Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

emmmski

wallbash wrote: »

Not so easy. A small mice can squeeze thru a hole so small you would not believe it . Also that hole may well be hidden .

So ...solid floors ?
Detached ( or semi) home? has your neighbour got mice?
Garden ?

As for traps. I like the Humane ones, baited with chocolate.
when caught release a LONG way from house.

Solid floors ( in kitchen where offending mouse was last sighted) semi garden, yes, as for neighbours, no idea, we've only been here since Aug '13 so don't really know them. Landlord mentioned previous mouse problems in the garage which is at the bottom of the back garden about 20 feet from house. But not in the house. Silly question perhaps but sealing holes? With anything in particular ?

wallbash

Solid floors (

Thats good , wooden suspended floors are a bigger problem

I think you need to talk to the neighbours.

but sealing holes? With anything in particular ?

Really depends where the holes are.

But lets look on the positive side, mice not rats.
Get a humane trap, and include your toddler in the action . We don't want another person growing up with an irrational fear of mice.

I have two daughters and many years ago ( over 20 ) we had a mouse problem, but we caught them ( small cute field mice)
Trap was emptied into a deep bucket, girls had a good look and off we went , girls holding the bucket to a local field , for release .
Girls grew up with no fear of mice.

muckybutt

Humane trap with Chocolate and rasins in worked wonders for us when we had them in our loft a few years back.

Only get on at a time but the bait soon tempted them in and out they went into the local woods to live a happy life where they should be.

chib

We had mice in our last flat, the landlord told us to get someone out and deduct the cost from our next months rent - he stopped by on travels to pick up invoices.

The man charged about £75 I think and checked everywhere, found droppings behind the fridge and couch but laid some stuff down under the hall cupboard that later told him this is where they'd been coming from. He laid a number of traps that when set off change colour - we called him when one went off and he came back a week later ... no more mice.

wallbash

The man charged about £75

Was that good value ?/
What did he do that you couldn't?
How many cheap traps can you buy for a fraction of £75 ?

But am glad that the Landlord picked up the bill

chib

wallbash wrote: »

Was that good value ?/
What did he do that you couldn't?
How many cheap traps can you buy for a fraction of £75 ?

But am glad that the Landlord picked up the bill

I'm sure I could have picked up the traps myself, but then I'd never had to deal with mice before.

ERICS_MUM

jbainbridge wrote: »

1. Find out where they are getting in and seal the hole.
2. Keep putting out traps until you get them.

Do both of these!

exactly what I did 5 years ago and I've been mouse-free since. It's very important to block up any hole where they might be coming in from outside - they can squeeze through the tiniest of holes.

Bublin1

I finally caught two mice by doing this.....it ain't humane but I don't care......I tried everything else and they laughed at them.

Watch where their 'run' is. Which item of furniture do they run behind? Guaranteed they run in the same direction in and out and it's usually night time hours.

I bought an Electronic Rat Killer from Amazon. I put peanut butter paste to the rear of the trap. I then placed the trap behind the chest of drawers where I saw the mouse run. I wedged the trap so the mouse could not round it, it would literally run into it.

The night after I did that the light on the device was flashing and there was a mouse inside. I hate them so much and was scared to go near it so my neighbour came round and tipped it into a bag!

3 weeks later I heard scratching again and found evidence elsewhere in the house. Again I wedged the device in where I presumed it was running and the next day and caught it. Haven't heard anything since.

I also sealed up 2 holes.

wallbash

Is this forum full of wimps?

I recommend a humane trap because I rather deal with a small warm cuddly rodent than a dead .blood splatted stinking mess.

But I urge all to stop passing their fears to their children , we need kids with more back bones than their parnets.

ed110220

Ok so I finally got the rat tonight with the trap, baited with a wine gum of all things, and just in time as the night before it had started trying to gnaw into the chicken coop.

Trouble is it somehow managed to spring the trap and get injured but not actually caught and killed.

Poor thing was huddled up in a corner and had to finish it off with a spade.

Is there any way of ensuring a clean kill as I don't like to see an animal suffer, even a rat.

Ed