I think I have mice... Please help :-(

lovesabargain123

Hiya,
Please can anyone give me advice, I know I'm probably being a bit of a drama queen but I could actually cry at the thought we may have mice

About 2 weeks ago we pulled the freezer out in the kitchen and there was a nibbled crisp packet behind it and little black drops which we presumed to be mice droppings.

Haven't seen anything since but this morning in the cutlery drawer I have noticed a few more little black droppings and again a couple more in the cuboard under the sink where I keep my tin stuff!!

Help!!! What do I do? I am waiting for hubby to get back to empty the cupboard as I'm absolutely petrified incase something runs out at me! (I know , I know but I'm a big wuss :rotfl:)

I've put the drawer contents through the dishwasher and I'm tempted to bin all the tin stuff but is this a bit ott?

Also how do I get rid of them without using a mouse trap as I honestly think I'll faint if I saw one in a mouse trap :eek:

Thanks x

Sambucus_Nigra

You can call quietly and gently persuade them to go.

But it's quicker just to get a trap.

People get mice. It's no big deal. Just get a trap and set it. You can get humane ones, but these don't trap them as well.

puppypants

Don't think their teeth will be any danger to your tinned stuff! Unless they are a breed of supermice! Lol x

elsien

A bit of light reading for you!
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/159477

Unless you know where they're coming in and can block it (and they can get in through miniscule holes) you will need to either trap them or poison them. Otherwise you may end up with rather more mice than you would like - they multiply quite quickly. They also use the central heating and water pipes to get round the house - mine lurked in the kitchen, nested in the upstairs bathroom and were occasionally spotted legging it down the hall from one of the bedrooms.
The other thing you need to do is have absolutely scrupulous hygiene - all packet food in sealed mouse proof containers in cupboards, (tins are fine, don't worry about them), wash up as soon as you've used something, hoover/clean up spillages immediately. Again, my little furry friends were using the cooker wire to get onto the hob and a couple of times when I ate before washing up I went back into the kitchen to find them on the saucepan I'd just used.
If you do use traps, put them where the mice are likely to run - along skirting boards, behind the washer, freezer etc, in the cupboard where you've seen the droppings.
If all else fails, call in the council who'll get rid of them for you but will charge and it may take a few visits.

Edit - not trying to freak you out, I felt the same when mine moved in, but after several weeks of getting nowhere with traps etc I'd have nuked them if I had to.

gildius

Your tinned stuff will be fine - the mice can't get at it!

raven83

We had mice- courtesy of the cats bringing in mice and them escaping around the house!

hazellc

Don't worry! It is horrible when you first realise, I know, but it's so common. Get all your food in plastic boxes, make sure you don't have crumbs anywhere, empty out any bins that might have chocolate wrappers and so on ASAP.

You can get traps or poison. We're trying to poison ours but they don't seem to be coming into the house, so it isn't working. Do you live in your own or is there someone strong stomached in the house who can be the mouse funeral director?

Mands

puppypants wrote: »

Don't think their teeth will be any danger to your tinned stuff! Unless they are a breed of supermice! Lol x

Mice are pretty much incontinent. The chances are they will have peed on the tins and on the shelves.

The tins themselves will be fine but you might consider giving them, and the cupboard, a really good wash. Same goes for the contents of the drawers and the drawers themselves.

Sorry,
Mands

toffee'n'tom

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I had a mouse last year for the first time ever. Thankfully it was only one. As another poster said - I would have nuked if I could in the end. It really upset me.You have to find out where it's living - I did - eventually!

It all started when I entered my lounge and saw it darting across the floor!! Couldn't believe it! I shut myself in the room with it and tried to catch it - how stupid was that.

I bought humane traps and put them down all around the lounge but no mouse caught and no sign of it again.

UNTIL - my daughter pointed out to me that her Easter eggs on her chest of drawers looked as if they'd been nibbled at. Well - it turned out he'd been all over her bedroom. There were droppings in all her clothes drawers and under her bed. It had been in her built in wardrobe - in every box in there. I was beside myself. Mice are incontinent and just pee as they run - bleugh bleugh bleugh. I had to wash every single thing in the room, throw some things out, clean out and wash down all the drawers and cleaned the carpet (cleaned all the carpets in the house in the end). I moved the traps from the lounge to the bedroom and still didn't catch the ********.

I was ready to move out - AND THEN - I found out where he'd made his home!!!!!! In my flippin airing cupboard!!! Found droppings in there. Lovely and warm and as per the other post he was using the water pipes to get around the house - well bungalow.

Then I did the sensible thing!! Bought traditional traps - about 8 of them!!! Put them over the floor of the airing cupboard so he'd have to have SAS training to miss them. Took less than 3 hours to catch him.

Put 2 carrier bags over my hands and just scooped the whole thing up and threw it in the bin. It's not that unpleasant. Don't be fooled by humane traps.

You have to decide - mouse pee all over your home or a tiny dead mouse in a trap?

Good luck

supermezzo

Mice are incontinent regrettably, so make sure that you clean surfaces with a mixture of biological washing powder and a disinfectant to dissolve the enzymes. Tempting though it is, don't use bleach as the ammonia in that smells the same to animals as urine and so it will encourage them to follow the scent rather than break the 'chain' of smell that they follow.
Grab yourself a combination of old fashioned traps, humane ones and poison and use all three at the same time in as many rooms as you can afford to do it in. However, do make sure to keep small people and other animals away from it obviously. All three methods have plus and minus points, but be warned if a poisoned one dies before it gets out of the property, it will smell for a couple of days.
Good luck!

mrcow

At least you don't have rats.

Easiest way of getting rid is to trap them. And make sure you block up any entry routes - how did they get in in the first place?