I Have A Mouse

[kilee]

I am totally creeped out-- I have a mouse (or mole) in the house. I HATE these things. On a few occasions over the last few weeks I'd hear a scratching type noise on the far side of the dining room- from the living room. Only, every time I'd get up to go check out the situation- nothing. Only happened a few times and I honestly didn't think much of it.

Last night, DS (13) is sitting at the dining room table assembling a gift he got. He keeps looking at the same wall I heard noises coming from (I'll mention this wall is 1/4 opened up as we are remodeling our dining room and it's one of the last areas to get drywall). He asks me to turn down the TV-- there's the noise as clear as a bell.

Now, throughout the entire evening last night we'd hear it off and on, but we could never catch sight of anything. So, we both started dozing off in the living room-- only to be woken by the loud sound of the scratching. So, we move ourselves to our bedrooms. About 15 minutes later I can hear the scratching in my wall loudly (it would be the same wall that is in the dining room- just running up to the second floor). It was very upsetting--- I don't handle this stuff well. DH is out of town for work and I called him at 1:30 am to tell him about it. He tells me-- yep I've been hearing that noise off and on too over the last few days-- and he's pretty sure he seen a mouse run across the dining room floor the previous day-- only he didn't mention it because he knew I'd be upset.

I finally fell asleep (in DS's room) around 3:30 to get up at 7am for work. In the middle of all this we decided to lock the dog in his crate and put 10 pieces of dry dog food in his bowl and put it right where we think the entry point is--- sure enough by morning all 10 pieces were gone (greedy little thing).

I went and got every type of trap imaginable this afternoon. Only, I don't want to clean up the trap-- I'm just very, very weired out by this whole thing. This would be the 3rd one in the house we know of. Only the other 2 happened within days of each a few winters back (3-4).

Any surefire advice on how to get this thing gone???? Btw, I may opt to sleep at my mom's tonight until DH gets home tomorrow.

 

[Traveliz]

Of first my sympathies...

I had TWO (a month apart) this fall - the first time ever in this house in 22 years!

Anyway we got them both the first night - the second one my Orkin man helped with...we really loaded up the area we thought he hung out in with the traps and apparently you have a clue due to the food being taken.

The sticky pad is what got him - the biggest hint the Orkin guy gave us was to put the traps right up against the wall as they use the wall to "see" so to speak.

I would consider paying your 13 year old big bucks to do the disposal - I don't do that either.

And like you as soon as I knew what I had I left the house ICK ICK ICK.

Good luck,
Liz

 

[hlbtimes2]

You have my deepest sympathy. I HATE mice. Have a paralyzing fear of the little things. We had one late summer/early fall. It took about 2 weeks of decon before we did him in. We are not sure where he went to die, but we never did find or smell him. He was living behind the fridge, and eating candy from the bowl we had sitting on top. ** shudder**

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

I would get a glue trap. I did see at Walmart a trap that closes after the mouse goes in, then a red mark appears. You never even see the mouse.

I would try using peppermint oil in all the corners of your house. Mice don't like the smell and that should prevent more from appearing.

Mice are so gross; I hate them. DH had to dispose of the trap (I wuldn't go anywhere near it).

Good Luck!

 

[kilee]

I got the no-see traps, snap traps, glue traps, and kill free traps. I got them all today-- I'm not messing around.

 

[Aurora63]

Wow, I can't believe this thread was here today...we just bought our house in November, and have not seen or heard any mice. Then today, I am leaving to go to Home Depot to get paint for one of the upstairs bedrooms...there was a dead mouse or mole or something laying on the sidewalk! I was so creeped out. I'm worried that it may have come from inside the house.

I didn't do anything with it then, (I was hoping that some animal maybe would discoverit and take care of it while I was gone) but of course when I got home a few hours lateer it was still there. So I sucked it up and got the cats litter box scooper and scooped the thing into a plastic bag and disposed of it.

On the bright side, I do have two cats...I'm sure they'd probably take care of any mice that show their faces around here. Especially the younger one, he attacks anything that moves (my toes bear witness to this fact!)

