergic to cats, I'm probably not allowed to have them in my rental contract. It's really not an option.

Thanks to the poster who mentioned peppermint oil. The problem is that I won't get a chance to get to the shops now for ages. Working late every evening except Thursday, when I have something at 5.30 so maybe just before that, and then dental operation on Friday. (which means the weekend cooped up with the mice).

I read it on the Internet, but was sceptical to be honest. I've plugged the repellent thing in, but even on the back of that it says it takes a while to work and is a 'complement' to traps. Not sure I believe it works.

The bait I have says it works in a day so hopefully not torture for the mice. I checked the station this morning and there seemed to be droppings on top of it, but none of the bait removed. Does this mean they just walked over it? The snaptrap is just untouched.

OP posts:
honeybeetheoneandonly · 02/12/2019 13:24

Give them a couple of days. Bait the traps and then leave them untouched. Not sure if it's your smell or their cautiousness but I found my traps had to be down and untouched for a couple of days before they caught anything. I also had one mouse that would consistently run past the traps. Also, the pre-baited traps seemed to catch more than the ones we baited with peanut butter.

PenelopeFlintstone · 02/12/2019 13:34

Test the traps with a pencil or a butter knife. Tap them and see if they go off.

PenelopeFlintstone · 02/12/2019 13:36

Also, put the traps two side by side at right angles to a wall you think they run along. The mouse in the bin bag - is the bag actually in a bin or sort of tied up next to a bin waiting to go out?

Tigger001 · 02/12/2019 14:00

My friends "mouse man" progressed to using glue boards. They are not humane but they did the job.

Basically it's a load of glue on a board, which you place in the place you think they run (against skirtboards or in her case under cooker) but once they are caught the "humane" thing is fold the board over and stamp on them.

Field mice are apparently really hard to trap as they are so small/lightweight they dont set traps off.

Tigger001 · 02/12/2019 14:04

Someone also advised her to ask a friend for used cat litter and sprinkle around areas of the house, so the smell of the cat is a deterrent.

She wasnt convinced and also thought she would sound crazy asking for it.