My cat just caught a mouse

[Lavender14]

I am at my wits end.

We've been having issues with mice in our house for a number of years now. Initially our cat caught one about 4 years ago and dh removed it and didn't tell me but since then we've heard them in where the pipes are in our walls and ceilings. (We've no attic). We've had people out, we've laid traps throughout the house and garden, we've been diligent with food etc being left out, we've got the plug in noise deterrents and so far nothing has worked, we've not caught a mouse in any of the types of traps we've laid or paid people to lay and dh has spent days trying to block up any and all access points, even the people who came out couldn't find any points of entry. And then tonight my cat has caught another one.

I'm not scared of them but I hate that they're so unsanitary when we have a small toddler in the house and i worry about damage they could be doing to wiring and god knows what.

What else can I do? Moving just isn't an option for us right now due to childcare costs but it's making me hate my home 🙈

Put Nutella in the traps. They love it.

You need to find a persistent pest specialist and find out where they are first. Then it will take a long time.

I'd get cameras so I could see how many appear when rooms are quiet.

Get more cats?

Or more seriously sticky chocolate like Cadbury fudge or chocolate spread on the traps so it takes they have to stand on the trap to eat it not just grab and run.

Also there will always be an access point, mice can get through almost non-existent gaps.

Is your cat an outdoor cat? He could be bringing them in and letting them go.

At night, shut the cat where you think it found the mouse. As long as the cat won’t eat it, leave food out there to attract the mouse. Peanut butter works well. Snap traps with peanut butter where the cat cannot access them, eg inside cupboards along the back, are a good back up. The cat catching it is probably the best thing, if it’s caught one it can catch more and this is often the cue the mice need to go elsewhere. We got rid of a mouse infestation by this method alone - though the half eaten mice in the morning mean you’ll want to disinfect everything, but I’d suggest that anyway.

Is it an outdoor or indoor cat? Could have very easily caught it somewhere else and brought it back rather than from inside the house if had a cat flap.

He's an indoor cat so no chance that he's brought it in from outside unfortunately. We've found some bags of food in cupboards that have been nibbled and laid snap traps with peanut butter in them and still didn't catch anything, just sealed up the cupboards. I know they're traveling around via the gaps around our pipes and I've heard them throughout the walls especially in bad weather but it was really nice yesterday here so obviously they're here all the time.

My concern is just how expensive pest control are since you have to pay for every call out. We're already paying a fortune for childcare so I'm struggling to justify another £250 for a call out that once again might not do anything.