to be disgusted at the mouse droppings in my 22 mo's little room

[TaytoCrisp]

I have just found several mouse droppings (about 12) in my little girls bedroom. Im disgusted by this; and hate the thought that they might be creeping around her room at night, and even getting into her cot . My dh thinks im overreacting and that they are harmless, which also annoys me. I want to get rid of them (the mice; not just the droppings which i've just hovered up). Dh will only allow the humane mouse traps in the flat - we've used these before to no avail, but the creatures haven't been around much for the last few months until today. Not sure what causes them to come and go. Anyway, any suggestions on how to get rid of them using non-fatal means appreciated. Many thanks.

Someone at work mentioned the other day that they have something in their flat that gives off a high pitched noise( not audible to humans) that keeps rodents away, can't remember what it is called. Sorry. Maybe investigate in that direction.

I'll send you my cat for a couple of days and she will get rid of them in no time (not exactly non-fatal though!).

www.pestcontrolshop.co.uk/acatalog/mice.html Other shops are available.

Well I could offer you the use of my cat

I only had her for about 2 weeks when my DS woke me up one morning at 5am to tell me that she had caught a mouse (apparently it was swiped from under the cupboard door).

There she was sitting in in the sitting room with the mouse in her mouth and I swear she was smiling

She then spent the next few weeks lying in front of the cupboard door and every so often her paw would go under in the hope that she would get another one, she didn't, thankfully!

Min you I suppose the cat method isn't non-fatal!

Yanbu. Mouse urine i believe is the same as rats - disease carrying. They are also incontinent... So you are quite right to feel yuck about it! Tbh sod non fatal you just need rid as its dangerous for your daughter. Ring your council they should be able to send exterminators

Don't be ashamed. Rodents can invade even the most respectable and cleanest of houses. I had a rat move in with me once, that was quite a shock.

Tell your dh that humane traps are daft and he should get some snap ones. I used to faff around with humane traps, but they often don't work and the mouse finds its way back into the house anyway. Unless you take it down the motorway that is.

Mice can spread disease, cause a nuisance and a smell and chew through wires which may be a fire hazard. You really need to kill the little buggers. I'm say that as an animal lover, but safety comes first imo.

Inspect all your walls outside to try and see how they're getting in. Stuff any small holes with wire wool and repair any drains or larger holes.

Get some snap traps, bait them with peanut butter and hide them away from dh and your dd. Inspect every morning and dispose of the whole trap if you can't face undoing it to release the body. They're very cheap, so you can just chuck away.

Perhaps consider getting a pussy cat

My cat runs away from mice she doesn't quite get it!!

My youngest cat is a born killer, but kitty 1 has never caught a mouse in her life and I initially bought her because I had a mouse problem. Get a male if you want a pest exterminator

YANBU Mice are really not harmless at all. I had pet mice as a child, and I do love them. I'm not scared of them and won't go shrieking if I saw one. But if they were in my house I'd get rid of them, and wouldn't worry about a humane trap.

They urinate constantly, and poop, and carry all sorts of germs around. And they will run across your baby when your baby is asleep. Pooping and weeing. They will be in your food cupboards, even if you haven't realised yet. They are not hygenic, they do carry disease, and you do not want wild mice running around (pet mice are a different thing).

I shoed one out of my mums frontroom window once with a peice of paper then a cat appeared and chased it.He was on top of curtain pole then it had climbed down the cutain and then up on phone line to window sil.They are fast little buggers.My mum had tried to get rid of them for ages with poison.Luckly she's not had problems since so think it was only that one.

I've had mice a few times, in flats (ground floor and above) and in a shared house. Humane traps never caught them (tried cheese and chocolate). A bit of rodent poison, scattered under the floorboards, and they were not a problem again. I used it reluctantly but could not live with the scritchy-scratching noise more than the poop. And I have always nagged everyone about not eating in bedrooms, clearing up crumbs etc. But they can survive on very little.

And I have returned from a few nights away (as a child) to find mouse droppings and some food stashed on my pillow. Later found a little nest in a drawer of papers in my room. We'd probably been cohabiting for some time. I wouldn't scream if I came face to face with the mice (and hold up my petticoats, Tom & Jerry style) but that's too much sharing.

As others have said mice spread disease and wee everywhere.

I used the high pitch noise maker thing - it worked really well at first. Then either the mice got used to it or it stopped working (no way of telling which as I couldn't hear it.)

YY to baiting traps with peanut butter. (You could also consider getting a pet rat. Apparently they release pheromones that intimidate the mice.)