Rat (or Mouse) in my kitchen - what am I going to do?

MickeyMouse999

I ended up with a rodent behind my kitchen kickboards somewhere, because the outside cover on the vented dryer had come off. Before I ask my builder to block that off (coincidentally - The dryer stopped working at the same time?), and then I'll buy a condenser dryer, I bought some traps baited them with jam, peanut butter etc, and the thing would just lick this stuff off and the trap wouldn't go off.

 

So, I SELLOTAPED the peanut butter onto the trap so he'd have to wrestle it. The trap was just by an opening to the back area where there's a gap in the kickboard between the dryer and corner of the units, so I figured the next morning I'd come down and there'd be a dead mouse in the trap.

 

Well, the trap was gone behind the units and I can't see it at all. I put another one down with the non-sellotaped bait and it was left. After several days, I figured the mouse was dead.

 

Because I'm a wuss, and I don't want to make a mess of the kickboards, I asked my handyman to stop by and take them off and remove the rodent. He hasn't been able to come yet and it's been about 3 weeks. I read they decompose within 3 weeks anyway, and I can't smell anything because I've got a horrible cold.

 

However, other than it being a graveyard, is there anything left of the rodent to recover at this point? Thanks.

 

Rodent Part II:

PS. I know I also had another one under the front room floorboards and to check on this, before I bought a trap, I left a sweet on the floor just to check, and it was gone by the morning. I put a peanut butter mouse trap down (with sellotape) and the next morning, the mouse had dragged it across the room towards the small hole in the floor, couldn't get the PB and left it. I've since bought a couple of humane traps, put them both down in the front room with the appropriate bait and they've both been completely left alone. Does this mean the front room rodent has gone? It is getting warmer outside now.

 

Thanks re: this question also.

Alanp

Sorry, I’ve got the song in my head now. Lol, 
I would be inclined to re-bait the humane traps and just be patient, they may be wary of them so not go into them until they get used to it, but I’m just guessing 

MovingForwards

Get a cat or two.

coffeehound

But not if your house has a crypt.

Maxson

It may be a rat or rats. They are cleverer and stronger than mice and more able to do things like move a mouse trap around and take the bait without setting off the trap. They are also more cautious around new things unlike mice.

MickeyMouse999

Thanks for all the replies. I'll give it a few more days with the traps. I'll attach a picture of the humane traps I'm using now. In theory, a blob of peanut butter in the trapped end should entice the rodent in. It didn't, unless they've gone. However, I then added another of those sweets because I know they like them. Then I smeared the trigger part near it in more peanut butter.

 

I can understand that the front room may still have the rodents under the floorboards, but if I've sealed off the entrance/exit in the kitchen, surely it's died by now, and if it has been 3 weeks, can someone tell me if there'll be anything left to recover? Thanks.

 

My ex wanted 2 cats when we lived together. They were both male, but since all that situation is long over, I quite like having a house which *doesn't* have either scratched furniture or cat wee.

 

Not sure if there's a crypt. I can't see one, but then Dr Phibes kept himself well-hidden...

 

(I couldn't help but reference the UB40 song, but in answer to Ali Campbell's question of - "What am I going to do?", at the moment, it's set the trap, hope for the best, and then run away and hide )

Emmia

What are you planning to do with the beast you catch in the humane trap(s) which will fundamentally be alive & moving.

I ask, as you're unwilling to deal with a trap with a dead creature in, where you could literally bin the trap + victim in one go - and if you do it right no need to really touch the critter.

I admit to not being a fan of humane traps - I personally think they're crueller than a snapity snap trap. Really if you catch something in one you shouldn't be releasing it (rats and mice are both vermin) so you need to dispatch it yourself somehow...

Apodemus

You need to tie the traps down so that the injured mouse doesn’t drag the trap off and have a slow lingering death somewhere else.

SteveJW

Once when we  returned from holiday  the cat brought in a live mouse and let it go as a welcome home present to us, the mouse got behind the kitchen units.
Eventualy managed to get it out, the cat grabbed it again, kids screamed, cat let go of the mouse, mouse ran back behind the units
It was now inaccesible, think it must have escaped when the rear door was left open, no sign of the remains when we renovated the kitchen

MickeyMouse999

No-one's yet said if there'll be any remains of the mouse behind the kitchen units, if it died almost 4 weeks ago?

Apodemus said:

You need to tie the traps down so that the injured mouse doesn’t drag the trap off and have a slow lingering death somewhere else.

Hadn't thought of that until now, but I wonder if that's what's happened in front room, where they dragged it off, it then snapped and they haven't been back above the floorboards since?

 

In fact, thinking about that, the one that dragged it behind the units in the kitchen could've done the same, set it off, and then run over to the front room and gone under the floorboards, hence it's not in the kitchen and so that's why I haven't smelled anything?

Emmia said:

What are you planning to do with the beast you catch in the humane trap(s) which will fundamentally be alive & moving.

I ask, as you're unwilling to deal with a trap with a dead creature in, where you could literally bin the trap + victim in one go - and if you do it right no need to really touch the critter.

I admit to not being a fan of humane traps - I personally think they're crueller than a snapity snap trap. Really if you catch something in one you shouldn't be releasing it (rats and mice are both vermin) so you need to dispatch it yourself somehow...

I could walk with the trap about 200m and dump it somewhere else - so it's far enough away from my house to return. With the trap in question, you can take one end off and then safely tip the creature out without touching it. I just grimaced at dealing with something that's dead.

 

However, as shown with the snap trap, they've managed to drag it away and potentially die elsewhere, and in an inaccessible place. At least if I put it outside, far away from my house, it won't be coming back to me.

Emmia

MickeyMouse999 said:

No-one's yet said if there'll be any remains of the mouse behind the kitchen units, if it died almost 4 weeks ago?

Apodemus said:

You need to tie the traps down so that the injured mouse doesn’t drag the trap off and have a slow lingering death somewhere else.

Hadn't thought of that until now, but I wonder if that's what's happened in front room, where they dragged it off, it then snapped and they haven't been back above the floorboards since?

 

In fact, thinking about that, the one that dragged it behind the units in the kitchen could've done the same, set it off, and then run over to the front room and gone under the floorboards, hence it's not in the kitchen and so that's why I haven't smelled anything?

Emmia said:

What are you planning to do with the beast you catch in the humane trap(s) which will fundamentally be alive & moving.

I ask, as you're unwilling to deal with a trap with a dead creature in, where you could literally bin the trap + victim in one go - and if you do it right no need to really touch the critter.

I admit to not being a fan of humane traps - I personally think they're crueller than a snapity snap trap. Really if you catch something in one you shouldn't be releasing it (rats and mice are both vermin) so you need to dispatch it yourself somehow...

I could walk with the trap about 200m and dump it somewhere else - so it's far enough away from my house to return. With the trap in question, you can take one end off and then safely tip the creature out without touching it. I just grimaced at dealing with something that's dead.

 

However, as shown with the snap trap, they've managed to drag it away and potentially die elsewhere, and in an inaccessible place. At least if I put it outside, far away from my house, it won't be coming back to me.

So you're planning to release vermin which will be a problem for someone else...