JustErin said:

Unfortunately our landlord didnt give a shit.. and we werent prepared to lift up floorboards and start digging or whatever.. luckily I didnt stay there very long

REDFEATHERS said:

That's so gross.

When I worked at the wildlife center we had a call from some dude that was furious because he had a raccoon in his attic. He set a trap up there, caught it then killed it only to find out later that it was a mother with babies. Once the babies got hungry enough they crawled around and fell between their walls to slowly die and decay. The smell was so bad that this guy had to rip open his walls to get out the dead bodies.

Serves him right for rushing into such a stupid solution.
[Edited 2/8/08 9:38am]

When there is a mouse about, wash your hands regularly, or sterilise. You never know where they have been, (mice droppings are a dead giveaway but just cos they didnt shit somewhere, doesnt mean they werent there. it is so easy to pick say your bag off the floor, not knowing the mice may have been there, and then touch your mouth, prepare food or whatever...

I know its damned obvious, but hell.. they can get in ANYWHERE as small as the width of a pen..

Okay, why do I read this type of shit knowing it makes my skin crawl.

Again, have someone deal with them for you and make sure you keep it up.

Do NOT leave food out. Disinfect and clean like your life depends on it.

Seal everything as tight as you can. If you hear or see them in certain spots and you have a sealed off place you can put your things, move it all. Throw anything out that you can.

Before you can get anyone out to the house get some traps and put them all over. If they're empty move them around every day. Get the type of traps where you don't have to see anything. Don't get spring or sticky traps because they don't work sometimes and they'll die in the walls or just never get caught. Play some Christina Aguilera music, I've heard that scares off animals.

chillichocaholic said:

Could they go on a little rodent vacation so I could come over???

seriously, how is it that mice can "flatten out" I have seen a mouse flatten itself out and go under a door stop....right under a door, in no time flat WTF? creepy!

Nothinbutjoy said:

sure can But just for U joy

I got bats in the attic.
As long as they stay up there and not the house, it's ok.

chillichocaholic said:

the mice are always getting in under my sister's kitchen sink.
they love all those pipes and the holes through walls to climb.

solution? wad steel wool around vent openings, plumbing, and any other holes.
keep in mind where your utilities enter from the outside through your foundation
is also a favorite entry point. stuff steel wool there too as well as any other cracks in the foundation.

keep pet food and bird seed in a mouse proof container
keep fallen fruit picked up under trees
keep lids secure on garbage cans
clean up crumbs from pantry and keep in plastic containers
set traps in the garage. check seal on garage door.

in my rental house the mice got into my puffed wheat. so i used that along with peanut butter on the traps. even better (according to chilli) would be to put chocolate on the puffed wheat i read that reusing traps actually traps more mice as they are attracted to the scent but i couldn't do it. just put a bag on your hand and turn it out once you've picked up the trap.

try traps before the exterminator. (somewhere i read
said to put two together as they can't jump over both)
you may find for $1 worth of traps you catch your wee beastie


pb edit
[Edited 2/9/08 12:11pm]

I thought this thread was gonna be about reggae music.

Seriously though, We've always had cats in the house and we've never had a mouse problem.

emm said:

I take back what I said about traps because like someone else said if it's a mother with babies you'll end up with dead animals in the walls.

Just seal everything and call the Orkin man.

And about traps

They don't even have to jump. Some of them are so fast they don't get caught, or they wiggle out, or the trap is bad.

And again they can be injured by the trap and then die in the walls.

Even if you successfully use poison and traps, they can still be there(you just don't see them)or come back soon or next season.

The only way to get rid of them and keep them away is with the help of an exterminator.

People also should know that these things are chewing up your house. They aren't laying around relaxing. They'll mess up wiring and everything else.

Another thing to consider is your garden and shed.

Gardens attract them and they often live in cracked up rotting sheds. There's also demo to consider. Sometimes people will tear down a shed or something else the mice have been living in and they make their way to the house. You might want to bomb a place like that before any demo.