Mice

[Tanked]

This is the time of year when the mice move indoors, and while no trap is 100% effective, I think the Victor spring traps are close.  If you have a pet proof location, using the bucket method with a few drops of antifreeze will stop the water from freezing, and hasten the rest of the process.  You Tube has several bucket & roller trap videos that could save you $$$.  

Thinking about a problem  I had with mice drowning in my dog's water bucket, It is conceivable that a little bit of PB smeared a few inches below the rim could cause the mice to stretch and fall into the bucket. All you need is the bucket and ramp..

[HH Morant]

[TheDukeAnumber1]

On 11/17/2021 at 9:26 PM, Gideyon said:

Anyone have experience with this? 

If you setup glue traps, what did you do with a trapped mouse?   I don't think you'd just throw it in the garbage. Or do you? 

I moved into a old farm house about 8 years ago and although the war may never be won, after a few years of the battle I learned how to at least be on the winning side.

For inside use I stopped using bait entirely, in my experience proper trap placement is key. With bait you risk bugs and attracting more mice by smell and sometimes a free meal. When mice move they always hug the walls. So in places where kids/pets can't access I use those plastic reuseable traps and set them facing the wall right up against it. As they run along the wall they trip the paddle and get caught, then those traps are easy to remove the mouse without touching it and be reset. For kid/pet areas I use the havart traps and place them against the walls. It's a live trap so you can either put the cage unter water for a couple minutes or if it's cold enough a few hours on the porch will take care of it too. I once had a live trap in a cold corner, maybe 50deg temp, and mice wouldn't last the night.

For outdoor, IMO the best strategy is to do your best to find and block their points of entry.

[Gideyon]

I'm glad I'm with company on this. 

The exterminator setup snap traps, glue traps, and poison boxes.  The day he came we found a baby mouse caught in one of my glue traps.  The next day, one of his snap traps caught another. 

He said that since I only noticed the evidence recently, it's likely not well settled in the home (if it was, it would make it harder to get rid of)

Hopefully that works in my favor. 

 

He found a gap outside where my compressor power line runs. Filled that up.  The sump output is still open. 

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Gideyon

[eatyourpeas]

I heard the trap snap last night, so I went to check this morning, and oh, yes, dead rat! We have had so much rain lately that I am not surprised. 🐀

[Gideyon]

I had about 8 mice caught.  One, according to my exterminator, was pretty big.  Possibly a mother (hopefully the one and only).  He also sealed possible entry ways he found. 

Haven't seen activity in a few days. None of my traps have triggered.  

But I'm still not willing to enter the storage room at night.  I don't like mice.  

On 12/4/2021 at 7:50 PM, eatyourpeas said:

heard the trap snap last night, so I went to check this morning, and oh, yes, dead rat!

And that would terrify me. 

I lived in India for a short while in my adult life. Lived alone in a 2nd floor home.   Kept my windows opened all the time (no a/c).  

Until I walked into the kitchen to see a rat freak out at the same time jumping out the window through a small hole in the window screen. 

Never kept a window open since. 

[JettsPapa]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:36 PM, Gideyon said:

I had about 8 mice caught.  One, according to my exterminator, was pretty big.  Possibly a mother (hopefully the one and only).  He also sealed possible entry ways he found. 

Haven't seen activity in a few days. None of my traps have triggered.  

But I'm still not willing to enter the storage room at night.  I don't like mice.  

And that would terrify me. 

I lived in India for a short while in my adult life. Lived alone in a 2nd floor home.   Kept my windows opened all the time (no a/c).  

Until I walked into the kitchen to see a rat freak out at the same time jumping out the window through a small hole in the window screen. 

Never kept a window open since. 

After retiring from the FAA my father-in-law took a job in Indonesia.  He and my mother-in-law were there for a year, came home for a few months, and then went back, intending to stay for another year.  They'd been there a few months when my mother-in-law got bit by a rat while she was sleeping.

She told my father-in-law he could do what he wanted, but she was going home.

[HH Morant]

I would go home, too!

[Gideyon]

On 12/5/2021 at 1:06 PM, JettsPapa said:

She told my father-in-law he could do what he wanted, but she was going home.

Yea... I'd be changing professions.  

 

Funny thing is if I see them outside and not really near me, no problem.  It's only if it's my home.... 

Just like at one of former apartments.  I saw a cockroach.  I did not go to sleep until I saw it dead. Can't stand those either. Traumatic experiences from childhood where a creek and wooded backyard brought those things into the house often.