Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

TomsMom

e00c wrote: »

Howdi!
Found a new lodger! Laid a mouse trap with peanut butter... it took the bait - but didnt touch the trap...
Laid it again with a large heavy chunk of cheese... again - took the cheese but the trap didnt go off!!
This was yesterday evening! During the day time!

So.... after some thought... I created a new home-made trap... set my laptop up with the webcam activated on "motion detect mode"...
Came down this morning... it didn't use the trap... but I did catch Virgil in action!

I imagine - it will only be a matter of time before the lil nipper uses the trap... but anyone else got other ideas?!

OMG - I love it!

:rotfl: :rotfl:

Personally, I think you should try to catch him alive and keep him as a pet, he surely deserves it :rotfl:

From Spirit: The heath robinson trap looks very funny. Well done on the creativity. I hope you can encourage the mice to go of there own accord as I have to admit - I am rooting for the mouse

Me too!

From Kitschkitty: Mice will very happily eat laxative chocolate, and sadly it will kill the little chaps (but at least they'll die happy), safer than poison too!

Is that before or after the laxative has worked?

Thank you so much for making me laugh but I do really hope you get your mouse problem sorted.

e00c

Well guys! A few hours later.... the mouse went for the trap... I heard the splash of water!

However - I then discovered there's a small ledge inside the bucket! The mouse must have used that and leaped out!

I reset the trap... this time I tactfully added a mouse trap right under where the tube would fall.......

Took a trip to B&Q bought some plastic mouse traps.

Came back.... and whooo caught the mouse with the bucket + trap. However - this is a very very small mouse! It's a baby! So i'll be replacing mouse traps after tea!
:T

:edit: the bucket prob only worked as it was an inexperience mouse but hey!

TomsMom

e00c wrote: »

However - this is a very very small mouse! It's a baby! So i'll be replacing mouse traps after tea!
:T

:edit: the bucket prob only worked as it was an inexperience mouse but hey!

Awwww, poor baby. His mum must be missing him . You cwool man

OK, joking apart. I wouldn't like it in my house so I hope you soon get the little b*ggers sorted.

cazg1983

i have a mouse problem. We firstly filled in holes in kitchen with concrete but they are still getting in (there were MANY holes on close inspection). We have tried humane traps but they are not interesed (tried chocolate, cheese etc). We also have an electric deterent which they trot right past! The ratman says therse are useless and with pregnant mice, the babies in the womb get used to the noise and whenthey are born think its normal. Also, cornered one and cought it in a box and when we took it to be released it had died of shock on the way (i presume this would happen with mice cought in humane traps too, plus in london, releasing it is only giving someone else a problem! i also killed another by screaming at the sight of it. It froze and dropped dead, must have given it a heart atack!

Anyway, i wanted a cat but cant have one full time and was asking around to borrow a cat and found out on the net that most cat resue places really need foster homes for cats. Perfect solution, can look after a needy cat until it finds a home and in the mean time, it will hopefully get rid of the mice. Feel so relieved at hopefully findinng a solution as this is my first home and have only been in it for 1 very stressfull month

babs2008

cazg1983 wrote: »

i have a mouse problem. We firstly filled in holes in kitchen with concrete but they are still getting in (there were MANY holes on close inspection). We have tried humane traps but they are not interesed (tried chocolate, cheese etc). We also have an electric deterent which they trot right past! The ratman says therse are useless and with pregnant mice, the babies in the womb get used to the noise and whenthey are born think its normal. Also, cornered one and cought it in a box and when we took it to be released it had died of shock on the way (i presume this would happen with mice cought in humane traps too, plus in london, releasing it is only giving someone else a problem! i also killed another by screaming at the sight of it. It froze and dropped dead, must have given it a heart atack!

Anyway, i wanted a cat but cant have one full time and was asking around to borrow a cat and found out on the net that most cat resue places really need foster homes for cats. Perfect solution, can look after a needy cat until it finds a home and in the mean time, it will hopefully get rid of the mice. Feel so relieved at hopefully findinng a solution as this is my first home and have only been in it for 1 very stressfull month

I don't think that's very fair on the cat. Unless you can offer a real home I don't think it's fair to bring them into your house and let them get used to you.

