We have a mouse..... yikes

[Spaghettio]

We think we have a mouse in the area under one of the kitchen cupboards. It's the cupboard under the sink so there are holes for the pipes to go through, these are also the cupboards where we keep the food bin and the recycling bin, so probably the best place for spilt food scraps (our kids are not great at aiming the food into the bins... 🙄).

We've discovered some plastic bags that have been munched on, but no mouse droppings yet.

Can anyone recommend a humane mouse trap? I am definitely not up for poison or a trap that will injure the mouse. Thanks 🐁

Any traps need to be placed flush up against a wall as they run along walls

@Bumble84

Any traps need to be placed flush up against a wall as they run along walls

We've done that.

Glue? How does that work? What do you do one you've caught them with it- kill them with rocks?

Omg they are my biggest fear along with rats and snakes.
We had one in our kitchen. I was bringing washing to the washing machine and chucked it on the floor and the next thing I knew it ran out from under the fridge freezer and run into the air vent bit on the kick board under the oven . I sobbed like a baby and phoned my brother whilst trying to feed my 4 mo DS at the time. Pest guy came the same day and said there was evidence of it being there and the loft. He did replace the kick board and air vent for me though. 2 weeks later because he left bait down.

To add I shut the door and put a big thick blanket down on the outside. I didn't step foot in that kitchen for 2 weeks. DP brought out what I needed for me and DS each morning. Thank god for bottle warmers and flasks for formula feeding.

Apparently mice & spiders do not like peppermint oil. Put some in a spray bottle with water & spray round the holes where they are getting in, as well as putting the traps down.

Not RTFT so apologies is repeating - I rid my house of mice a couple of winters ago but use of humane traps and getting a sonic repellant. I got a pest bye one and it has worked and kept them out. They still frequent the garage (a proper one not like yours) but don't come in the house anymore. You have to take the mouse over 5 miles away to make sure it doesn't come right back again

I was told the "where you have one there will be more!" Thing too. There wasn't. There was one, single mouse who'd taken refuge in the side porch when I'd jet washed the deck and frightened him (we think).

So you might well have one mouse.

Use wire wool to fill the holes in the cupboard around the pipes and also use it to plug any gaps in walls between bricks etc. The mice can't chew through it.

I wish people would stop saying if you have one mouse you have an infestation ,because it's not always true and very much depends on where you live ,we used to live near a river and would occasionally get a mouse in the winter and it was always just one mouse never an infestation.

Yes agreed x2boys we knew it was just the one coming to terrorise us, I don’t know where in the network of flats his family and nest were but he only popped into ours to get a meal, he didn’t live there. That’s why we were more keen to stop him coming than execute him.

Are you sure it's mice? I once had a bit of a panic on finding carrier bags looking like they'd been chewed but they were actually just biodegrading.

I'm pretty sure it's a mouse as the bag had only been there a day or so, so no time to degrade.

The humane traps have arrived, so I'll be sticking them down with some peanut butter. Luckily we can stick them in the back of the cupboards and hope that does the trick.

I'll keep you updated! 🤞🏻🤞🏻 🐭

We found the humane traps worked well. They were very cute when we caught them!

One trap in each cupboard. One husband primed to take the furry critters to the woods down the road when we catch them.

I'm feeling confident!

How far away are the woods? Mice will travel at least a mile to get home.

@spiderlight oh bugger really? They're less than a mile away. I'm not sure I can convince my husband to drive any further....! 😩 if he comes back (the mouse not DH) will he fall for the trap a second time? 😆

Humane traps really only work to make humans feel better. You have to release it so far away (to ensure it doesn’t come back) that you are releasing them to their death anyway, as a pp said. The most “humane” way is a snap trap because it’s quick. I tried everything to get rid of them, but they kept coming back (live in a terrace) so I got 2 cats in the end. That sorted it out!

Good luck OP, have you managed to block off the holes? As a PP said wire wool is your best bet.

@JimmyTheBrave I don't know where the hole is that has given it access inside - I've searched the areas it could be but can't see anything anywhere.

I figured once we catch it we can have a proper hunt, but I'm not happy taking the kick boards off the kitchen units until I know a little furry thing won't jump out at me! 😂

If you are not worried by getting a cat in to catch and eat your mouse, then you shouldn't worry about getting a snap trap. Like pp's, the humane ones aren't great. You need a robust snap trap, baited with Nutella, and they work quickly and painlessly, actually less horrible than being chased, munched and killed by a cat. We need them because bastard cat brings in mice to play with, and then loses them.

Mine got so brazen he'd wander into the middle of the living room while I was sitting on the sofa.

I only got rid of him when he climbed the curtain and fell into a waste paper bin and couldn't get out.I then got plug in things that are supposed to deter them, after 2 years I'm still mice free hopefully.

Ah ok, yes it can be tricky to find since they can squeeze through such tiny holes. If you have an old house (like ours) then frankly we'd never block every nook and cranny. Luckily (or unluckily) DH caught one of our rats darting to the exact spot where the pipe hole was so we knew to target that.

The traps have been out for over a week now.... and nothing. We can't even hear them any more. Any chance they've decided to bugger off elsewhere?

We used humane traps for a while. They were successful about 40% if the time. Cats were a better solution, although they have brought quite a few in themselves. We now no longer have any in the cupboards, and we have adorable cats, so I think we're definitely winning.