Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

pinklady21

Mr.Generous wrote: »

Shove wire wool into the gaps, about the only thing they cant chew through.

Thanks - that was my first thought too - but the problem is getting in under the units, the gap is simply too small to get my head in!

There is also apparently an additional fire risk with wire wool - I assume due to potential for sparking?

pinklady21

daveyjp wrote: »

Why are you using live traps? If they are alive they can get back in. Proper traps and rubbish bin.

Aye, the point of sealing the gaps is to prevent the mice getting back in. I have tried electronic zap traps, but sometimes these are activated and the bait taken but no dead mouse inside.....

POPPYOSCAR

https://news.aces.edu/blog/2014/11/19/getting-rid-of-rodents/

“Mice can fit through a quarter inch opening,” Armstrong said. “So trying to exclude them can be difficult.”

Armstrong advises to look for areas that mice can get access and block those areas using a spray foam insulation and hardware cloth.

Spray foam insulation is an expanding foam that is good for blocking holes. However, mice can chew through it easily. To make it stronger, it can be coupled with quarter-inch thick mesh hardware cloth, which mice are not able to chew through, with spray foam surrounding it.

Armstrong explains a common place for mice to enter is under the sink because the sink pipe does not always have a good cut around it. He advises to pack it with steel wool and surround it with spray foam.

tacpot12

Spray foam is difficult to use at the best of times, and in a restricted access area it will be even harder to manage. I would suggest that concrete would be the best form of defence.

You can get small pots of premixed mortar or post mix concrete for about £5 from places like Wickes & B&Q, and being in the country, a local farmer or builder might give you what they need as you'll have to buy far more than you actually need.

Mix it in a bucket and put a dollop on the end of a spade (a child's beach spade might be better than a full size one), and use the spade to get the mortar to where the hole is under the units. Use a long bit to wood to push the mortar off the spade and into the hole, and ram it in until you can't get any more in.

MovingForwards

Get a cat or two....

coffeehound

pinklady21 wrote: »

There is also apparently an additional fire risk with wire wool - I assume due to potential for sparking?

It does actually burn well. Can’t see it being a particular hazard unless it’s near ignition sources, though.

pinklady21

MovingForwards wrote: »

Get a cat or two....

Of all the methods we have deployed to get rid of the meece, our cat has been the least effective..... just sits and tries to out-stare anything caught in the transparent live catch traps.....
He is quite a ruthless hunter, but only when it suits himself!

pinklady21

tacpot12 wrote: »

I would suggest that concrete would be the best form of defence.


Mix it in a bucket and put a dollop on the end of a spade (a child's beach spade might be better than a full size one), and use the spade to get the mortar to where the hole is under the units. Use a long bit to wood to push the mortar off the spade and into the hole, and ram it in until you can't get any more in.

This sounds a bit promising - will try it. Thanks.
If I see any mice pawprints in the wet concrete though.....may have to resort to dynamite!!!

Aura

I saw a mouse the other day on my kitchen workserface, tried catching it but it was too fast and zoomed behind my fridge freezer. Apart from putting a humane trap down, whats the best way of keping them out of the kitchen?

martinthebandit

Put a proper trap down, humane traps are not! You catch it take it a mile away, release it and it'll die of cold or get eaten.

Find out where they are coming from, it'll be somewhere in your house at this time of year, loft probably, and put a few traps there as well.