Why, oh why am I not catching any mice?

[GoAgainstNicki]

I’ve been posting about the mice situation within my flat for nearly 6 months now. I’ve had two different pest control companies come round to set traps and ‘mouse proof’ the flat. There’s been traps and poison placed on the floor underneath the kickboards yet not one mice has ever been caught.

I’ve gone around the kitchen nearly 3 times and have filled all holes with wire wool. Yesterday I found another massive hole in the kitchen (absolutely no clue how I missed that) and filled it straight away. I finally thought okay, this will be the end of seeing any mice now. I also put two traps with bait underneath the kickboard right next to the massive hole that I’d found.

My younger sister was at my house earlier and said she saw a small mouse in the kitchen whilst I was outside. I just don’t understand, what the hell am I doing so wrong? I have 2 under 2 and this is starting to impact my mental health so badly. My anxiety is at an all time and I’m not sleeping anymore. I’ve baited the traps with chocolate, peanuts, peanut butter and bacon. I have snap traps and the electronic trap. Nothing is working, please help

My next door neighbour has a cat, wonder if they’d let me borrow it😬 doubt it tbh. My auntie has a cat but she said her cat would be overwhelmed in a new environment so that’s totally understandable

Yes, you need a confident, sociable cat. A shy one will just hide in a new place!

If the next door neighbour has a cat this is why the mice like your house as there are small children (equals food) and no antisocial furry predator to be scared of.

Make friends with this cat

There cat is a house cat so it’s never out and about. Please don’t tell me the onlt solution is to get/borrow a cat?! My 19 month old would torment the poor thing. I don’t have a garden so I also don’t think it’s fair to have a cat inside of a flat 24/7 with two young kids around them non stop

We used a humane trap with gerbil food and caught 4 mice in a week.

This: www.amazon.co.uk/Bucket-Humane-Lethal-Outdoor-Compatible/dp/B093XY9MZ3

For those that say they’ve used a humane trap, does that mean you’ve caught it live and killed it/released it?

The only mice in my house are brought in by the bloody cat!!! Alive and left to run around. We catch them in humane traps with peanut butter (or we don’t and find them weeks later after they’ve died when they start to smell 🤢)

This is also a fear of mine. My auntie’s cat brings in more mice than it ever kills! My auntie has an issue with mice right now and she’s currently got pest control involved meanwhile her cat is bringing dead ones inside!

Could you ask on your local Facebook page about borrowing a cat? I'd happily lend you mine for a few days but I'm miles away from you.

We'll strike a balance. Mice are incontinent. Even trapping them means they have peed everywhere.

Cat means the mice bugger off, no wee, no problems

Only glue traps with bait worked for us

I spent several months using several kinds of humane traps, ultra sonic repellants, wire wool, and toothpaste but nothing worked. Then we got a new kitten. He caught his first mouse at 11 weeks old, and caught six more in the next couple of weeks. That was in March and we've not seen a mouse since.

It really sounds like getting a cat may be the only solution here. How does this home set up sound for a cat though? It’d have to be a house cat as there’s no garden and 2 kids under 2 are constantly in the house. Doesn’t that sound unfair for the cat or am I overthinking it?

What bait did you use and how long did it take? Maybe I’m impatient and wondering why I haven’t caught anything within a week

We suffered with mice for 5 years, We caught atleast one a day with these:

HOMEREVEL- Reusable Mouse Trap, 6 Pack Mouse Traps for Indoors and Outdoors That Kill Instantly, Quick, Effective and Highly Sensitive Rodent Catcher amzn.eu/d/6BqeLeC

We've caught and killed so many but what was the point if they kept coming in? we pulled the kitchen out multiple times to find out where they were coming from, eventually the kitchen needed replacing it got so bad. then 3 months ago a tiny hole inbetween the two radiator pipes caught my eye as i was bending to pick something up. once i had that blocked up i never saw another mouse again! moral of the story: find that hole😂

@c0nfusedasalways 5 years?!! You’re lying to me! I can’t believe after all of that, it was the hole inbetween two pipes. Thank God you finally found it. I’m honestly at my witts end, I don’t know where else to look!! Thank you so much for the link, can I ask what bait you used? It looks similar to the traps I already have but I’ll try anything at this point

PLEASE do not even consider getting a cat if you don't like them and don't actually want one. How will you cope if the cat doesn't settle, is stressed by being cooped up with small children, pees and poos in places you don't want and scratches your furniture?

A cat kept indoors all the time would also need a lot of stimulation, with appropriate play, so it burns off energy. Otherwise it will drive you mad.

Don't replace a mouse problem with a cat problem.

SO what worked for us was getting the cheapest peanut butter possible! We caught like 4. We also had much more success with live traps.

Ha, nobody knows how to get rid of them do they. Pest control companies are useless.

There is a guaranteed way, it will take bit of time and effort, but you will prevail.

Step 1) Download a CCTV monitoring app onto phone/laptop
Step 2) Set it to record a short video when it identifies movement
Step 3) Test it out and adjust settings by rolling a mouse size sock along the floor to see if it records a video
Step 4) Point the webcam at the place where you saw the mouse
Step 5) Leave it there till it picks up the mouse. You'll have to leave the light on 24/7
Step 6) When you get videos of movement go through them. Identify where the mouse is coming from.
Step 7) Move the camera to trace where the mouse entered the video
Step 8) Repeat Steps 5-7 Until you find where the mouse is entering from
Step 9) If you find the hole, fill up the hole. If you do not, lay a line of snap traps blocking the mouses entry

You're welcome!

You should always find the hole actually. Snap traps are for when you can't fill it.

You may have to repeat this for multiple holes, but I had this same problem and I found all the entry points.

I also used it to drive out a squirrel from the loft using a remote controlled car, then filled up the hole.

Sorry forgot to mention. It's motion detection on the CCTV app you want, will record a 2-3 minute video when something moves.

I feel for you. When my dd was a toddler we lived next to a field and there was also a plot of bush and bamboo and long grass.

One day that bushland was cleared and that night we also had heavy rain.

I had a small hole in the bottom of the screen door and saw a couple of mice jump through the hole and run across the lounge room.

After that I had a mouse problem.

I tried the humane traps and caught none. I tried the snap traps with peanut butter and caught 2 mice.

I ended up cleaning out every cupboard. Threw out any food packets that had been chewed through. Bought large plastic containers with clip on lids to put all food in.

Bleached every cupboard and floor space and bench space to not just kill germs but to remove the mouse scent that attracts other mice. I read that mice leave a scent trail for other mice to know there is a food source.

I used carpet disinfectant deodoriser. I washed the skirting along the wall/floor to remove mouse scent.

I bought lavender oil and peppermint oil to dilute in a spray bottle and sprayed it everywhere just because I read that mice didn’t like the scent of lavender or peppermint. I don’t even know if that’s true but was willing to give anything a try.

And I fixed any holes or gaps like you have already done.

All of the above combined solved my mouse problem. But it was hard work.

Ha ha I have a vision here of a squirrel cruising out of the attic sitting atop a radio-controlled Monster truck!

What on earth do you mean?

It was actually a radio controlled tank that fired soft pellets.

I put a webcam up there that sent an alarm when something moved and the tank up there. When the squirrel came in the alarm went off, went to my screen and saw it, then used the radio control to direct the tank towards it till it ran out. After the 3rd time it realised it wasn't welcome and didn't come back. Gave me some breathing space to get the hole filled as I needed to get a roofer out.