Any tips on how to deal with mice phobia

I’ve been to animal handling sessions with my grandchildren over the years. I can happily hold a tarantula or have a large snake draped round my shoulders. But if I’m in a pet shop I can’t bear to look at a couple of little mice in a cage. Likewise if any type of rodent appears on tv, I have to look away.

I like mice but not 'free rein' ones! We used to have pet mice but none from the outside world thankfully.
We do have spiders though, especially this time of year but we had someone come round on my birthday with some animals to talk about and handle and I actually took a deep breath and had a furry large spider put on my hand. To my surprise I survived! And since then I'm not so fearful now - though I'm still not calling them a favourite pet!!!!

Over the years, I found you need to constantly be putting down poison, ,a infestation will take weeks until you don't see any, but keep checking and filling the poison trays, I have done this for the past 5 years, not seen a mouse but occasionally the poison goes .
Almost all shops hotels and business have a constant pest control system, they never let up , whether they have rodents or not

On a sensitive note the mouse is scared and tiny!!!!! When I moved from the cottage, I found a skeleton of one behind my bedside, It was shortly after my cat brought me the present in bed!!!!

I do understand this Totally are used to be a lot better with it, but when on my own in an old cottage and my lovely rescue cat, he brought the mice in and lost them!!!!!! Not funny at all in the end I went to stay at a B&B for two nights while Mick the Mouse man dealt with it for me and even then I slept on the sofa for another two weeks! This is because my lovely rescue cat brought a mouse up stairs at 1 am and it ran over my bed so now I have a phobia good & proper!!!!!! I'm as much as I now miss my lovely furry friend. I will never have another cat you expect them to get rid of mice

Plug all holes with wire wool. They can’t get through it. Also if you have gaps under your washing machine etc in the kitchen put black sticky tape round them.

I can't do the whole outside of the building, but I have covered the airbricks with mouse mesh outside, and I have one to do inside (the back of a horrible long kitchen cupboard, which is where I suspect they came in here.

I'm a bit nervous to do it, in case there are mice AND spiders in there, because I'll have to almost climb into it to see the airbrick.

Unless you live in a very old country cottage or farmhouse you should not have mice in the house, so I suggest you get rid4 66777777732o4 the mice rather than focussing on getting rid of the phobia.

All these numerals were caused by my mouser no. 2 - the tom cat joining in the discussion - his sister is the chief mouser.

Seriously, find out how the mice are getting in, and block up all their entrances - polyfilla with a generous addition of mouse poison is one way of dealing with it, or if you dislike the inhumanity of poisoning the little beasties - polyfilla plastered over a network of wire netting, or phone Rentokil or whoever else deals with vermin in your area.

If the phobia is a serious worry, consult a psycologist.

Ziplok

We’ve had mice in the past and found the snap traps to be the most efficient way of getting rid of them. Yes, they look cute, but there’s no way I want any in the house - they spread disease and can cause a lot of damage by chewing through wires and pipes, etc. if they stay outdoors, fine, but once they venture indoors, it’s war, I’m afraid. No room for sentimentality.
Spiders don’t bother me.

I agree. I do everything I can to stop them entering the house but, if they do it’s war. By the way ( I’ve been wanting to say this for ages!) I’m currently obsessed with Ziplock bags. I do try to use as little plastic as possible but my Ziplock bags never get thrown out. In my neverending attempt to organise my disorganised life I love putting things in my bags and writing down the contents!

We’ve had mice in the past and found the snap traps to be the most efficient way of getting rid of them. Yes, they look cute, but there’s no way I want any in the house - they spread disease and can cause a lot of damage by chewing through wires and pipes, etc. if they stay outdoors, fine, but once they venture indoors, it’s war, I’m afraid. No room for sentimentality.
Spiders don’t bother me.

That is what happens if they are released fairly close to where you found them.

They come back.

When we first got married I inherited my grandmother's house which was very run down, dirty, cluttered and overrunning with mice. Even dead mice in the cupboards. We borrowed one of my sister's cats, OH blocked up the holes they had made, cleaned the house up thoroughly etc. The cat killed a mouse the second day we had it. Never saw a mouse for a month so took the cat back to my sister. A week later we saw a live mouse in the living room.
Went to the RSPCA shelter and adopted a cat of our own. It killed 2 mice a week later. Never saw another after and we always had a cat in every house until my daughter became allergic years later.
Best advice is get a cat. Keep any cereal, cakes biscuits in strong containers and potatoes carrots etc in a lidded large saucepan. Keep doors and windows closed especially on winter nights.
Once the cat kills one they leave in my experience, but will return if the cat leaves.