 

[hlbtimes2]

On the bright side, I do have two cats...I'm sure they'd probably take care of any mice that show their faces around here. Especially the younger one, he attacks anything that moves (my toes bear witness to this fact!)

Don't count on it! We have two cats as well. Both are great hunters. They bring me birds all the time. I have watched them out the window stalk and catch mice. I'm pretty sure the mouse that was living behind the fridge was caught by one of them, brought in and got away. The two of them would NOT go in the kitchen while it was there. They would nervously look around the corner and were very jumpy while it was there. Like they were afraid of it or something. I was so mad at the two of them!

 

[letterdavidman]

I, too, have a mouse currently occupying my walls (this is the third one in about five years). I also have two cats, and I question whether they'd actually catch and kill it or not. I've set many of the old-fashioned (kill) traps and poison packets around the perimeter of the room where I'm hearing the scratching (being sure to put the traps right up against the wall), but, so far, nothing. And it's been about three weeks.

Good luck with catching yours!

 

[pumba]

my sister just went thru this too......she got a small trap and put some peanut butter on the edge of it and sure as shooting the thing was GONE....I mean deceased.....
Then she could not figure out how to get rid of SAID TRAP with SAID DEAD MOUSE....so she got her husbands big work gloves that go up to the elbow and picked it up with a shovel and disposed of it in the front yard......she lives by a lake and the odds of more finding a home with her are very high.

GOOD LUCK

 

[Beth76]

I would consider paying your 13 year old big bucks to do the disposal - I don't do that either.

That's what I was thinking. I wouldn't pay though; just make him do it.

As for the cat, my cat sometimes has brought live mice into our bedroom at night to finish the hunt there. And one time she even brought it up on our bed.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I won't use poison, because I don't won't one dying in the wall & stinking.

DH used a glue pad once & I thought it was so inhumane to just toss the pad & mouse out while still alive & just let it suffer to death. Never again.

We've used several types of traps, but always go back to those cheap wooden traditional mouse traps. We bait with peanut butter. Works better than anything else. Last year, DH set 2 traps in attic. We caught 7 mice within an hour. YIKES!! Then only 1 more after that within days. The wooden traps are so cheap, you could even just toss the entire trap & mouse in the trash if you want, & not deal with taking the dead mouse out.

Hate to tell you, but you don't have just ONE mouse.

After 2 autumns in a row of mice, this year I increased the number of Riddex units we have in the house. The Riddex Units worked on getting rid of carpenter ants in our condo, even though neighbors still have them. So, I thought more Riddex units might work on the mice. I now have a Riddex unit on each floor of our 3 story condo like they recommend (instead of just 1 unit for entire condo)...and I'm happy to say, we've only trapped 1 mouse so far this fall shortly after installing more units.

I don't know how much I believe that they work for everything they claim...but I'm just happy to have no more ants ...and apperently no more mice. http://www.opamerica.com/product_info.php/products_id/1834 We bought a 3 pack from them - thru their ebay listings actually. My original one we bought YEARS ago from QVC. It also got rid of my parents carpenter ants. Google search for other places online if you like.

Oh, kitty Splash is 18....and doesn't have a clue that she is supposed to catch them.

 

[jstbcuz]

I feel your pain. I have had many run ins with mice. None of which are pleasant. I scream when I see it, keep my feet on the furniture, call hubby to drive 20 miles one way to dispose of it on his lunch hour (he refused), had friend drive 20 miles out to catch one and dispose of it, leace the house, whatever it takes not to come in contact with it. I just dont do mice well.

Here's hoping you get it soon so you can have some peace of mind.

 

[jstbcuz]

Oh might I add, I use the covered mouse traps so all you see is the tail when it is in there. Then I spend my whole time checking to make sure the lever is in the up position (means something is in there).

Did I tell you I am very paranoid?

