Help we have mice!

[weddinggong]

We live quite rurally and have found some droppings late April. Put up one of those humane traps that just catches them and caught 3-4 field mice over the course of a week. We kept the trap up over the course of the next 2 weeks and nothing else got caught. There were no more droppings or any other signs for weeks.
Fast forward to yesterday and I noticed droppings around the dogs bowl (luckily empty as we have been super vigilant to wash up and clear anything away since April).
Last night I was sat in the kitchen quite late reading and I spotted a field mouse scurrying over from behind the oven to the dogs bowl and shooting back when it noticed me.
We pulled out the oven as we suspected it as the most likely place they could be getting through as the old slate tiles behind it do not go all the way to the ground leaving an inch gap and you can get through into the walls there if you were something small like a mouse and to my horror we found an empty nest.
We removed it and cleaned up but now I know we might be facing an infestation since they clearly bred and I really need advice on what to do to get rid of them?
The humane trap clearly isn't working, I'm wary of poison as we have a dog and I don't really like the idea of it but I'll do it if needs must and take whatever precautions necessary. I can't really afford to pay for someone to come in at the moment but I can't live like this!

Can anyone advise please?

Kill the little fuckers. Snap traps are the best. You can get very sensitive ones now.

I used humane traps btw

And when the mice are gone don’t throw away the snap traps!

I know a few who have done this.

You have to seal the holes they are getting in at, and put away all food (in hard containers so they can't chew to get to it).

Killing them doesn't solve the issue; there will just be more if you don't address the root of the problem.

Then you can use humane traps to catch any remaining.

Common entry points are under cabinets, and around pipes.

100% get a cat. They are easy to look after and keep mice away. I have 5 siblings and we have had mice before and cats are always the answer. My brother had a cat and gave it to my sister and a month or so after he started getting mice. On the odd occasion they will bring a dead on to your back garden but better than having one run around house!TRUST me on this one 👍

Agree with all the snap trap comments. Definitely get peanut butter in them. V effective.

You can’t get a cat just because you have mice especially when you have a dog! The OP said she can’t afford pest control, oh yes get a cat for the next fifteen years and the associated cost instead, anyway there’s no guarantee that a cat is a mouser anyway, I’ve had a couple that would watch a mouse walk past them and not move.

I also find the get a cat advice weird. At least try snap traps before such a drastic move. I love cats and they need to be loved/wanted.

Cats are for life, not just for catching mice.

The humane trap clearly isn't working
But they were working, you caught four mice! You then took them up probably before the full group had been near them. You need to leave them down all the time. We’ve had field mice over the last few months and have successfully caught three, then there was a gap of a few weeks and then caught another four. I’ve left the traps down in case there’s any left hanging out in my understairs cupboard that just haven’t ventured out yet. We then walked about a mile or so to release them (to avoid them just coming straight back in). We also found the entrance point (under an ill fitting old wooden barn type door) and fixed it. I also made sure there was no accessible food source for them by buying lots of plastic boxes for cereals, flour and suchlike. The humane traps are now left out permanently and checked every morning jic (and the peanut butter refreshed as necessary). My experience of having cats is that they are far more likely to bring the wee things in than dispatch them. . Field mice are also adorable, though even I don’t wish to share my house with them.
Now if I could get of the rats from the outbuildings I’d be happy...........

We then walked about a mile or so to release them (to avoid them just coming straight back in).

But don’t they just become someone’s problem then?

I’ve also read that mice that are let loose die anyway in the strange environment.

Seal any food items in plastic or move to higher cupboard, dont leave dog food out, put toaster away in plastic bag, spray pepper mint oil around entrance points and skirting boards, put traps humane or other wise (no glue or poison) behind sofa, next to skirting, in cupboards ect. Push wire wool into and holes or expanding foam, make sure your cleaning and hoovering daily to get rid of any crumbs ect get some mint plants in pots and have them by front and back doors

Glue traps.......not nice, but efficient and will solve the problem (obviously along with blocking up all entry holes)

Glue traps did absolutely nothing for us. Too too cruel as well.

Traps baited with chocolate or bacon worked for us.

I got someone in to fill in every single hole in the walls, floors etc of the house. Job done.

£400 in total

Snap traps and wire wool for holes.

Err sorry wrong thread

But don’t they just become someone’s problem then?

Not where we live, no one living near where we released them and it’s the perfect area for field mice.

cant you just block up the holes. Theyre only field mice. Not even house mice. Surely part of rural living is coexisting with nature somewhat