Disgusting mice!

[AlrightOkNow]

Posting for traffic really, so I apologise.

About 4 months ago we caught 2 mice in traps in our bedroom (ground floor) in the space of a week and a half and another dead one under the fridge so called out pest control. They put down fast action 12 hour poison and said they'd be back in a couple of weeks. Due to issues with getting time off of work that turned into 6 weeks but they returned to find the poison at not been taken anywhere around the home and resolved we probably had two in our bedroom that were "just passing by" and the other one under the fridge may not have been at the same time because we had bait boxes down due to our location. This is the second time I've been told this by a second company, we've been told due to location it'll always happen.

Yesterday I saw a small brown blur and got a feeling of dread, I heard a bit of scratching but no droppings in any visible places (although wardrobes are too heavy to move out). However, there are tiny bits of ripped toilet paper on the floor and I can't figure out where it's from (I'm assuming a nest but can't find one). 3 weeks ago my gym leggings in my bottom drawer of my wardrobe had one leg shredded half way (as if I'd been ship wrecked in my gym gear at some point!) but it's been moth season locally and due to the weather and I'd put it down to that. Anyway, this morning I can hear the bugger knawing at something, not sure what as I can't hear it but perhaps trying to get into the wardrobe via the back and then when DH came in to lay more traps (out of DC's reach) the noise seemed to move under DC's bed. We don't eat in the bedroom at all so there's no food. At worst DC may have had a bottle in there at naptime.

I've now got 5 well hidden traps flush against skirting boards (2 x 2 together which I'm told is more effective and one on its own) but nothing is catching this particular fecker. The last ones were field mice which are different in colour.

Anyone have any experience of mice and can point me in the right direction of where I'm going wrong and where I can find a potential nest? I have a divan bed and I'm concerned about nesting in there or underneath my DD's quite low toddler bed. We've steered away from keeping bait down recently as DC is very active blue and picks things up and eats them still, I'd hate for a poison dropping to be eaten.

Have you tried humane traps with peanut butter in them? Always done the job for me. Drove the caught mice a few miles away and released in the woods.

Get a cat?

(Sorry can't help more than that)

I've got young children too so have never used sprung traps or poison in my home.

Personally, I’d move absolutely EVERYTHING and have a good look about. Get rid of any hiding spaces, lift everything off the floor/bottom shelves and block any entry points. Judging by your comments, they are likely under the floor and somehow entering via your wardrobe. I’ve had mice. I really couldn’t sleep/cope if I hadn’t checked everything over and knew where they were coming from.

I have always used bits of frankfurters in my traps, we had quite a few mice a few years ago, rural area, but none for over a year.

I do occasionally load a trap and leave it for a few days, just in case........

Peanut butter works for us.

We live next to a field and a stables and we do get them intermittently without having an infestation. Luckily they are messy/noisy fuckers so we can act quickly.

Sorry humane traps just didn't work for us. We had to go for the full snap trap with chocolate and peanut butter. It has to be something they need to take a bit of time over and not just snatch away.

We didn't do poison because we had a toddler. But eventually the traps stopped filling up. We also went the preventative route and searched the outside of the house for access points. Mice can get in cracks the width of a pencil so fill anything you see with wire wool.

I don't want to freak you out but have you considered it could be another rodent? We've had voles, my friend had rats. Rats love knawing on clothes and wood. If you have a loft check up there - rats can climb up walls and get through cracked slates. Basically just fill all gaps.

Any dried food or cereal or birdseed keep in air tight containers whilst your having problems. It was a bag of bloody birdseed that attracted our infestation in the first place.

I did start of feeling sorry for the wee beasties but after watching a house from hell type programme where the expert was saying that a huge amount of House fires are caused by rodents chewing on wires I changed my mind. My kids safety comes first. Good luck.

hopefully they’re not nesting in your flat but underneath. Check all your radiator pipes and kitchen for gaps and holes they could get in from and block them using wire wool.

There is no way DH or I will drive a live mouse out to release it again, not because we're cruel but we're both scared of them. We were using peanut butter on traps but it wasn't touched so I doubt we had anything for months but it's got colder again. This time we've used the preloaded stuff.

