Pest Advice - Mice!

Divorcing

Hi all

We have an under stairs cupboard and have stored dried foods in there for the last year plus we have lived here. Never had an issue until last week when noticed some flour had been got into and some half eaten new potatoes!

First checked they were not in the kitchen and they aren't, the cupboard is well sealed to the main house and the door is a very tight fit so I am confident they will not get out of there directly but will keep an eye out. Next stage was panic and get some traps! 

Put the traps out and checked them but did not think they had caught anything as the tab was still quite high, but then today when I checked again I saw a tail sitting there. Turns out the traps worked and the mates had eaten the 2 that were trapped up to where they were trapped. 

All dried food was ditched and we are going to carry on using it but have plastic boxes with strong clip lids to keep them out! 

Couple of questions:

1. Given that we had no issues for a a year are we best just making sure there is no food for them in that cupboard do we think they will leave of their own accord if their is no food?
2. Should I continue to use the traps in the meantime? I am concerned as do not like using them as kills them and also they are feeding off them.

Thanks in advance for reading and other advice gratefully received. 

P

Brie

stating the obvious - get a cat.....

failing that - once you get rid of easily accessible food the mice will move.  Where to may be the problem.  Where else might they get a free lunch???  Everything in the kitchen will need to be protected, any teens/kids/parents with messy rooms or dropped food will need to be sorted.  Any pet food anywhere, including in their food bowls??   Food in the sofa or under or behind?

You could try trap and release traps if you're not ok with killing the pests.  Personally I find it easier to get rid of a dead mouse or even half a dead mouse than one that's wiggling. 

OH spotted a bad smell in our garage where we had a lot of cat food stored (for our lazy old cat, useless as a mouser even as a kitten).  Then he spotted a lot of droppings near a bag of cat food that had been emptied through a large chewed hole.  £15 down the drain!!  But once we got rid of the food the pesky things moved on - spotted there was bird food in the garden shed and have been happily living there - much to the delight of the local foxes and a couple of ambitious marmalade cats belonging to some neighbour.

cymruchris

I temporarily moved bird food from a part of the house with brick walls and a UPVC door to a  breeze block shed at the bottom the garden - and within a month noticed on cctv that mice were activating the movement sensors - I counted three. I got myself a humane trap - a large flat metal box with a window on top - that you put peanut butter inside, and a smidgeon outside the entrance tunnel. I then removed the source of the food by using sealed lid containers. Over the next few days, one by one I caught the mice - and let them loose in a field about a mile from the house. I haven't seen them anywhere since. So yes - change to sealed plastic non-chewable containers, and after a short while the mice will find a food source elsewhere... If you're concerned about killing them - get a humane trap in with some peanut butter. 

FreeBear

Divorcing said: 1. Given that we had no issues for a a year are we best just making sure there is no food for them in that cupboard do we think they will leave of their own accord if their is no food?
2. Should I continue to use the traps in the meantime? I am concerned as do not like using them as kills them and also they are feeding off them.

Keep all food in sealed containers. But do be aware that rodents can sometimes chew through plastic, so check on a regular basis.

The little burgers can get through the tiniest of gaps - It is worth going round and plugging as many as you can find. A UV lamp will highlight any urine trails which should point to where they are getting in.

Once any potential food source has been put out of reach, they should move on to easier pickings. It is also important to keep kitchen and eating areas clean of crumbs. Failure to do so will encourage them to stay.

Brie

cymruchris said:

 Over the next few days, one by one I caught the mice - and let them loose in a field about a mile from the house. 

I'm reminded of an old family friend that my dad visited.  The friend took dad out to see his chickens and then started on a rant about how the local squirrels were eating all the chicken food.  He had a humane trap and was so pleased to find yet another one of the squirrels had been captured.  He picked up the trap, took it to his fence and dumped the squirrel, live, on the other side of the fence.  Couldn't understand why my dad thought this was so very funny.  

GaleSF63

Brie said:

stating the obvious - get a cat.....

Then it will be the blind cords that get eaten rather than the potatoes.
Kitten destroyed blind cord — MoneySavingExpert Forum