I live in the suburbs.. what are these meece you speak of? 
CK5
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How to catch mice
- Thread starter 76zimmer
- Start date
The house I'm in was built in '77 and never had any mouse intrusions,we always had at least one cat if not two,plus several feral strays who hung around..but about 5 or 6 years ago we had a sudden infestation of several,and the fockers picked our kitchen silverware drawer to be their outhose!..
They were showing up in the house more and more,one night one ran across my face while lying in bed..that was it..no more snacks in the bedroom,I had to use a big pickle jar to keep any crackers or pills in to keep them safe...my lone indoor cat actually caught one live mouse,but just played with it,she'd never seen one before--and it got away..
We tried those "ultrasonic" things you plug in an outlet,I cant say they did anything but make annoying clicking noises and flash an LED red lamp every time they clicked...we didn't dare use poison with the cat,she could eat it or the mice and die..so we had to resort to good old fashioned snap traps..and I caught at least half a dozen within a week...(My cat got her nose bitten by the trap just once !--then she was scared to go near them !)..
I looked around to find an entrance spot outside the house, I saw a small rot hole in the overhead garage door masonite panel that was enlarged ,so they must have gotten in thru that,or crawled in under the door perhaps--the walk in door to the garage also had a large gap under it,I had to remove the rotted threshold and pour cement in its place...I poured a bag of sand in front of the overhead door and blocked the hole with some sheet metal and screws,so far I haven't seen one inside again yet--but find carcasses all over the yard,that the ferals leave behind--they eat the brains and liver and leave the rest for you to step and skid on..
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Despite my Burb and Van sitting for years,I do not smell any rats nests or see and damage to either (yet)--the feral cats like to sleep under both,or crawl up in the engine compartment--so mice are wise to stay out of them..I wont be too surprised if I do come across some in both though..
They were showing up in the house more and more,one night one ran across my face while lying in bed..that was it..no more snacks in the bedroom,I had to use a big pickle jar to keep any crackers or pills in to keep them safe...my lone indoor cat actually caught one live mouse,but just played with it,she'd never seen one before--and it got away..
We tried those "ultrasonic" things you plug in an outlet,I cant say they did anything but make annoying clicking noises and flash an LED red lamp every time they clicked...we didn't dare use poison with the cat,she could eat it or the mice and die..so we had to resort to good old fashioned snap traps..and I caught at least half a dozen within a week...(My cat got her nose bitten by the trap just once !--then she was scared to go near them !)..
I looked around to find an entrance spot outside the house, I saw a small rot hole in the overhead garage door masonite panel that was enlarged ,so they must have gotten in thru that,or crawled in under the door perhaps--the walk in door to the garage also had a large gap under it,I had to remove the rotted threshold and pour cement in its place...I poured a bag of sand in front of the overhead door and blocked the hole with some sheet metal and screws,so far I haven't seen one inside again yet--but find carcasses all over the yard,that the ferals leave behind--they eat the brains and liver and leave the rest for you to step and skid on..
..Despite my Burb and Van sitting for years,I do not smell any rats nests or see and damage to either (yet)--the feral cats like to sleep under both,or crawl up in the engine compartment--so mice are wise to stay out of them..I wont be too surprised if I do come across some in both though..
Your a fortunate man Paul!I live in the suburbs.. what are these meece you speak of?
I picked up my camper from its summer parking spot at Silver Lake and when I took off down the road I noticed in the mirror a couple of them jumping out of the rear bumper (where the waste disposal hose is kept)
Little bastards innvade everywhere given the chance!
I hat voles more than mice. They are similar sizes but voles burrow just slightly under the surface. Just enough to leave mounds behind em.
Bigblue7-2
1/2 ton status
When I was a kid in the hills of Jersey we always had mice issues. My old man slowly renovated our house and it kept theme at bay.
Before all the entry points were plugged we always had poison at their highways and in the attic. I had the top bunk bed and would occasionally hear scratching on the sheet rock above my head. I would bang on the ceiling in the middle of the night to quiet them. That would wake my dad. I'd get yelled at and the next day I'd be climbing in the attic putting the green poison blocks out.
Poison has always worked for us. Digging the peppermint and pine sole though. Much less harmful for the critters that we love.
Before all the entry points were plugged we always had poison at their highways and in the attic. I had the top bunk bed and would occasionally hear scratching on the sheet rock above my head. I would bang on the ceiling in the middle of the night to quiet them. That would wake my dad. I'd get yelled at and the next day I'd be climbing in the attic putting the green poison blocks out.
Poison has always worked for us. Digging the peppermint and pine sole though. Much less harmful for the critters that we love.
We don't have much problem with mice inside the house anymore, our indoor cat finally decided she liked to catch and kill them. She knows where to look for them and will sit in one spot all night looking for one to pop out. But out in the garage and barn is another story, they turned into a real big problem out there. I tried all sorts of things without much success, but the poison bait traps have worked well. I'll put them on the floor under a car, or actually in a vehicle if it's outside the garage or in the barn. The mouse population has since dwindled. They must go off somewhere to die because I don't find many at all, someone once told me that the poison makes them thirsty, so they seek water. There's a creek nearby that they must go towards.
