to be worked up about mice

[scrivette]

Ahhh I discovered mouse droppings in the kitchen this morning so have asked DH to pick up some traps today.

I am freaking out slightly as I can't bear the thought of them.

AIBU to throw out all the stuff in the cupboard I can see some droppings in (plastic bags, cleaning stuff) where I suspect they may have got in or is there a better way of dealing with it?

Also prevention/removing tips would be appreciated.

Ahhhh!

They freak me out too, we had quite a few recently when our neighbours redid their garden and seemed to disturb them.

I don't know much about traps or getting rid of them because I find the most effective weapon is a cat!

Figuring out where they're getting in and blocking it off is key but difficult as they are crafty little things. How you get rid of them will depend on whether you want to take a humane route or not, lots of options either way I expect.

Yanbu to chuck away any food packets that you think have been climbed in or munched but cleaning stuff I would keep, just give it a?l a good wipe.

Don't throw out your cleaning stuff just wipe it down with antibacterial. I feel your pain, we are having an ongoing battle with mice and because of the way the houses in our street are built and the materials in the flooring (polystyrene- great nesting material!!) we have them at least twice a year.

Because of this, most foods that are in cardboard either go in top cupboards which don't have any access except the doors, or are decanted into plastic container or jars and we use a bread bin too.

The floor gets swept after every meal/snack time because the smallest crumb will be enough for them.

If you think You know where they're getting in (can be as small as the width of a pencil) then block it using wire wool or chicken wire for larger areas.

We've got them too - old house, thick stone walls, currently no cats (senior citizen hunter queen died at 19) = mice.

I'm using peppermint oil as a deterrant until new cats are installed at the end of the month. It does seem to make a bit of difference. Not a fan of traps as don't know where to put them and know I'll tread on the bloody thing myself in absent minded moment.

Moonax mice tend to run along the wall so the best places to put them are along skirting boards, behind appliances and kickboards- just in case you want to put a few down while the cats get there mousing abilities up to scratch.

Thanks wednesdaysocks - I may just do that :)

Knowing our uncanny ability to pick cats, it could take a while for impending furballs to get the idea.

"No, you frighten them away, you don't sit there and let them sniff your paws" - hunter queen's brother was daft as a brush and regarded mice as in-flight entertainment while he snoozed on the floor. Wonderful cat, but no feline instincts whatsover.

Hmmm we were considering building an extension in the future using the polystyrene blocks - perhaps I won't know!

That's when I was first alerted to the mice as I saw a polystyrene block had been shredded and then I hunted for the droppings.

I feel like my house is now unclean and germ ridden

Get a cat.

I have five. Haven't seen a mouse for years.

I have a dog, a dopey Bassett Hound, he probably shares his food with them!

When we had a cat the bugger would catch a mouse and bring it into the house to 'play' with it. Said mouse would then hide behind the fridge where the cat couldn't get it, and I had to empty the fridge and move it in order to get the mouse out of the house!
More recently we had a mouse in the loft. A couple of mouse traps (the spring ones) loaded with cheese did the job!

No one has mentioned poison. It does work. Traps too - bait them with chocolate and, as a PP has said, place them next to the skirting board. Keep traps and poison down for a while after you believe you have cleared the infestation.

Buy some builder spray foam and spray every hole you can fine in your house especially round the pipes s that come into your house .

don't throw out perfectly good non-food stuff. (any food with droppings or chewing does need to go) Clean it if needed. Put on rubber gloves, wash hands afterwards.

if you are a parent you'll have dealt with far worse.

put down traps/poison as appropriate (Caution if kids/pets). You can do it.

Chocolate or nuts work best in traps, I find. I don't like poison as although it does kill them, they die slowly, usually where you can't get to them and then they rot, filling the house with the most dreadful stench as revenge.
Mice can get through the smallest holes [size of a pencil] so check round all the places wires or pipes go through walls. Expanding foam is good as filler, but mice can chew through it voice of experience
Just be thankful it's not rats!

Scriv I feel your pain. Over the summer I jet washed our back decking. I apparently upset a mouse in the process who seemingly fled into the side porch of our house. I was horrified. The dog knew it was there, the poo told me it was there. Could I bloody catch it?

I was told on here there would be more than one so I went to JTF and bought a box of 30 traps and baited the lot. Not a sign of it. We emptied the porch, we took apart the fridge, freezer and dryer we keep in there. No sign. In the end I bought a sonic repellent, left the door open for a week and at some point he moved back out into the garden. I still keep the sonic thing on.

I was fortunate in the fact that the porch was an add on to the house and the mouse couldn't actually get anywhere into the house itself. I threw all the stuff I kept in there (blender, toaster) because the idea of mouse in toaster appalled me.
I tried everything in traps, nothing worked. I didn't want to resort to poison in case the dog found the body or any of the wildlife we have here (owls, badgers, foxes etc)

I'm ever so happy now when the dog doesn't react in there, but for the week it went on for I felt like a right manky cow. Good luck!

Some really good advice thank you - operation 'get the mouse out of the house' has begun!!

Mice in the toaster - yuk!!! Will check!

The sonic scarers are the best.
We had mice in the house a few years ago, it was traumatic indeed!

( though it has added a funny story or two to my repertoire!)