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Lone parents

Use our Single Parent forum to speak to other parents raising a child alone.

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Original poster

Help - I have mice and I'm alone with dd

49 replies

mamachat · 18/08/2008 23:47

I no this is not the right place for this but a mouse just ran straight past me, I hate being alone when this kind of thing happens... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Mamazon · 19/08/2008 00:20

Oh she would most definately get them. since having the kittens she has become a complete beast! she is still lovely and beautifull but omg she catches something everyday!
I reckon a mouse that was contained within a house would be a bit easy actualy.

Only prob would be that you would need to keep her for a couple of days so that she feels comfortable.

She does bring her catches in but if they are dead i just shout "out" at her and off she trots to the garden.

she really is quite minging at times

Original poster

mamachat · 19/08/2008 00:22

oh gosh, I will try to find out if anyone I know has got a cat, if not then i would love to borrow your cat, thanks sooo much for the offer, I do not know what I would do without mumsnet, as it was too late to call family and I had to tell someone...

OP posts:

Mamazon · 19/08/2008 00:24

I reckon most cats will try and catch a mouse if they see one.
see if you can befriend a local stray or something....they will deffo catch one.
plus if it comes inside your home frequently it will small of cat and help dsicourgae them from coming back without you needing to get a cat if you dont want one.

win win.

Original poster

mamachat · 19/08/2008 00:29

also i am more of a dog person then a cat person, so not sure if i could be alone in my house with a cat that i don't know. (i realise i am now making the cat sound like a person).

So if i know someone with a cat then they can look after the cat in my house...

I know i have a friend that has an old boy cat but i think he just sleeps all the time... so he will probably be no good

OP posts:

Mamazon · 19/08/2008 00:31

get a kitten, they are so cute you can't do anything BUT love them.
then by the time they are fully grown you already love them dearly and wouldn't dream of losing them.

I was and still am a dog person but my cat has won me over.

Original poster

mamachat · 19/08/2008 00:32

i did want to get a kitten at one stage but then fell pregnant so never did...

How are kittens and cats with babies?? and leather sofas??

OP posts:

Mamazon · 19/08/2008 00:38

well i have 2 kittens (was only going to keep teh one but one was homed and then bought back because the next door's dog kept trying to break through the fence to eat him)

they are both lovely and fantastic. i have leather sofa's and have never had a problem with them scratching.
they have a scratch post anyway.

and they are used to my 2. and my nephews and all the other children i have here.
Mine actually like the children as they are real attention seekers lol.

teh only thing you really need to watch for is if the cat/kitten tries to sleep in with tyoung children as sometimes they can suffocate small children.

thankfully mine all sleep dpwnstairs so its not an issue.

Original poster

mamachat · 19/08/2008 00:40

my flat is a small 2 bed, all on one level...

My dd is 13months, do you think kittens will be ok with that age group?

OP posts:

Original poster

mamachat · 19/08/2008 00:42

ok i'm off to bed to try and get some sleep, thanks for being there for a chat, I feel abit better now... Night everyone...

OP posts:

Mamazon · 19/08/2008 00:45

yeah, i had my first cat when Ds was 6months old.

Just be sure to get a kitten that is used to children as undoubtedly your DC will be wanitng to cuddle and hold the cute kitten and sometimes they can squeeze a little hard.
if thekitten is used to children A) it will run away to prevent the squeeze and B) it will wriggle free rather than scratch.

KerryMum · 19/08/2008 01:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bluebell1 · 19/08/2008 10:17

I completely understand i had them in my last flat.I was absolutely petrified of them and went to stay with my mum untill they were gone.When i got them a second time i wasnt as scared and as soon as i spotted them i went out to stock up on traps(mars bar is great bait) and those things you plug into the wall.Then my landlord came round and put some foamy stuff in any holes in the flat.They went within a week.Oh and to get rid of them in the traps i just picked the whole trap up with a spade with gloves on.Not very nice i know but i have a real fear of them.

SilverSparkle · 19/08/2008 11:54

Hi, this happened to me once in my house. Your local council will have an environmental sevices dept. Call them and tell them about the mice and they'll send someone round to see where they are coming from and they'll place little black boxes containing poison in them around the place.

Good luck.

Shorty84 · 19/08/2008 15:59

I had the same problem at a new flat I got rentokil mice food it worked really good it makes them leave the house and go back to there nests to die ummm depends on your DD thou as it goes in little mice bowls if she is little she may put it her mouth I hate mice they are horrible little things its costs £4.99 but it worked really well

Blandmum · 19/08/2008 16:07

Forget the cat, call the council.

