To call in pest control for one mouse?

[Picturesofowls]

Hi,

We have a stubborn mouse. It got in through a hole now sealed. It won't fall for traps and it hides most of the time.

My cat hasn't caught it. We've closed it in the kitchen so we know where it is. It's got a hiding place behind the sink.

I'm worried with kids around. Should I just call in pest control or any tips to coax it out into the traps?

Peanut butter or nutella in the trap!

Weird question, are you sure it's a mouse? If so what are you putting in the traps? Mine seem best pleased with cat food 😬 but we struggled with a couple of stubborn mice who turned out to be rats...so

Fill a bowl with a tiny bit of oil, emphasis on the tiny bit, just enough to coat the bottom of the bowl and make sure the sides are coated, place a bit of food in the middle, unsurprisingly cheese works well and leave it on the kitchen floor overnight. Mouse should climb in for the food but unable to get out again due to the oil. You need to gently wash the mouse after with warm water and a drop of soap and keep it warm until fully dry then release back outside

It's the tiniest thing so definitely not a rat. Little humane traps to put it out. Why wouldn't I put out traps?

How so I keep a mouse warm?

Unfortunately if it fell in a bowl no lid, even my cat with the hunting instincts of a dodo could catch it.

Fill a hot water bottle, wrap mouse in a towel and put on top, ensure 2/3 layers of towel between the hot water bottle and mouse so they don't get too hot. Are you able to shut doors to keep the cat out of the kitchen? Although I honestly think a cat would probably not be interested in a mouse covered in oil but I may be wrong there, you could put the bowl in a cupboard or drawer that has an open back or space underneath for the mouse to get to it

@800gsuperseed
Are you joking? I think I'm quite naive so probably wouldnt notice if you were. How would the mouse not run out of the towel?

I think most wild mice would die off of a heart attack or bite you out during a wash and blow dry even with a mini day spa wrapped in warm towels afterwards.

Try different traps, remove the kick board, put the traps underneath and replace the kick board, the kids won't be able to get to the traps. If it's shut under there with no access to food it will go for it sooner or later.

Not joking at all. You either hold it for however long it takes until dry or put it in a secure but breathable container, if you have a cat carrier with a mesh front rather than bars that would work perfectly. A lot of the time they actually stay still, they're warm and safe so have no reason to run and are often tired from trying to get out of the bowl. Obviously if the mouse only gets oil on its paws the cleaning isn't necessary at all and you can release it straight away but they usually end up getting it on their fur in their effort to escape

Blow drying a mouse!!! 😂

Call pest control.

its never one mouse. You think it’s one mouse and you will probably even eventually catch it. Eventually there will be another single mouse. You will think again that it is just a random single mouse that wandered in somehow. Or you might think you have a defective cat bringing playmates to your bedroom. You will marvel at your ingenuity of using peanut butter and that newfangled trap that doesn’t hurt the mouse. Meanwhile the longer you wait, the more time you are giving them to breed.

the beauty of pest control was they found cracks and holes that we never even imagined could be letting in mice. They also found the main hiding space that we had missed despite looking repeatedly because they knew what to look for.

Call them because it isn't just one mouse,it never is.

Seriously? I’m all for being humane - but this is a bit much.

loool

Humane traps work well for me. If the traps aren't working then I assume it's got a food source elsewhere? What are you putting in the traps?

Forget the humane traps and putting it outside it will come back. Mouse trap with some peanut butter. Deceased mouse. Sorted.

This is the most adorable way I've heard of trapping a mouse, however fraught with problems! Washing a mouse with soapy water?? You'll either get bitten, or if you hold it by the tail it will likely shed the skin in panic (gruesome for you and not a great outcome for the poor mouse either).

Humane traps are cheap and effective. Just use one of those.

@800gsuperseed your humour is passing me by a bit but full marks for creativity.

OP run traps along the walls, or ideally remove kickboards and put it as far under the units as you can reach, again along a wall. If that doesn't work I think you've done best endeavours on the humane traps and it's time to move onto a good quality snaptrap baited with peanut butter. Or at least try a different style of capture trap.

Also set the trap for a couple more nights afterwards just in case there was more than one.

Yeah, the first pest controller we had told us it was just one mouse. A few months later, with time to breed, and some more mice turned up. They won't be trapped in your kitchen either, as they can go under the floors and into the walls. Pest controller #2 also advised us not to fill the holes until he had got rid of all the mice, as they would make new ones to get back in.

As PP said, when you see 1 mouse. You have mice

Sorry

Oh, and @Picturesofowls was the hole you filled behind the sink? Because if not there's probably also a hole behind the sink.

A bit of a Milky Way bar in the trap they can't resist it, worked every time!

There is no such thing as “just one mouse”… There will be more.

If you are going to release the mouse after trapping it, be aware that they can follow their own pee trail back. You need to be 100% sure that you have blocked every possible way back in. They can squeeze through the tiniest hole. I have had them jump in through the window right next to me! On the 4th floor of a townhouse!