Mice - help!

[PoppyField]

We've had mice in the house for at least a month - since the temperature outside started dropping - but I'm getting a bit frantic trying to get rid of them. First of all we tried 'live' capture, but now I just want them all dead!

They seem savvy to just about anything - traditional snap traps, glue traps, boxes. We've just spent 30 quid on an electronic zapper with no success so far. It's horrible - I've heard nibbling behind built-in cupboards where our broadband/comms wires go and this morning there was a little pile of nibblings round a hole in our living room floor. What's that about?

I am extremely reluctant to use poison as we have a 13 month old dd and I do not want any chance of her finding it. We are pretty good at clearing her crumbs and keeping food sealed. The only food that I try to keep available is the peanut butter that's in the traps, but I maybe there's always something they can get. I suppose I could stick poison down behind a locked cupboard, if pushed.

Can anyone help on this? We're getting a bit desperate.

Thanks

Poppy

if you use poison and they die all over the house, wouldnt they rot and stink up the house? with traps at least you know where tey are when they are dead!

Wittyusername, what makes them think it's rats rather than mice?

Cocodrillo - the desription my DH gave them - fat, dark/black fur, not moving very quickly. I hope they're wrong...

We've had mice for about the last 6 weeks living in the warmth of my airing cupboard.

As soon as i found droppings i:

• posted on here
• called the council

Now lovely alan from the council comes round each week (for a one off charge of £11) and puts down bait and checks to see where they're coming in. We also use proper death style traps. First night they were down we caught 4 in the airing cupboard.

Have caught about 10 in total and touch wood not any for over a week. The bait goes at entry points so in our case guttering along a store room. One did die under the floorboards and smelt for a couple of days.

It is horrid though having them in the house - i found it very upsetting for about a week.

However council man made me laugh as he said some of his clients who are farmers (i live in a farmhouse) think having rats is just part of life!!

So my advice would be get traps and peanut butter and call the council.

Oh and we had one of those sonic things in my airing cupboard - caught 10 mice there!!

Mouse city here!!

Breakback traps are the only way in our experience. Got some doing a clog dance in the kitchen ceiling at the moment.

Unfortuately this is a very old house with big thick stone walls that the mice somehow get into. Have been listening all day to mousie goings on in the lounge wall. There is no way that I can get a trap into the wall, so the traps are all over the place.

Lay awake last night listening to mousie shenanigans behind the headboard (in the wall). Not alot I can do about it, but they'll go in the spring!

I use old fashioned traps and this safe poison It dries them out so when they die they don't smell.

Oh yes - forgot as kerrymum says use wire wool to block the holes.

Unfortunately if you have doors or windows open at all there's always a chance you'll get mice coming in especially if like me you're surrounded by fields.

Regarding traps - we're a household of wusses - I don't want to hear them screaming! Are there any that'll kill the gits quickly? At the mo none of us want to be downstairs at night lest we encounter one of the critters.

We're now repairing holes that we've found, and a whacking great hole near the water tank in the bathroom that my DH is too scared to stuff the wire wool into . Luckily I know someone who'll tackle the job.

oh and we're getting mesh wire to cover the airbricks with, the holes in ours are far bigger than 6mm sq, apparently vermin can squeeze their way in under the house that way....

Cool, we may well give em a try, once I get one of those pincer things I see people cleaning train platforms with!

This site] looks helpful

wittyusername, and more sign of rats?

I have taken to sleeping with the fleabag cat on the bed (normally not allowed upstairs - she can't believe her luck).

Cocdrillo - My DH reckons he's heard em downstairs, but isn't 100%... the pest control bloke should be back next week to see if the poison's been eaten.

The bloke is a bit slow in plugging up the airbricks so looks like I'll be sorting them out...

How's it at your house? [hopeful emoticon]

I'm hoping it's just mice, but last night we could hear squeaking from somewhere in or around the bedroom - either under the floorboards or in the built-in cupboards, and scurrying type noises.

Enough to make me wake up and say to DH "what the F*?" and Mog to perk up no end, but not actually DO ANYTHING.

Gah.

No sign of anything downstairs, no droppings in the kitchen.

DD1 says she's been having dreams about "naughty mice biting her feet" so I'm thinking she's hearing stuff from her room too.

Let's face it - my house is infested.

Airbricks covered today, a hole in an outside wall sealed and poison laid a couple of weeks ago...

Just heard some scratching and DHP just spotted a little shite mouse in our bedroom EEK! Prior to this we'd only had evidence of em downstairs

Has anyone ever eradicated the blighters from their homes successfully? I'm getting fed up with this

cocodrillo - I'm thinking and hoping it's just mice now, from my google research, the droppings I saw are smaller than those of a rat