And, not all cats are natural mousers. One of my cats tends to bring them in alive to play with and then lets them run free :eek:

The best thing I found for mouse trap baiting was a small price of french fry speared onto the metal bit.

chalkysoil

haven't read the whole thread but I've just ordered one of these
"Pest-Stop Professional Ultrasonic Electromagnetic Pest Repeller"
Garden & Outdoors; £32.19 (AMAZON)

We had years of rats/ratcatcher and then bought one of these - it worked. Rats are back now - recently discovered this is because since building an extension we have two seperate wiring systems/fuse boxes and so need two gadgets. While waiting for the delivery I'm moving the gadget to another socket near to where I hear scratching noises - they leg it somewhere else and I follow with the gadget. They hate the electromagnetic stuff.
I have 1 cat inside who is interested but hasn't caught anything, and 4 ferals outside who seem to have cleared the barn of rats, mice.

bishbash55

Claudius wrote: »

Help Help Help
Hello there everyone in this forum
I and my family moved to the current propery 4 years ago. We did a loft and a new kitchen last summer. Till then we had no idea that there were mouse residing underneath the floorboard.
From the day the builders left I have seen mouse droppings in the kitchen and under the stairs where the gas meter is. I have managed to catch 2-3 so far. I have used glue traps from Amazon.and a simple trap I bought from Robert Dyas. There was no sign for a couple of months but now I see the mouse droppings againg although I have seen no mouse yet. Put the trap under the kitchen sink with chocoloate they don't touch it. They seem to outsmart me now. I am getting really desperate. I am tempted to get this Sonic device from Primrose. I am not sure it will work. I don't care if is a humane or inhumane method I JUST WANT TO GET RID OF THEM. So any strong poison or any other advice will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Ken

well ken, the strenght of the poison isnt going to matter. in fact if its too concentrated it wont work. the mice will vomit the rodentacide and learn not to eat it in future.
you should be able to pick up some seed or grain rodentacide from b&q or similar. i would use that in the gas cupboard. simply because you wont have to compete here with other food sources like you would in your kitchen for example.
these rodentacides work by preventing the mouse to repair damaged blood vesels and tissue. obviously its quite natural for mammals to repair themselves. if you clap your hands you have just damaged thousands of cells. these rodentacides prevent the mouse repairing themselves and eventually die of hemorrhages. this usually takes between 5-7 days. these anticoagulants as they are known are effective when consumed by mice. the only way they can reverse the action (or a human can reverse the action if consumed accidently) is by eating huge amounts of vitamin K1. (often found in high amounts in dog food). btw a human adult would have to consume large amounts of rodentacide in comparison to a mouse before signs of poisoning begin to show.

for your kitchen areas its simply a case of trial and error, try other chocolates besides the one your using, you can also use peanuts or peanut butter. keep rotating till you get success. you will find once you have found something attractive other mice will feed too.
one thing to be aware of is how little an adult mouse consumes. about a quarter a bag of crisps in a single day. you really need to make a big effort to keep food areas clean if your using any type of bait.
secondly, you need to prepare for when you have trapped or poisoned all your resident mice. pull out the dryer/washer ect and seal the holes in the walls were the pipes feed through. wire wool with cement or foam are best/
those holes were your gas pipe feed into your floor. seal those up too.
this can be an exaustive task but its worth it.
check for obvious holes externally too. seal them up. check for damaged air vents. get them repaired.
domestic situations are the hardest to solve when it comes to mice. perseverence is the key. dont give up. you dont have to live with this problem for ever.

CGG

We cleared out our garage yesterday, and OMG found two mice nests.
We don't know what sort of mice they are, they are about an inch-or-so long and are brown. We managed to catch all but three of these mice and quickly put them in a deep bucket that they couldn't get out of. The other three scurried away out of sight.
Later in the afternoon we spotted one of the loose mice near the garage and OH managed to catch it and drop it in with the others in the bucket! (As well as trying to run away from him it kept jumping in the air, about 8 inches each time!)
They have spent the night in the bucket - OH put a drop of water in with them, and a few crumpled cornflakes for them to eat, oh, and a bit of scrap thermal-silver-insulation-material stuff so they'd be, err... warm.
Anyway, my question is this... What should we do with them now?
We can't bring ourselves to kill them - but at the same time can't just let them go in the garden as my cat will get them.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

set them free and let nature take it's course, you've been good enough to them already.

wolfehouse

release them somewhere away from the cat
sounds like field mice (large ears and eyes and pale belly)
or vole (small ears and eyes, blunt face, gingery or greyish fur)

some people say if you go a distance to release them they will find their way back anyway... (don't know if it's a myth)

they live in the gardens over here and mostly we don't see them. occassionally if there is a way for them to get in to the house/garage they will set up home and breed and breed.

their lifespan is about 6 months in the wild. i think they are cute.