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Original poster

To be scared of these unwanted visitors and how to get rid of them?

99 replies

Cellardoor23 · 25/01/2018 01:11

Long story short, my flat has been taken over by mice in the past week. I live in a top flat of a 3 story building. It hasn't been an uncommon occurance at this time of year (over the past few years)

However, this year seems to be particularly bad. I've tried to cover up as many gaps as possible and put traps down, but over the past week there hasn't been one night where I haven't seen one. At one point they were running over my sofa.

I've never been scared of them, but since last week my anxiety has been through the roof. I can't relax in my own home Sad

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? Or how to get rid of them?

OP posts:
Original poster
Cellardoor23 · 26/01/2018 00:37

GreenTulips We did across road just over two years ago and I didn't see any mice at the the time. But the building is fully constructed now with residents living in it in the past 6 months.

OP posts:
Original poster
Cellardoor23 · 26/01/2018 00:42

I did have the plug in thing which I had in the wall near the kitchen, where the mice where coming from. Still got them from time to time over the years. But because I have a young DC, he's prone to grabbing stuff within his eyeline. As most toddlers I suppose!

OP posts:
gateto · 26/01/2018 00:55

Humane traps are good but when you release them you need to be sure to go more than three miles from home as they can still find their way back if less than that!

And putting them in water like a river etc isn't a good idea either as they can tread water for a long long time, and usually get out and find their way back - same with flushing them down the toilet.

Ariela · 26/01/2018 01:39

Mice don't like Eucalyptus Oil so you could sprinkle a few drops around the routes they take from the holes (along the edges/walls) in the hope it puts them off venturing further into your flat

ugghhreally · 26/01/2018 02:08

They dislike Peppermint apparently. Maybe try a steamer with peppermint oil?

SeaToSki · 26/01/2018 02:14

I have had a lot of sucess with sticky pad traps, put them along the skirting boards as the mice run along the edges of things. If you put them down at night after your dc are in bed and pick them up in the morning before dc get up, they are quite safe. You dont even need to bait them, if you dont want. I have caught 2 or 3 on a single pad.

PenelopeFlintstone · 26/01/2018 04:19

with snap traps I've sometimes found a chewed off leg or tail left in the trap
I live in a wheat belt prone to mouse plagues. I have caught hundreds of mice and have never, ever, ever seen this, despite having many mice caught by a leg or a tail. I'm not saying the poster is lying, not at all, but it's definitely not my experience.

PenelopeFlintstone · 26/01/2018 04:27

And I've seen mice sitting on those electronic plug-ins.
Place your traps perpendicular and butted to the wall where you think they get in. Put two next to each other, as they can jump over one but not two. Use peanut butter or nutella.
You will catch them.

PenelopeFlintstone · 26/01/2018 04:30

You need these traps. Mice escape from the grey plastic traps. These seem to not lose their spring. They're excellent. We have them at home and at work. The brand is 'Big Cheese'. Trust me on this - I have a LOT of experience, unfortunately Sad

To be scared of these unwanted visitors and how to get rid of them?
PenelopeFlintstone · 26/01/2018 04:32

And they have them on Amazon, if that's helpful.
Message me, if you need to. I've never made that offer before, but I feel your pain and up on the sofa is beyond acceptable!!

BhajiAllTheWay · 26/01/2018 06:24

Don't rely on a cat as some PP have recommended. Our cats will simply watch a mouse with mild bemused interest and not help your cause at all!

ASqueakingInTheShrubbery · 26/01/2018 06:30

I'm pretty sure our cat brings the mice in. We use the Big Cheese humane traps with cat biscuits; had more success with that than chresearch, chocolate, peanut butter or raisins. They are terrified when caught and don't want to come out of the trap, so I'm not sure how humane they really are, but I still feel uneasy about killing them if there's an alternate.

BalloonSlayer · 26/01/2018 06:53

Another vote for the council.