We had a cat who was a terrific mouser, but would never try to catch them if they were in the house

gillybean2 · 19/08/2008 19:47

I had this every winter. The mice come in from the fields when it starts to get colder.

At first I thought I could live with a mouse. And while he kept himself to himself that was fine. But when they were running wild, droppings everywhere and I could actually hear them between the ceiling and upstairs floorboards squeaking and running around day or night I'm afraid that was too much. They were also chewing everything including through electric wires!

I rang the council and they sent someone out. He was very decrete re the neighbours in case I was worried. I wasn't! He put some putty like red stuff under the floor boards for them to eat. Much stronger than you get at the hardware store (had tried that grain you can buy myself, they seemed to thrive on it!) The putty stuff did the trick within a couple of days.

Next time he had to come out the mice were downstairs running around my lounge. So he put one of those sticky traps down as he didn't want my ds getting hold of any poison. He came back a couple of days later. Since then I've not had any problems, but I did get some of the foam fill stuff and go around the outside kitchen wall plugging all the gaps where the pipes go in and out, and the back door has now been fixed so no way in there either. That has helped a lot I think.

Call the council. Let them deal with it for you!

mypandasgotcrabs · 19/08/2008 21:10

Call the council, they'll get rid & show you where they're most likely coming in, so you can get filling with wire wool.

I used to get them loads, my old house had quite a bad infestation, they'd run around me in the kitchen while i was cooking dinner, in the evenings they'd run backwards and forwards from the fireplace to the back room, then they moved upstairs. Had a few sleepless nights when all I could hear was mice nibbling the carpet etc in my room.

We'd get rid of them, then about 3 months later they'd be back. After xp moved out, and I sorted out that infestation I never saw htem again!

Original poster

mamachat · 21/08/2008 15:50

So do the council come round even if it is a private rented property?

I put down some traps but the mouse is too clever, he ate all the bread sticks with peanut butter but none of the traps clicked down.

So the next day my brother inlaw came to set the traps again as he said I did not do it correctly.

This time he set them with only peanut better an same thing happened..

So I went out to buy some new stronger traps, I will keep you posted...

OP posts:

mypandasgotcrabs · 21/08/2008 16:07

Yes, council will come out to anywhere, owned or rented. I don'tknow how it varies in different areas, but here it's £32 and they keep coming back until they're gone, so whether it's just 2 visits or 6, it still only cost £32 and you don't have to worry about clearing up dead bodies.

TBH, pest control man will probably tell you they're a waste of time, the only thing worth buying is the rentokil boxes that they have in restaurants etc, but at £6 each, it'll cost you more to get them than it will to get council in.

Original poster

mamachat · 21/08/2008 16:17

So what do the council actually do?

OP posts:

mypandasgotcrabs · 21/08/2008 16:20

He'll come in, have a good look around at where you've seen them, look for where they're coming in and put down poison. They'll put down as much as they see fit for the problem you have. They will also make sure that it's out of the way of the LOs. Then they'll come back in a week or so, see how it's going, and either add more poison as necessary, or take it all if the problem has been sorted.

Lovesdogsandcats · 21/08/2008 23:20

Those of you using glue traps SHAME ON YOU.
Fucking disgusting things should be banned. How cruel, absolutely needlessley cruel.

PurlyQueen · 21/08/2008 23:49

Mouse trap, glue trap, getting a cat or ferret - what difference does it make how the OP gets rid of them and has her peace of mind restored? Mice are disease-ridden vermin.

gillybean2 · 23/08/2008 11:32

I wasn't happy with the glue trap and it didn't catch anything anyway. But pest control man wouldn't use anything else in the lounge where my ds might get hold of it. Poison is just as bad and slow acting imo.

Personally I was happy to live with a mouse but it got completely out of control. I had a young child in the house and was waking up to droppings on every single surface in the kitchen, inside kitchen draws and cupboards, all over the lounge etc. I could hear and see them running around in the day as well as the night. You can not live like that. So first time he used the poison under teh floor boards. Second time I didn't want it to get out of control again so acted much quicker. AS I'd seen the mouse in teh lounge he put down a glue trap there and poison under floorboards again.

My ds actually stood on the gluetrap himself so he was absolutely right not to put anything else where he could get hold of it, be it poison or a trap which could have taken his finger off.

It wouldn't be my first choice, but it was all he was prepared to do.

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