We're in an old converted Victorian terrace and I strongly suspect all the floorboards run along beyond just within the original house. We wanted to over board the entire floor on the ground floor but it was just too expensive.

@Toodeloo This is exactly what I want to do but I'm at home due to a health condition so can't do it and DH sleep deprived, I just know he'll refuse when he gets in.

Another vote for using peanut butter in traps, has always worked for us

@RolyWatts That's exactly what I'm scared of and it would explain absence of droppings.

Realistically I want the mice/mouse to go in the traps so I'm not sure whether to leave it a day or two before disrupting everything. I just don't want them near us, both me and DC have been sneezing in the bedroom and this is likely why.

Piece of bread worked amazingly here. You need to find their entrance. We found ours, closed it off and caught the ones who were in the house. All in a span of 2 days.
If they went into your drawer, maybe empty half and put a trap in as well.

These are not very nice but 100% guaranteed they will get rid of your mouse/mice overnight.
www.pestcontrolsupermarket.com/pest-expert-mouse-glue-boards--glue-trap-sticky-mouse-traps-24-pack-92-p.asp

Glue traps are nasty - very inhumane. If you must kill use the fast snap ones. Try different food - you will catch them eventually. I have a mouse in my kitchen - I have one of the no kill traps. Have caught one with peanut butter. Hoping to get the next one soon and let him go. Sorry you are so scared of them.

We've mice in the building and they've never shown interest in chewing clothes ...or anything really. But we had a nest once and two babies came in for a couple of days and you could hear them chewing the skirting board ect...so if its mice, its probably a nest.

Set snap traps at doors. So open the bedroom door a couple of inches and put the trap right there. Always works.

Humane traps and noise buzzy things just don't work unfortunately.

Glue traps should be illegal😮

They'll likely be under the floor boards. The tissue will be them. Chocolate sometimes works. The driving a few miles is because they will find their way back a vet told me his friend put a dot of paint on one and let it go just over a mile away. It came back!

We leave a little poison down in behind wardrobes etc. Haven't had any for a while but winter is coming. We stopped feeding the birds near the back door. Moving the feeder seems to have made a bit of a difference.We had a new kitchen in last year and we did wonder if they were getting in behind the old one. Old stone cottage in the country.
Good luck I can't stand them being in the house either. We have Dormice down the bottom of the garden I rather like those running along the wall gathering bits of fruit.

I agree the glue traps are horrible and really upsetting when you have to kill the caught mouse, but they get the mouse straight away every time .

So if the OP wants to get rid of the mice they are the best bet, if you can stomach it. If not then snap traps with peanut butter placed at 1 meter intervals along the edges of the room and in the locations where mice have been seen.

It is almost impossible to stop mice coming in, especially in an old house in a town, but you can keep the problem under control by blocking up any obvious entry points with wire wool and expanding foam and catching any little hairy friends that do get in as quickly as possible.

Glue traps are vile and torturously cruel, anyone selling them or using them is a sadistic cunt.

Firstly you need to take steps to stop them getting in, or you’re fighting a losing battle. Which means hauling everything out and sealing any gaps, even the tiniest. Then you can tackle the problem properly.

Animals trapped in glue traps will often chew their own limbs off trying to escape. So yes, they do catch the animal but leave them suffering terribly. Not just rodents either - I have seen wild birds caught. The humane traps do work - otherwise I wouldn't have caught one! Agree the noise things are not much good. Got one of these to deter rats in the garden and the little buggers just amble past them with not a care.

Ignoring Trainspotting's charming post!

Millie I totally agree they should never be used outside. Interesting about the humane traps, never even thought of those! Have heard different views on their success rates and return visits of hairy friends!

Glue traps should be banned. @TrainspottingWelsh is quite correct

Maybe they will be, but then surely the poison is equally as bad and should also be banned? Poison causes a long and painful death.

@millimurphy humane traps don’t work because even if you catch them you need to release them ages away from home- mice don’t know where to get food and starve or get eaten by a predator. They’re anything but humane. Use snap traps with peanut butter/chocolate and definitely don’t use glue traps ffs @yomommasmomma once you’ve caught a mouse you’re actually breaking the law by prolonging a death - the animal welfare act 2006

I agree totally, the mouse should be quickly killed as soon as possible after being caught. Glue traps should be checked every couple of hours.