[Closed] Getting rid of a mouse

You need to borrow a cat or a Jack Russell.

Ear plugs?

peanut butter on the trap for the win.

of course you could just sit on the loo with an air pistol/shotgun and wait.

Ear plugs?

It is hard enough getting it to eat chocolate.

We have found the B&Q Trip Traps very effective when baited with some "Big Cheese Bait" (also from B&Q). We've caught SEVEN mice with them.

They are live catch traps with a very simple and effective mechanism - basically a bit of angled pipe. Mouse enters pipe and goes for bait at the top end, pipe see-saws which makes the door shut behind them.

Be aware that if you are releasing them then you need to go a good distance from the house. Some recommend at least two miles.

or a more elaborate trap?

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We have a trip trap. That is the one that I re-load with [b]MY BLOODY CHOCOLATES[/b]

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***t

Stuff the holes with steel wool. They hate it.

As said above peanut butter is the favourite food for mice

I had a friend who placed a trap under a loose floorboard in his sitting room. He heard the trap snap and then a slide, slide, slide of the trap. He opened the floorboard and the mouse had dragged it away out of reach for a slow painful death.

My dad's got rid of the mice in our house by installing a device which emits a high pitched whistle. I think the mice got headaches and buggered off. However, when my sister and I came home for Christmas we could hear it whistling - either it's broken or my dad doesn't want us around anymore.

Get a pro in with some decent poison.

Set traps along the walls as they like to stick to the edges. Use old school sprung traps, not these modern crappy plastic things or anything humane.

I got one in our kitchen by putting two traps side by side in the gap at the edge of the cooker, that I was sure it was coming out, so there wasn't enough space for it not to go through the trap.

Do not release them, kill them!

Live traps. FFS! KILL the little b'stards!

A traditional mousetrap with either peanut butter or chocolate spread will do the job. If you use a rat trap be careful, they're much more powerful and could take your finger off if you were unlucky. Certainly decapitates a rat from personal experience.

Long-term: get a cat.

Get a pro in with some decent poison.

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Get some of the Big Cheese bait, it has proved more effective than peanut butter and nutella for us.

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Stuff the holes with steel wool. They hate it.

Yeah that too. Steel wool mixed into expanding foam. (I was just doing some more of that last night actually).

Live traps. FFS! KILL the little b'stards!

Personally I'm not really into killing animals just because they are mildly inconvenient. They are just mice being mice. Live and let live.

Or even just borrow some cats for the weekend. When I moved in my first flat it was hoaching with mice, Edinburgh tenements are notorious for them. Looked after a friends cats for a month, the very first night the mice kept me awake with lots of scurrying as they packed their bags and got the hell out. No more problems after that (oh, and the polite but firm words I had with the people next door on seeing the state of their kitchen floor when I went over to discuss the mouse problem).

The smell of cats will keep them at bay for a while.

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Can you hire one of these?

Alternatively, try placing a clock set to New York City time in the roof void. This will mean you'll be out of the house when Mickey / Minnie stirs.

I remember when I was about ten a mouse had set up MQ in my bedroom. My dad put a baited spring trap under my bed. In the early hours one morning, I heard the trap spring shut. Curious as a ten year old would be, I switched on the light and drew out the bed. The poor little bugger had been caught by the very end of its little nose. It was dead though. I felt a bit sad and might have got dust in my eye from moving the bed....

Yeah, on moving into my new pad we found mice. Turns out the cat [we inherited] likes to bring us presents (we have a stream and field opposite). For the mice that like to remain hidden, I used the humane traps baited with a cat biscuit (the mice had been storing excess ones lying around). This worked fine although make sure it is placed against a wall.

I have exactly the same problem at the moment - every morning between 4 - 5am 👿

I swear that the little b*stards are wearing hob-nailed boots for the racket they make.

It also doesn't help that Mrs Splashdown has an irrational fear of mice (evidently it's a well known fact that mice are highly radioactive, extremely dangerous and could easily take your leg clean off at the hip given half a chance!...) 🙄

Long-term: get a cat.

Unless you have a cat that brings them inside to play with...

I've just been looking at getting some "sticky boards" to put down near his access to the wall cavity as the little ****er clearly isn't interested in chocolate or bubble gum smelling poison.

You can borrow Toastie our cat next week if you feed her and keep her indoors. We are going skiing.

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If you are woken by mice scuttling about, for heaven's sake don't get a cat. We have two and they wake me up more frequently than our three-year-old does, the little sods. They jump on the bed and knock stuff off shelves, if I lock them out of the room they claw the carpet up, if I lock them in somewhere else with a litter tray they break things or stage dirty protests. Plus they bring mice in to play with and sometimes they escape and it can take ages to catch the damn things. I like cats, no really I do, but mine are being right ****ers at the moment, I swear. 👿

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Have a flick through this Harry.

