Mice problem

FreeBear

NibblyPig said: I appreciate all of the advice. I think somehow I will have to try and block holes. If they do follow scent trails they are simply going to march one by one to their doom once they find the tasty peanut butter treat waiting for them. Better that though than getting into the cupboards.

If you want to locate their trails, get yourself a UV lamp - Mice leave a trail of urine where ever they go which lights up when you shine a UV lamp on the area.

Once you have located a trail, you may be able to track down the holes where they are getting in.

Apodemus

FreeBear said:

NibblyPig said: I appreciate all of the advice. I think somehow I will have to try and block holes. If they do follow scent trails they are simply going to march one by one to their doom once they find the tasty peanut butter treat waiting for them. Better that though than getting into the cupboards.

If you want to locate their trails, get yourself a UV lamp - Mice leave a trail of urine where ever they go which lights up when you shine a UV lamp on the area.

Once you have located a trail, you may be able to track down the holes where they are getting in.

True - assuming you've got house mice, rather than field mice (which don't leave a urine trail).

Bendy_House

I'm learning something every day. That I don't really want to know

TripleH

Could a strong bleach or other 'offensive smell' to block the scent work?

We have always had cats so no mice problem (although fancy Burmese cats are useless). Although younger cats will play with their food as my wife can confirm having rescued 3 squirrels in the past.

Do your neighbours have cats as the mice may be funnelling to your house for safety?

To add, our young rescue cat and Maine Coon are effective hunters although fortunately for the frog population they like to play with their food.

goldfinches

NibblyPig said:

I can't really imagine how I'd completely block up the attic, it's quite big and I think there are lots of ways for mice to worm themselves in...

I would love a cat, but it's not really practical at the moment! The traps certainly do OK in catching them even though it's gross to empty the traps.

I appreciate all of the advice. I think somehow I will have to try and block holes. If they do follow scent trails they are simply going to march one by one to their doom once they find the tasty peanut butter treat waiting for them. Better that though than getting into the cupboards.

Supposedly they can squeeze through the tiniest gaps! Nightmare.

I forgot to tell you about how I deal with this nasty chore. I put the traps on spare single wall tiles so that when the mice are caught they bleed onto the tile rather than the floor or carpet. It also means that you can pick up the tile and carry the trap plus mouse to a piece of kitchen roll, put on gloves to open the trap and then wrap the mouse in the paper and put it into a plastic container with a lid and take the whole thing out to the dustbin. Then I spray the trap and tile with disinfectant, leave it to dry, bait and set it again.
It's horrible having to do it but it's better than hearing suspicious noises or seeing movement from the corner of your eye.

Bendy_House

I'm having my breakfast!

Twice :-(

pendragon_arther

Fifty years ago we had a mouse problem in our maisonette, the top half of a house. I used to trap them (they prefer chocolate to cheese) but in the end I bought an air pistol which you could do then without a licence. The landlord and councel didn't want to know. I shot 21 of the blighters before we moved out. You need a hunter cat, a rescue cat might reward you in its gratitude.

Rodders53

Blocking holes they may access is the best way.

Thanks  @Apodemus it explains why my UV torch is useless in my quest for Field Mouse entry points!

Mice caused many £k's worth of damage chewing through plastic water pipes in this house.  Only one area they can still get in.  Trapped and baited.

I'd be concerned if a loft void went through all homes in a terrace from the fire safety point of view.  Consider getting quotes for installing fire proofing to the party walls in the attic (or creating them) ?  It may cure the mouse issue at the same time.

LateStarter

goldfinches said:

NibblyPig said:

I can't really imagine how I'd completely block up the attic, it's quite big and I think there are lots of ways for mice to worm themselves in...

I would love a cat, but it's not really practical at the moment! The traps certainly do OK in catching them even though it's gross to empty the traps.

I appreciate all of the advice. I think somehow I will have to try and block holes. If they do follow scent trails they are simply going to march one by one to their doom once they find the tasty peanut butter treat waiting for them. Better that though than getting into the cupboards.

Supposedly they can squeeze through the tiniest gaps! Nightmare.

I forgot to tell you about how I deal with this nasty chore. I put the traps on spare single wall tiles so that when the mice are caught they bleed onto the tile rather than the floor or carpet. It also means that you can pick up the tile and carry the trap plus mouse to a piece of kitchen roll, put on gloves to open the trap and then wrap the mouse in the paper and put it into a plastic container with a lid and take the whole thing out to the dustbin. Then I spray the trap and tile with disinfectant, leave it to dry, bait and set it again.
It's horrible having to do it but it's better than hearing suspicious noises or seeing movement from the corner of your eye.

I used to put the traps in plastic take-out containers, so hopefully mouse and trap didn't touch anything else. Gave up on traps after a while and went to poison (Pet-stop mouse blocks). I nailed the blocks to a small piece of wood, and put that in the trusty plastic container (the mice couldn't drag the blocks away and I could see if the bait was being eaten). It took a couple of weeks, but it did the trick for me.

goldfinches

I came home from my afternoon walk to find I'd caught and killed an adult mouse so although it was a horrible sight I'm feeling pleased with my efforts.
I used a Little Nipper trap baited with a piece of a pecan nut and the trap was between an armchair and the wall of the room.
Wishing everyone else similar success in reducing their infestations.