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Original poster

Mice EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! come and tell me about poisons please

38 replies

TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 05/07/2009 16:00

Am sure it's been done to death but...

We have mice

We started with humane traps after finding droppings, caught 3. Hubby is severely mouse phobic and I am severely germ phobic so between us we simply couldn't cope with them.

Bought sonic plug in things and didn't see anything for a couple of weeks and then found more droppings last week and saw a mouse on two occasions, so obviously the sonic things don't work.

Took them back to B&Q this morning to get our £60 back and bought a £6 pack of bait boxes, but on reading the box have realised that we have to hunt for dead mice and on further online reading, that they are going to stink out the house!

Anyone who has used poison please come and share your experiences with me

OP posts:
Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 05/07/2009 18:00

Anyone?

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Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 05/07/2009 22:58

Bumping in the vain hope that someone will reply

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OurLadyOfPerpetualSupper · 05/07/2009 23:03

I've used poison and never had the stinky problem.
My MIL reckons they go out of the house to find water.

And at least, with a tiny dead mouse, it isn't going to smell for long.

RustyBear · 05/07/2009 23:09

The sonic things are pretty good at keeping mice from coming into the house, but they won't get rid of established ones once they've made a nest and have babies.
We got them after I found a mouse in the oven, but we had to catch all the existing mice first.
We didn't get any more mice till DH unplugged the one in the family room to plug in something 'vital' , so we were back to the trap again for a few days.

kid · 05/07/2009 23:11

We had mice and we had to use those nasty snapper traps. At least when we heard it go off, we just threw the whole thing away and didn't have to hunt for dead mice.

Those sonic things do work but we couldn't use them ourselves as all of our plug sockets are on top of the work surfaces.
They send out sonic signals forwards but not downwards and they do not go around/through things. Not sure how many you would need to cover all areas!

I would hate the thought of having a mouse rotting somewhere or other. The other option is to get a cat!

We did get rentokill in after a while and they used poison. I was told that the mouse will go back to its nest and die there. I don't know if it would have stunk as none of the poison was ever touched.

I did have a rat nest in my garden once, now that was scary!

Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 05/07/2009 23:12

What does the rotting smell smell like does anyone know? In my lounge room there's a definite musky type of odour most noticeable whent he door has been shut overnight, is this a mouse smell??

Also been reading online horrific stories that if you spot one mouse, you can count another 6-10 for that one

I've found poo upstairs this evening,in our bedroom, right by the bed haven't told DH as he will want to leave home

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kid · 05/07/2009 23:15

I did hear that mice NEVER live alone, sorry!

Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 05/07/2009 23:16

bah!

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OurLadyOfPerpetualSupper · 05/07/2009 23:17

Would you rather have a pong for a while or the knowledge that mice are running all over your house? Get Rentakill in and see what they say. Or phone and ask them your questions.

themoon · 05/07/2009 23:18

You need this I know it says it is for rats, but it works well with mice too.

kid · 05/07/2009 23:19

The longer we had our mice, the braver they got.
One night, we were watching TV and the mouse came out of the kitchen and into the living room and just sat there looking at us!
It was quite cute actually but I didn't want it running around in my kitchen.

6inchnipples · 05/07/2009 23:56

We always have mice in winter. PITA

First winter we lived here they came in when we were away for weekend and there was shit everywhere, in beds the lot! Horrible.

We have tried all things mentioned above and i would say the sonic things plus snap traps are best.

Put lots of traps, check them daily. We set around 5 for our little 2 bed cottage and quickly got on top of it.

Good luck, its not nice i know.

Oh and the dead smell, you can't mistake it. Its just the typical rotting flesh smell, you know the one, often smell it in the countryside when you're walking as you pass remains of dead deer or bird or something. Stinks.

tigerbear · 06/07/2009 00:08

Ugghh, I have mice ATM too. I posted a thread last week and someone said that mice are allergic to mint, so I went to buy a bottle of peppermint oil, and sprinkled the whole flat with it. Thought it had done the trick, but saw mouse again a few days later. Haven't seen one for about 5 days now, but I just know it / they are still around!

6inchnipples · 06/07/2009 00:12

I don't think peppermint oil on its own would be enough unfortunately. They are quite persistent little buggers.

stealthsquiggle · 06/07/2009 00:21

If you live anywhere semi-rural go to the local farm supply shop and throw yourself on their mercy.

The stuff we use for rats claims to dessicate the bodies and therefore not smell and I have to say that although we have found some just-dead rats (outside - they appear to just curl up and go to "sleep" in the most unlikely places ) we have not had any signs of stinky rotten corpses, which would suggest that it lives up to the marketing.

or get a cat

Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 06/07/2009 07:20

dessicated mouse. lovely! def rather have a smell for a while (how long does it last?!) than mice yes. Will look for the dessicating stuff.

one of our humane traps has flipped, and another has almost, am waiting till later to have a look though, can#'t stomach it this early and hoping the critter will die in the humane trap which probably isn't what it's intended for!

will go and bulk buy old fashioned traps today, any tips on bait? have been using peanut butter in the humane ones but I think I need something more attractive that gets them to stay and wriggle on the trap to flick it or are they v sensitive?

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SoupDragon · 06/07/2009 07:23

I've had lots of mice in the past and have used bog standard rodent poison. The mice went and I had no nasty smell at all. Ever. Never seen a dead mouse either. According to the Mouse Man, over 90% of them go back the nest and mummify.

SoupDragon · 06/07/2009 07:25

You never, ever have a mouse. It's always mice.

They can fit through a hole the size of a pencil you know. I've blocked all the holes where pipes come through the floor with wire wool - they won't nibble through it.

Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 06/07/2009 07:27

That's somewhat reassuring Soupdragon, thank you (first post, am ignoring the second )

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WoTmania · 06/07/2009 07:30

We had 1 mouse once. Used a proper trap. Got it within 48 hours never had any probs after that.

tigerbear · 06/07/2009 15:32

Soupdragon - how do you actually attach the wire wool, etc? I have quite a few holes around pipes in the bathroom, but huge spaces next to boilers / inside cupboards, etc?

kid · 06/07/2009 16:43

The best bait to use is chocolate. Make sure its attached properly otherwise the crafty little mice just pinch the chocolate and don't set the trap off.

We got 2 mice with the one trap once. One was dead, the other was just stunned after being hit in the face by a flying trap lol
I had the job of catching it in the bucket and taking it for a walk down the road and letting it go!

Original poster
TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets · 06/07/2009 18:17

I have a bar of minging dairyfree chocolate I could palm off onto them although they would probably turn their noses up at it as I did

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tigerbear · 06/07/2009 18:29

Off to buy chocolate and peanut butter...
I know this sounds stupid, but with the old fashioned wooden traps, how do you actually set them up?

SoupDragon · 06/07/2009 18:32

Just poke the wire wool into the holes. Big holes might be an issue - the Mouse Man put a fine wire mesh over all my air bricks.