I've just been looking at getting some "sticky boards"

Yeah, glue the poor little beggar's feet to a board for 12 hours and then cackhandedly finish him off with an old shoe.

That'll learn 'em. Maximum cruelty FTW! 😕

Speaking as a card carrying pinko lefty lentil muncher, the only thing that has worked for us is poison. Catch and release and they come back, I've even taken a few on a little ride across the county line.. maybe I should tattoo them to see if it's the same ones.
Two cats and a terrier - bloody useless. Once they are in the voids your options are limited.

I live rurally though, so it's mainly winter migrations to the warm.. I reckon in a city it'd actually be harder to clear up.

those glue traps are a cruel and inhumane way of catching mice. It's not very nice having mice especially when they crap every where, but you have to be patient, make sure there are no other easy food supplies for him (we used to have a big problem from having lots of wild bird food in the kitchen till we got it properly boxed up) and he will have to go for the traps in the end. Another bait to try is Nutella.

Yeah, glue the poor little beggar's feet to a board for 12 hours and then cackhandedly finish him off with an old shoe.

I was thinking of using a bucket of water actually.

[i]the only thing that has worked for us is poison[/i]

never smelt a decaying rat in a wall cavity when slow poisoned and crawled away to die.

We caught our (evidently very middle class) mouse with a humane trap baited with hummus.

BandQ prebaited traps worked for me
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humane - BANG - dead, never felt a thing, well I didn't

We caught our (evidently very middle class) mouse with a humane trap baited with hummus.

LOL

I bet it was called Rafe or Casper.

The mice I've caught (In a humane trap) have been undone by bits of twix.

Personally I'm not really into killing animals just because they are mildly inconvenient. They are just mice being mice. Live and let live.

you have to kill them IMHO...I used a cat as i t seemed like the most satisfactory vegan option..got one at the minute [ mouse] and it has not taken the bait in the [humane]traps yet but only seen two bits of munching evidence.

Cats dont work,some are right lazy bleeders and couldnt catch a cold,others actually like to bring mice in to play with so if the shock doesnt kill it you actual end up with a mouse in your house that was previously rodent free.

Breakback(spring)traps are very effective if set up right,they must be along the wall edges with the trap at right angles to the wall(a lot of people set them up inline which is not as effective.
Sticky chocolate(like Mars) is effective as anything.

As said previously you need to seal up any ingress points and gaps to prevent them free movement.
Wirewool,or Wall filler laced with Broken/Ground glass will prevent them gnawing back thru.

If you can get hold of them then "Sticky Boards" are very effective ,they are a piece of card with VERY strong non setting glue on them,place them along the edge of walls like a normal trap ,the mouse cannot see them and once on it will not be coming off it again.

Ex-pest control engineer so I know the above will work.

Waht is the point in using "humane traps" Put the mouse outside it will either die in the cold or it will invade your / another house. If yo are going to trap mice kill them.

We got rid of our mouse problem simply by stopping their access to food. we now get the occasional one but as they cannot get food in our flat they go elsewhere

eat them then graham...you seem to have no issues with that

I've no issues with eating animals. That's just nature.
Mice though.. mmmm.. not exactly much meat on them and I suspect they are quite stringy.

If you can hear it in your roof void it may well be a rat.

Poison and lots of it is the best answer.

Top tip by the way: read the description carefully if buying traps on the net. Many "humane traps" just mean they kill "humanely" - the correct term is "live catch".

Waht is the point in using "humane traps" Put the mouse outside it will either die in the cold or it will invade your / another house.

I've taken mine out to the countryside and left them at least half a mile away from habitation. I'm probably in a minority though.

If you can hear it in your roof void it may well be a rat.

Poison and lots of it is the best answer.

I've seen it. It is a mouse.

There are 25 sachets of yummy mouse poison down around the house. It doesn't touch them. Found evidence that it has been in my son's bedroom yesterday so enough of the tree hugging. I want it dead.

Waht is the point in using "humane traps" Put the mouse outside it will either die in the cold or it will invade your / another house.

Or it will live a happy existence in a hedgerow, field or disused barn.

Or perhaps it will just get eaten by an owl or kestrel, thus helpfully supporting the local ecosystem.

I've taken mine out to the countryside and left them at least half a mile away from habitation. I'm probably in a minority though.

Yep - me too.

Graham - I don't think house mice can live in the hedgerows.