I've heard that too. Wouldn't surprise me, it screws with the blood, and causes massive internal bleeding. Bait works....
You guys complaining about a stinkin' dead mouse...thats the smell of victory...
I had rats in a horse barn that were nesting underneath the bails of hay that I kept on pallets to keep them off the ground. I noticed one every now and then so I set rat poison out and they ate 8 boxes of it before I had to quit putting it out....in the spring when the hay was almost gone I moved what was left and moved the pallets to find a bunch of dead rat carcasses. mostly bones by that point, but some had rotted out mouths on them from the poison....good stuff and it works, but it sure smelt horrid in the barn for a few weeks.
I love the smell of death in the morning... 
I don't know,I think I'd rather deal with a live mouse in my garage,than smell that death curse the one that died in there left behind..
It's been YEARS and it still reeks in that area every time it rains or is humid out..
It's the smell of victory all right--for the MOUSE,not you!..
You'll pay for killing it the rest of your life,or until your sense of smell leaves you, at least..having a dead mouse rotting inside a house wall is even worse...arson is the only thing that might remove it,if one crawls in a tight spot to croak..
It's been YEARS and it still reeks in that area every time it rains or is humid out..
It's the smell of victory all right--for the MOUSE,not you!..
You'll pay for killing it the rest of your life,or until your sense of smell leaves you, at least..having a dead mouse rotting inside a house wall is even worse...arson is the only thing that might remove it,if one crawls in a tight spot to croak..
I never smell the mice, no matter how long they sit and rot. I find them on accident, not because I'm trying to find a smell. Now a dead possum on the other hand... that smell can make you gag.
Spring traps and peanut butter.
Put them around where they are likely to come in, or come from, not in or near what you are trying to keep them out of. Goal is to kill them before they get into it. Got a camper and vehicles that sit all the time, as long as I keep the traps baited and set, never an issue with them getting into anything. They can't resist the peanut butter. After killing the first wave, which might be multiple in a day, rate of catching goes way down. Maybe one a week.
Had to put a cover over them though that keeps cats/dogs/opossums whatever out of the traps....if I don't, the traps disappear.
You can buy the snap traps online for stupid cheap if you buy them in bulk packs.
Put them around where they are likely to come in, or come from, not in or near what you are trying to keep them out of. Goal is to kill them before they get into it. Got a camper and vehicles that sit all the time, as long as I keep the traps baited and set, never an issue with them getting into anything. They can't resist the peanut butter. After killing the first wave, which might be multiple in a day, rate of catching goes way down. Maybe one a week.
Had to put a cover over them though that keeps cats/dogs/opossums whatever out of the traps....if I don't, the traps disappear.
You can buy the snap traps online for stupid cheap if you buy them in bulk packs.
In my shop I used glue traps a pioson bait traps laid out along the paths they would travel. This cleared them out in a couple of months. I will have to try that pepermint oil thing if they come back again in the summer.
I use the regular victors. Pb with a little raisin occasionally. Been at battle this last week. They haven't touched my barn for the last 2 years but they found it this year. Consistently checking every 2 days I can usually clear em out in about a week. Can't use poison due to my dogs
I'm always fighting these things. Sometimes I get lazy until I find more of their destruction. Makes we want to never install fiberglass insulation in a house. My wife picked up some of these plastic traps. I was sure they wouldn't work, but they seem to get as many kills as the old fashioned wood and metal kind:
You just squeeze to empty, so even the kids can empty and set them.
I find that a D-CON dead mouse is much drier and less stinky than a trap-killed mouse.
I also find fresh snow helpful to find where mice come in. I've plugged a couple of squirrel holes this way. I see them jumping on my roof and I can go up there and find exactly where they've committed the B&E.
You just squeeze to empty, so even the kids can empty and set them.
I find that a D-CON dead mouse is much drier and less stinky than a trap-killed mouse.
I also find fresh snow helpful to find where mice come in. I've plugged a couple of squirrel holes this way. I see them jumping on my roof and I can go up there and find exactly where they've committed the B&E.
I'm always fighting these things. Sometimes I get lazy until I find more of their destruction. Makes we want to never install fiberglass insulation in a house. My wife picked up some of these plastic traps. I was sure they wouldn't work, but they seem to get as many kills as the old fashioned wood and metal kind:
You just squeeze to empty, so even the kids can empty and set them.
I find that a D-CON dead mouse is much drier and less stinky than a trap-killed mouse.
I also find fresh snow helpful to find where mice come in. I've plugged a couple of squirrel holes this way. I see them jumping on my roof and I can go up there and find exactly where they've committed the B&E.
I've used these half set traps with good results.
