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Mouse in the house!

(71 Posts)
Lynker Sat 25-Aug-18 12:23:31

We have had a mouse in a kitchen cupboard for a week! Despite our best efforts of laying 3 traps with peanut butter on, it (they???) is evading capture. It is eating the labels on cans surrounded by the traps.....any ideas on how to outwit it please?

sazz1 Sun 26-Aug-18 11:35:59

You need a cat then the mice will leave. It's no good borrowing one as when it goes back come the mice. We borrowed my sister's cat for 2 weeks at a time, did this 3 times but they always came back so we had a permanent rescue cat in the end.

Lynker Sun 26-Aug-18 11:43:34

We moved to a village last year. I have never had this problem before........I hope this is not going to be a regular occurrence! sad

grandtanteJE65 Sun 26-Aug-18 11:55:04

My father melted chocolate and stirred mouse poison into it, then put it down for the mice. It worked!

Can you borrow a cat that kills mice, like mine, who isn't on offer as we live too far away. (Outside UK)

grandtanteJE65 Sun 26-Aug-18 11:58:10

An old trick when blocking the hole the mouse got in through is to add mouse poison or ground up glass to the plaster you bung the hole with!

Obviously, not nice for any mouse stupid enough to try and make a new hole, but it does stop them from trying to get back in that way.

Fennel Sun 26-Aug-18 12:03:17

We had a cat when our mouse problem developed, but it didn't deter them.

Bazza Sun 26-Aug-18 12:05:14

No such thing as one mouse! I don’t like killing things, but they are so filthy if I had them in my house I wouldn’t hesitate. Better than rats though!! Good luck.

mabon1 Sun 26-Aug-18 12:12:45

Please use a humane trap, how would you like to be guillotined?

Diggingdoris Sun 26-Aug-18 12:15:02

We usually get a mouse this time of year when they harvest the field at the bottom of our garden. They get in via our attached garage, where the roof joists join the bungalow, and usually stomp about in our loft. I've tried putting the cat up there to catch it, (without any luck every time) , because there's so much junk up there for it to hide in so I use an old fashioned trap with peanut butter on toast. Works every time. Good luck

youngagain Sun 26-Aug-18 12:46:46

I recently read that an equal mixture of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray around the area where they are getting in should deter them. Also, you can buy 'sound repellants' which deter all types of pests but they are a bit on the expensive side. The sound can't be heard by humans so it doesn't affect you.

Fennel Sun 26-Aug-18 12:53:47

They can get in any tiny space. Almost impossible to block them out.
I was once sitting on the upstairs toilet and I saw one squeeze through the gap between the tiling and the floor, right next to me, and disappear beneath the tiling around the bath.
Then no doubt along the electric wiring downstairs to my piano.

homefarm Sun 26-Aug-18 13:48:06

Try kit kats, this works for me!

sarahellenwhitney Sun 26-Aug-18 14:14:16

How one disposes of captured mice is of importance.
If bait has been poisoned without using a trap to retain it the mouse can take this elsewhere. Consequently another animal possibly a domestic pet could consume the 'deceased' with tragic consequences.

Nvella Sun 26-Aug-18 14:15:26

Those of you who pick up mice and put them outside - I would have a coronary. I am totally phobic about mice and have tried everything to prevent them - peppermint oil, beeping things, vinegar. Have trapped them - but they get wise to them. I finally gave up all this and got in a company which doesn’t put down traps and poison but comes in and fills all gaps and holes with some kind of cement and wire mixture. It took 8 hours to do my flat (though being a Victoria conversion there were lots of gaps). I haven’t had any since (6 mths ago and it’s guaranteed for a year) but a friend of mine had it done and hasn’t had a sign for 2 years. It does cost a bomb - but cheaper than moving into a hotel which I started to see as an alternative.

amberlee Sun 26-Aug-18 14:18:49

Call in a specialist ours is called "pied piper" the stuff you get from pet shops/hardware stores are mainly ineffective.

Sleepygran Sun 26-Aug-18 15:58:59

A bit of a chocolate digestive always works for us! Then you get to finish the packet off!

Theoddbird Sun 26-Aug-18 16:42:55

There is an amazing paste you can buy on Amazon. Put in humane trap. Boy do they like it. If you puts humane trap into the search the paste will come up as well. Caught loads where I used to live. Also plug even the tiniest hole with tin foil. They won't chew through it. I haven't had a mouse indoors since I moved to a boat...hahaha

NudeJude Sun 26-Aug-18 17:15:39

Like you, I'm terrified of the darned things, which was getting to be a real pain after we moved to the countryside. We finally discovered a plug in electric product called 'Advanced Rat and Mouse Repeller - Whole House, By PestBye'. I was very doubtful as to whether it would work, but it had been recommended by a friend, and while priced at £25 or thereabouts, it wasn't cheap, we decided to give it a go. It duly arrived, we plugged it in, and touch wood, I haven't seen a mouse since!! Whether this is luck or the product is effective I don't know, but if you're as scared as I am, it has to be worth a try. You can buy it here: www.primrose.co.uk/advanced-rat-and-mouse-repeller-whole-house-pestbye-p-36.html?cPath=24_1178

mollyc Sun 26-Aug-18 17:32:31

I have always been terrified of mice although people tell me they are more frightened of me.Thankfully we haven't seen one for a number of years but I will remember all the good advice if ever we do.

Legs55 Sun 26-Aug-18 17:43:06

My cat catches & eats mice but he has brought shrews in in the past (mouse size but with little pointy noses), apparently they can't eat shrews as they taste "bitter" who tried them I don't know.

My DM has tried the electric plug in mouse repellers, they don't work as she's still got micehmm

DM has resorted to old fashioned mouse traps, they like soft fruit & one even tried to bite into my limegrin

callgirl1 Sun 26-Aug-18 18:49:04

I hate the idea of killing them, they`re so cute, I regularly take them off my cat in the back yard and release them on the river bank at the front. Trouble is, they tend to wee on my hand, lol!

Bluebonnie1 Sun 26-Aug-18 18:51:45

Yes, shrews are bitter. My gran said so.
She also showed me how to get a mouse out of the house: get it cornered, pref in the kitchen, and drop a yellow duster on top of it. Then lift up duster, grabbing the bulge in the middle, release bulge into the garden. (Cat should be shut in the bathroom when this takes place.)

Lynker Sun 26-Aug-18 19:22:46

If nothing else, I feel less alone having read your comments! Who knew they were so common? We have today bought 2 more ready baited humane traps and loaded them with chocolate, peanut butter, onion and potato (which is what they originally chewed). So I now have 5 traps in the cupboard.............I'm ready!!!

annifrance Sun 26-Aug-18 19:32:24

Get a grass snake. Very large one sorting out the baby days in our compost heap.

Grannyguitar Sun 26-Aug-18 19:39:42

Soap, really strong smelling, preferably carbolic. They absolutely love it!

grannypauline Sun 26-Aug-18 20:09:10

A cat works well but if you don't have one small mammals (mice squirrels etc) can be deterred by putting cayenne pepper behind cupboards and in entry points. This goes off eventually so you have to top it up. This is pretty humane I think.