Persistent mice problem despite pest control and repairs affecting my mental health

[Gingerbreadcookiesandcream]

I didn't know where to post this but over the last 12 months or so I've had a nightmare with mice in my home. I've spent over £1000 on 3 different pest control companies coming at different points, several filling in holes etc, the third one was more thorough and took out the white goods to check behind them for holes. 3 months later, heavy rain comes and they are back so I paid my builder to fill every single gap in our home, sealants on the skirting boards etc and checked for every entry point, re-plastered under the cupboard under the stairs as we've had droppings there before. The mice had even chewed through the dishwasher stand and part of a door. Low and behold, today, I've found a dropping which 100% wasn't there earlier and we've just had the builders check everything. 😭

I've tried humane traps, traditional, pest control have tried different strategies but they keep coming back and we've also never caught a mouse- just on the Ring camera. This is affecting my mental health as I suffer from OCD. I've had droppings in the sofa before, under my kids bed. I empty the bins regularly, I have no food lying around, I clean daily.

I am allergic to some cats so I don't think that's an option. I have a dog and sometimes she has alerted us and sniffed them out. Has anyone ever been in this situation and got over it?

Are you sure they’re mice? That dropping is pretty big. Could it be rats coming through the drains?

Fairly sure they are based on the videos and what pest control have told me.

I agree, this dropping is particularly big though. I just don't understand how it could get in.

Im allergic to cats but I still own two cats as I love them. When I first got my cat I was sneezing, itchy eyes. I took anti histamines for a while. I don’t need to take them now and have no symptoms. I think your immune system can adjust and learn to tolerate. There are also some breeds which are worse than others for setting off allergies. You can’t beat a cat for rodent control.

Are they in the furniture? Behind the fridge/under the sofas etc.? We had a terrible mouse problem in our previous home - the cats kept bringing them in alive and setting them loose - soon they were everywhere.

My other question is whether your house is detached? Or could they be coming in through a neighbour’s roof?

We are end of terrace. Our neighbour's garden is quite overgrown, I'd say that. There are some hedges growing over our side that I am going to trim as they are crawling plants. The last time the dog sniffed them out, she found the mouse under the sofa. Is it possible for a mouse to live in a sofa? 🤢

Oh yes - they can make a nest out of the stuffing quite happily. They love living behind the fridge too. I’d guess they are coming from your neighbour’s roof. Have you got traps laid all around the house? I’d recommend a traditional trap with a bit of peanut butter and then a peanut on top as bait

Gosh, on reading about nesting in sofas, you are right. When my husband is back from his work travels I will ask him to help me lift the sofa up so we can inspect it.

Thanks everyone for the tips. Really useful.