Mice - how to move them on or 'get rid' of them

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

Hi, We've seen mice the last two nights on our back porch. How do I move them along? We need to be able to keep our doors open as we have glass all across the back and it gets really warm. I don't want them getting into the kitchen...

Help!

There are always going to be mice (and rats) outside, that’s where they belong! Make sure you don’t leave any food out (including crumbs on the floor etc) and they shouldn’t be too tempted in the warm weather.

We've never had them on the porch in daylight before........ surely there is a way to move them along?

A stern talking to??

Proper metal traps, identify and move the food source, block up gaps in air bricks with metal wool, grow mint in pots and put them everywhere.

You cannot move them along, you wont know where the next ix or how many there are.. you either live with them or trap them yourself with humane traps or you call in a professional. Can you get a cat.

you can get little humane box traps on amazon its very easy you just set them up and in the morning take the caught mouse very far away (over 2 miles away) . And keep area super clean so no reason for them to come in.

Human traps are not humane, those who are released back into the wilderness have a very low chance of survival as they are likely to starve, become dehydrated or be eaten by predators due to the unfamiliarity.

Rather a quick death with a snap trap than a long one. @scully29

Well lets agree to disagree on that!

They hate the smell of mint so maybe sprinkle some peppermint oil around?

We had one in our house... One Xmas we all lay on teen ds's bed watching it try and drag a Twix bar into the skirting board!!
Prob same one sat watching TV with older ds one night late on!! Bought a humane trap, laced it with Nutella and never saw it again. Trap went in the bin never used!!

Dribble peppermint oil at entrances to home and anywhere else you don't want them.

You can buy deterrent sprays. We bought one on Amazon. They don't like the smell of these sprays as it has different essential oils in them.

Most important thing is to remove any potential food sources.

We recently had rats so a bit different. We removed the bird feeder and they disappeared a few days after, never to be seen again

@scully29

you can get little humane box traps on amazon its very easy you just set them up and in the morning take the caught mouse very far away (over 2 miles away) . And keep area super clean so no reason for them to come in.

These are worse than the traps the kill the mice. The mice are terrified when they are trapped, they can suffer heart attacks etc and removing them from the place they have made a home is cruel and gives them little chance of survival.

@Aprilwasverywet omg that Twix episode would have been equally scary and so interesting to watch!

I like the idea of the humane traps and the sprays too @Orangesand I'm going online to get some sprays now!

Just be careful with the humane traps (this is just me being a total softie and I won't be offended if anyone disagrees) but if mum mouse has recently had babies and you trap and relocate her, it could mean babies are left alone.

Also I disagree with those saying you can't move them along. Take away what is keeping them there and they have no reason to stay. As I said my situation was a bit different as ours were rats, but as soon as we took away the food source and changed up the garden (apparently change can spook them so I put some wind chimes there and mixed up the garden furniture) plus with the deterrent spray, they left within a few days.

Also could consider access holes and blocking these off (depending on your situation).

You need to remove to reason for them being there,
food - place in sealed containers, make sure food waste is correctly dealt with,bird feeders are a great source food.
water - remove easily accesed drinking water, pet bowls etc.
Shelter - cosy corners with soft furnishings, holes in skirting and floor boards.

Next you need to trap them and discourage them from being in your porch. You can block the hole and run areas and put down deterrants like the previously mentioned pepermint oil.
The best thing though is a good mouser cat. We live rurally and have not seen one in the house since acquiring two cats.

I love our cats but they bring in way more (live) mice than they scare away! If you really have a horror of mice in the house I wouldn’t recommend it to be honest - maybe an indoor cat or a Jack Russell?

Is the back porch decking?

Rats & mice love a bit of decking. Sheltered, relatively quiet and burrows remain undisturbed.

@GroggyLegs yes it's decking, but I had it filled underneath with rocks for that very reason so they had nowhere to live..... Maybe they have made a tiny nest? It'd have to be so small though as there really is no room.

@SoTiredNeedHoliday
If you can push a biro into the gap, a mouse can get in, they have extremely flexible spines & can flatten right out.
They will also chew through anything - I have seen them chew through a concrete floor to get access to stock via the expansion gap.
They're amazing creatures, but not ones you want in your home!

As they're outside, it makes the task really hard but make sure there's no ready water supply (old garden pots/toys/plastic sacks that will collect water) no obvious food source and you could try a grain bait under the decking, although I've no idea if the off the shelf ones work and it's not advisable if you have your own pets or young children.

I'd also take the opportunity to check your proofing around your home - no open weep holes in bricks, any vents in good condition and no gaps around doors or drainage pipes...just in case.

Snap traps.

@Orangesand

Just be careful with the humane traps (this is just me being a total softie and I won't be offended if anyone disagrees) but if mum mouse has recently had babies and you trap and relocate her, it could mean babies are left alone.

I couldn't agree more. There is nothing humane about trapping a living creature in a small box for hours without access to water and then releasing it miles from its family.

Sadly for me the alternative to humane traps is snap traps. It's a very quick, painless way to kill the mice but might still leave a nest of dependents unattended.

Keep floors clean. Mice will leave urine trails which other mice will then follow to find food.

Place snap traps alongside the wall or skirting board. Mice tend to run along the edge of things. Obviously, make sure children and pets can't get to them.

Act swiftly. Mice can reproduce once they're 4-7 weeks old, and may have 5-10 litters a year, of 4-12 pups each time.

When I had mice, not one of the ones I trapped went into the trap when I was at home. That means that humane traps wouldn't have worked either as you have to be home when they're used. On top of the fact that there was no way I was going miles on the bus to some countryside with a live mice in a trap on my lap.