 

[sandramaac]

Everyone keeps saying have 'a mouse". Folks, where there is one, there are more!!! No one ever has just has one. They come inside where it is warm to feed and and breed. Yes the folks, they are busy doing the deed in your very own homes.
We moved into a newly built home, and with all the construction, all the mice have been uprooted, so we have had a few. You must use a combination of glue taps and poison biat. They eat the bait, and is sends them on the run for water. The combination of the poison in the bait itself, and the need for them to find water, where they drink more than they can handle kills them. They also bring the bait back to the nest, before it sends them running. The glue traps gets the ones that are on the move a bit. But you must use both in order to be rid of 'them'.

 

[shovan]

Yes we had more than our share of mice. What's worse is I've had RATS at least twice! EEEEWWWWW!

The first time, my DH backs out of the garage & under his car was this huge dying rat!! I am yelling at him & the guy with him to come back and they leave!!!! I had to go drop a bucket on it & wait till lunchtime for someone to take care of it!

If that's not bad enough: I had thawed out some nice ribeyes, I was going to cook them on the gas grill in the backyard. I open the lid of the grill & I see this great big pink tail! I screamed, dropped the lid & ran in the house! My DH is handicapped, so I had to call a neighbor to get it! He opened the lid & it got away before he could catch it or kill it!!!! I bought lots of poison & put it everywhere I could! Needless to say the grill was thrown out!!

Right after I found the one in our grill, we saw one around the neighbor's uncovered garbage cans! The garbage cans she keeps right next to my back yard. When I went over to ask her to get garbage cans with lids, she tells me she found two dead rats in her backyard! I guess the poison works! And she did go right out and get new garbage cans!

 

[letterdavidman]

Yes we had more than our share of mice. What's worse is I've had RATS at least twice! EEEEWWWWW!

The first time, my DH backs out of the garage & under his car was this huge dying rat!! I am yelling at him & the guy with him to come back and they leave!!!! I had to go drop a bucket on it & wait till lunchtime for someone to take care of it!

If that's not bad enough: I had thawed out some nice ribeyes, I was going to cook them on the gas grill in the backyard. I open the lid of the grill & I see this great big pink tail! I screamed, dropped the lid & ran in the house! My DH is handicapped, so I had to call a neighbor to get it! He opened the lid & it got away before he could catch it or kill it!!!! I bought lots of poison & put it everywhere I could! Needless to say the grill was thrown out!!

Right after I found the one in our grill, we saw one around the neighbor's uncovered garbage cans! The garbage cans she keeps right next to my back yard. When I went over to ask her to get garbage cans with lids, she tells me she found two dead rats in her backyard! I guess the poison works! And she did go right out and get new garbage cans!

While I'm not necessarily fond of mice, I can handle them. Rats, on the other hand...

A rat infestation is literally one of my greatest fears. I might seriously consider moving out right then and there if I ever saw a rat in (or around the grounds of) the house. Yikes!

 

[HERSEY]

We had the little things visit last year. I bought every kind of trap, that I didn't have to actually hear snap. I finally had success with this plug in type of thing that sends a pulsing noise through the walls through the electrical outlets (it was only $19.95) it worked just like the box said. I still have it plugged in and I haven't seen any evidence of any new vistors.

 

[kilee]

I know usually the old saying goes- where there's one there's a ton w/ mice. Luckily the last time we caught 2 in 3 days and never had evidence again. That was a few years ago- until now.

I came home at lunch and set 8 traps- some baited w/ food. The food all gone- the traps are intact w/ no mice. The one sticky/glue trap has definetly seen a mouse- but it somehow got off the thing.

 

[jeanadave]

Years ago when I lived way out in the country, I caught 22 mice one winter. Usually, it seems they dart out. However, I had so many, they got so emboldened, they'd "stroll" across the living room floor.

 

[JR6ooo4]

if it is a black mouse that is good. It has come in from the field on reconnesance (sp). If it is a grey mouse then it lives there, and if you see one you probably have five.

Another problem is they leave a scent trail. Lets just say the trail would be yellow. Any place you see them, or their nuggets, needs to be washed, clorox cleanser. The tail can sometimes be seen with a special light

Mikeeee