Baggs

*misdeke*, this is what puts me off ever owning a cat. Efficient mouse traps are so much more humane.

I know what you mean, as a Ragdoll he was supposed to have a much more relaxed demeanour, but once you have them they become part of your life so quickly. I've tried puttig a collar on him with a bell but he gets them off so quickly, literally within a minute, I've tried all sorts.

I leave the plug in my kitchen sink as its a short pipe to outside. I am convinced they could come up the pipe. I'm really phobic. Luckily DH sets a trap and deals with it. I was once in a restaurant in Amsterdam. On the way to the toilet I spotted a dead mouse. The waiter kicked it under the bar and went on serving. Yuck.

I can't bear to go anywhere near them.

Dead or alive, they absolutely fill me with fear.

Dont mind mice I can deal with them if my cat hasnt already. What I really do not like are the massive spiders at this time of year. Hate killing them as my Nan always said if you wish to live & thrive let a spider run alive! I try to catch them with one of my spider catchers, at least one or more in every room but yesterday I felt like crying. Walked down the hall & as I went to put my foot down a very big spider ran right under my foot & was squished! Felt very guilty for rest of the day as if I had seen it coming would have caught & evicted it poor thing! Hate them with a passion but hate killing them. Sad me!

Peppermint oil is seen as a valid deterrent, and is sold by some of the big name companies.

Apparently it's good for keeping spiders away.
(The spiders this year are FAST runners!)

I don't have a phobia and really don't mind mice - but not in the house! I can vouch for peppermint spray, smells ok to me but mice really don't like it and it works well. You can find it on Amazon. Failing which get a cat - I'm not a cat person.

That's how I feel.
They don't belong in my flat, so they have to go, as quickly and humanely as possible.

No room for sentimentality.

misdeke, this is what puts me off ever owning a cat. Efficient mouse traps are so much more humane.

The devices send out high frequency noises, but, only in places with nothing impeding them, such as furniture.

Definitely having a cat that's a good mouser is a great deterrent. No mouse has ever entered my house willingly since I got my boy, unfortunately mice in my neighbour's very overgrown garden are fair game for hi so he frequently catches them and brings them in, generally already dead or near to death. This morning as I got up I went to the kitchen to find a present of a dead mouse on the floor, whilst I was clearing it up he jumped through the cat flap with another in his mouth. He let go of it as he new it was breakfast time anyway and as it moved I realised it had a broken leg. I got my mouse/spider catcher but it managed to scuttle down the side of the washing machine. Shadow finished breakfast and dived into the space which leads behind the cupboards and came out with it straight out again with mouse and a face covered with cobwebs. I knew I couldn't help it as it was alreaady badly injured so I let Shadow take it back outside where he took it back to where he found it and left it. I've now got the task of letting my neighbour know that she's probably got another dead mouse somewhere.

Peppermint oil is the key, sprinkle on cotton pads and place them.around the house, mice and rats can't cope with the smell and will stay away. Also plug in ultrasonic devices will repel them

I am of no help sorry. But I just wanted to say you are not alone I am terrified of mice & rats. Just reading this thread makes me feel sick!!! My skin crawls.
Last year there was a DEAD mouse in my garden. I would not go in there until that mouse was removed.

We live in rural France with farms all around. From September onwards we get field mice coming indoors to get cosy for the winter. Peanut butter baited snap traps are usually the only way of dealing with them, which makes me sad. But RATS are a big problem. The house and barn are connected, with a boiler room in between, and last winter rats got into the boiler room, and into the boiler itself and the kitchen chimney, which is shared with the boiler flue. The rats chewed a hole in the register plate above the kitchen woodburner and were jumping down onto the hearth - then jumping back up again. I never saw the actual rats, just their footprints on the hearth and back wall of the fireplace! We had no choice but to poison them and now have many poison bait boxes on the rafters in the barn. It took me many months to get over the horror of it. Every time I go into the boiler room now I bang on the boiler to make sure there's no shuffling noise inside it.