We had a rats' nest in the garden with young DCs and I called and they sent round a pest extermination guy. It didn't cost a lot.

He was pretty charmless but even so he explained what he was doing, how the poison wouldn't harm the kids etc etc and it put my mind at rest that it would work and DC would still be safe.

bimbobaggins · 26/01/2018 07:03

If the mice are regularly taking the bait but not being cautious then you need better traps.
I’m having this problem too at the moment. Was on holiday for 3 weeks and they’d moved in when I was away. Caught 3 within 4 days. Nothing now for 5 days.
I googled industrial strength mousetraps on Amazon and the top probably came up. Very effective.
To those with experience is it likely I’ve just had three or are they just avoiding the traps now?

PenelopeFlintstone · 26/01/2018 10:07

To those with experience is it likely I’ve just had three or are they just avoiding the traps now?
They don't learn from seeing other mice caught. You'll keep catching them. I have traps set all year round, even though the bait sort of dries up. I caught 18 in a night one, even though I only ever saw one at a time Envy

Hanuman · 26/01/2018 10:48

I have tried everything and then only thing that worked was getting the professionals out. If you're in London, would highly recommend HLA last control who specialise in blocking everything up so you don't get them again

CreativeMumma · 26/01/2018 11:08

we had mice last year and it felt like i tried every trap in the world. in the end i got the poison pellets and mixed it with peanut butter and left it on old yogurt lids where i"d seen them. it worked a treat.

i also read any traps should be handle with plastic gloves as human scent alters the mice to the trap.

i made sure all food was in containers and wiped surfaces down so no crumbs where about.

when blocking any holes i used a combination of wire wool and expanding form.

Good luck!

PenelopeFlintstone · 27/01/2018 01:44

I should've said that we poison too. We're in a house with a big shed. We put poison in the shed and under the house. This is because although it kills with one feed, it takes up to five days for them to die and I don't want them coming back to the food poison source where I can see them such as in my kitchen . When we catch one inside in our permanently-set traps, we know it's probably time to refill the poison.

bimbobaggins · 27/01/2018 07:01

Oh my goodness penelope 18 in one night. I think I would need hospitalised after that.
I will definitely keep the traps out a whole longer now.
A good few years ago we had nice before and put poison down and didn’t check it until the house was overrun with bluebottles. That turns my stomach thinking back to it

MCNamechanger · 27/01/2018 07:19

We had them in our old house, they used to pop in steal food at night and go again.
Like fat food stealing fairies —I used to give them names—
Humane traps worked for me, I bought the big metal ones put water and food in, I’d take them quite a way away and release.

They can squeeze through the tiniest gap so you won’t manage to block up holes.
They will eat through plastic tubs, but they only need such a small calorie allowance that even a few missed crumbs will sustain them. Tins are better.
Cats only work one by one when a cat can be arsed so that’s not efficient either.
Couple of nights with a big trap worked for me as I would catch 3/4 at a time. So hit them in a short time.

reallynearlythere · 27/01/2018 07:36

I had a problem, but didn't want to kill the mice. I looked online and found that if you put peppermint oil drops in access points it will help. Also, leave tumble dry scented sheets, like Bounce around. Seems to have done the trick for me. I make sure I wipe skirting boards with a drop of peppermint oil every couple of weeks.

CycleHire · 27/01/2018 08:04

Oh dear. Sounds horrible. A company I used to work for was based in a small office at the top of an old building. We had mice and when we contacted Rentokil they said they were endemic in the area and while we could ‘fight the battle we would never win the war’. So unfortunately you may find you can’t get rid of them completely and may need ongoing measures to keep them out of your flat.

CycleHire · 27/01/2018 08:06

We used traditional snap traps - I wouldn’t like the idea of poison being around or dead mice rotting under the floorboards. Also seems to me that a quick death is kinder than poison.

CycleHire · 27/01/2018 08:07

Oh and make sure you wash all crockery, glassware and cutlery before use as mice are incontinent. Sorry.