Mice

[Shynslk]

Honestly I feel ashamed writing this but - we have mice in our cupboards. I saw mouse droppings last week in one of them and my husband, god bless him, spent hours cleaning the kitchen and every pot and pan. Thankfully, we have no food in the bottom cupboards apart from tinned food, so it's mostly just our plates and bowls and the pots and pans.

Today, we found mouse droppings again in another cupboard. Still bottom cupboard, but there's a huge hole at the back of this cupboard where our electric meter is and we can't seal it off. Basically a stupid design flaw. My husband again cleaned it for me but he couldn't do as good a job as he's back to work now after the Christmas holidays and on the late shift, so by the time I saw it he didn't have much time to do anything about it. I've since emptied the cupboard (using gloves and a mask because I'm paranoid) and cleaned all the plates that were in there, and covered the hole with a piece of cardboard for now.

THEN I found some more mouse droppings in the cupboard under the sink. This cupboard is full of cleaning stuff and just odds and ends that we shove there, so it'll take ages to clean it all out, but I saw the little gap they're probably coming up from and my husband can seal this with foam.

The house is pretty old and we've only been here for a few months so this is new for us. Before here, we lived in a flat so had no mice issues because we were on the upper floor and didn't have a garden. We got this house specifically for a garden and the extra rooms for when we start a family, and it's on a nice estate and was in our budget. It was only last week I noticed the mouse droppings for the first time but who knows how long they've been scurrying about. We do have a cat, but I don't think the mice actually leave the cupboard, it seems more like they just run about in there to keep warm during the winter, I suppose.

Anyways I'm paranoid that it can cause harm to the baby. I'm only 7 weeks gone, but a quick Google search is enough to send you into panic mode. I'm terrified of something like lcmv. Does anyone know how common this is and how easy to avoid? The second I saw the droppings I used a mask, but I don't use one every time in the kitchen or every time I open the cupboard since my husband cleaned it. I don't think any mouse could come into the cupboard my husband cleaned, because he sealed the gap he found up with foam and I've found no droppings in there since, but it looks like they're just trying all the cupboards.

I've looked up symptoms of lcmv and it's things like fatigue and nausea which of course I have at the moment anyways so it's just making me worry more. In fact, since yesterday my nausea has gotten better so now I'm worried it wasn't morning sickness making me ill but because of the mice. I hope I'm just being paranoid but I feel really stupid and at a loss. We've been trying for this baby for a long time, I just want what's best.

I would call in professional exterminators, they can assess all of the access points and revisit as needed.

Cardboard is worse than useless, many types of foam filler can be easily chewed through.

Wire wool and traps might be more effective but I would let the experts manage it.

Talk to your healthcare provider but I wouldn't think you are at high risk of catching anything that would harm your baby.

Call in rentakill

We also have mice at the moment and I'm a similar stage of pregnancy. Thankfully they are in the loft so are out of the way but not definite that they haven't come into the house although no evidence. I had pest control (from the local council) out last week who set some poison bait, advised how the mice are likely getting in and what to do about it - they are coming back again later this week to review. Obviously it's easier because they're in the loft but it's still a worry. Definitely contact your council (I would imagine their rates are probably better than an independent company) for help. Mention that you are pregnant too. Better to catch and sort it early as they can breed quite fast if left. Good luck with getting it sorted out 😊

This was my nightmare a few months ago when I was 25 weeks pregnant but the mice were under the floorboards in our bedroom! No sign of them being above the floorboards as far as I'm aware thank goodness but still horrific hearing them squeak and gnaw all night.
Couldn't get pest control through the council as they wouldn't lift up the floor boards but went through an independent company who were great. Took about 10 weeks to get it sorted from start to finish as apparently mice can be quite hard to get rid of as they breed quickly but such a relief to get it sorted. I'm 38 weeks now and haven't had any health issues from the infestation- good luck!!

We had mice recently and called out a private exterminator. Luckily we caught it early and they didn't come back, but he explained that he charged per visit (so was expecting to have to come three times, so three call-out charges), whereas our local council charges a flat rate and keep coming back till it's sorted. So if we'd had more mice it would have been cheaper to go through the council. Either way, they'd inspect and sort out all the entry points and put poison down, then come back and check for you until the mice were gone. What they did advise was to make sure you clean all the surfaces with 99.9% dettol, because you can see the poos but you can't see the wee. Also that foam won't stop them so you are better off with wire wool.

Not the most aesthetic of solutions, but I’ve found that lining my shelves with tin foil keeps the little buggers off the shelves .

You need to look at solutions to your mouse problem - blocking all of the holes properly, traps and poison worked for us, all humane efforts were laughed at by the mice (one even ate the peanut butter from a humane trap and managed to get out)
They can get in a tiny gap so if you're not sure I'd definitely call in pest control.
Don't worry too much .

Thanks for all your replies. The council does come out for free for mouse problems in my area, but unfortunately they aren't available until February. We have booked them in anyways and we're getting traps and poison until then and leaving the bottom cupboards empty. The landlord has also seemed to kick into gear and has said they'll get someone to look at how they can block the hole at the back of the cupboard.
Haven't had my first midwife appointment yet but will definitely let them know what's been going on when that's booked in, trying to not worry too much! My poor husbands doing his best to cover what he can and find the best poisons and traps to get them.

If the council aren't coming till end of Feb, it might be worth just ringing a private company and seeing what they charge. Our guy charged £60 per visit, and only needed to come once in the end. He had originally thought he'd need to come three times, so £180 in total. It depends on your budget, but to me that would be worth it to avoid having to do mouse management for another month.

I guess it also depends how proactive your landlord is likely to be - I think he ought to be getting the pest control in and paying for it, but if he is just going to look at blocking up the cupboard, it might be worth having a professional so they can really spell out what it needs to be blocked with.

Are the council aware that you're pregnant? They may be able to prioritise you.

Others have given advice re tackling the problem but I just wanted to offer some reassurance too! I was so anxious about exactly this as I stayed with family in a house with a very serious mouse infestation at 7/8 weeks pregnant (actually left earlier than planned because of it). I was very worried that I might have caught something - I had vomiting etc. a couple of weeks after the visit too, so I contacted my GP. The GP did take it seriously and consulted a microbiologist, who said issues are very rare and not to worry about it. My baby was born perfectly healthy, is now almost a year old and developing normally. So do what you can to address the problem and take precautions, but try not to worry too much!