[i]Or it will live a happy existence in a hedgerow, field or disused barn.[/i]

we used to have them living in the base of a large wooden patio tub and the used to take sunflower seeds from the bird feeder, great entertainment watch them work their way round to the feeders. Gone now new nieghbours next door have 3 cats

...I used a cat as i t seemed like the most satisfactory vegan option..

How on earth is getting a cat to kill a mouse any more "vegan friendly" than using a trap to do it? That's rank hypocricy if you ask me as the mouse is just as dead.

Personally I use the traditional lethal traps on around 15-20 mice so far this winter. I've had to finish off a two of those, not a particularly pleasant task, but it had to be done.

I don't think house mice can live in the hedgerows.

I'm sure they can give it a go 😀
Like most animals they just need shelter and food. It doesn't have to be houses and human scraps - they are just easy pickings. My dad has house mice under his shed. Quite happy there.

They certainly survive longer in a hedgerow than in a mousetrap!

Problem solved!

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2hottie: you'll need a big trap for that wee blighter! 😀

Harry, you pay council tax. Contact your council pest control dept- it'll probably be cheaper.

The lad who came to my old house was switched on. He said he wouldn't lay down poison as the animal might crawl, fall or lodge somewhere away from the bait and rot slowly.

In addition, he said it was a they and they were SQUIRRELS. You need to find the entry point IMO and take pro advice.

The lad laid traps by the way and cameback every few days. It cost me £50. The pest controller thinks they came up through a cavity wall from ground level externally. In my case that made alot of sense as down in the kitchen food had been nibbled inside a closed large cupboard that had a partly open back (to the wall). I never found the source etc as we moved not long after.

We had 3 cats

Cat 1: Lazy bugger, didn't do a whole lot, occasionally looked at a mouse in a baleful manner.
Blue Square Cat 0-2 Mice

Cat 2: If it saw a mouse, would chase after it, play with it for a bit, and generally worry it to death.
Championship Cat 1-1 Mice

Cat 3: Actively looked for mice, would lie in wait for one to come out, killed them and bit the head off. Would then leave the remains for you and expect praise for a job well done.
Premier League Cat 6-0 Mice

We've managed to ship cat 1 off to my sister-in-law's place as it was useless. Cat 2 has had it's contract extended, but cat 3 has had a series of good transfers and is now a first team pick, as well as being CEO of In-House-Kill-A-Mouse plc

How on earth is getting a cat to kill a mouse any more "vegan friendly" than using a trap to do it? That's rank hypocricy if you ask me as the mouse is just as dead.

Ps the speech marks would allow most people to realise it was ironic/untrue/misguided but I will try harder next time for you.

I mean graham eats them but wont kill them

And just so we're clear: I [u]do not[/u] eat live mice!

It's grim up north, but not that grim. 😀

the speech marks would allow most people to realise it was ironic/untrue/misguided but I will try harder next time for you.

What speech marks? All I can see is a few full stops (almost ellipsis but there aren't enough of them). Is that some sort of typographic representation of speech marks? If it is then it's not ones that I've ever come across.

Oh and just because someone eats meat, it doesn't follow that they want to kill every animal they come across, so no that isn't necessarily hypocricy.

Oh and just because someone eats meat, it doesn't follow that they want to kill every animal they come across, so no that isn't necessarily hypocricy.

We've currently got a mouse in the office. A tiny thing whizzing about. I went to buy some traps and the girls errupted with 'kind catching ones not maiming ones to hurt Mickey'.

For ****s sake they'd previously stopped me from finding and stamping on it.

Its vermin. Get one of those stone cold killers in. A cat.

dont suppose anyone has got a link to that old thread about a mouse in a sofa?

And what about the churchmouse thread?

Its vermin. Get one of those stone cold killers in. A cat.

Cats are vermin too, no? 😉

[i]mouse in a sofa?[/i]

ah, not long after I joined, that, was and it was a shrew - posted by user 'dick' if that helps

I managed to contribute the sound of a dead mouse going up a vacuum cleaner nozzle to it.

What speech marks? All I can see is a few full stops (almost ellipsis but there aren't enough of them). Is that some sort of typographic representation of speech marks? If it is then it's not ones that I've ever come across.

You may be alone in not recognising these as speech marks then
“”
"vegan friendly"

Oh and just because someone eats meat, it doesn't follow that they want to kill every animal they come across, so no that isn't necessarily hypocricy.

And just because i don’t eat meat does not mean I want to prevent other animals from eating meat 😀

 

I'm amazed no-one has suggested this brilliant how-to video:

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A firm favourite in our household!

Nigel Mansell hasnt aged well, has he....

Nigel Mansell hasnt aged well, has he....

...neither has the guy with the 'tache.

Veggie tree-huggist wife wants to wait another 48 hours with the humane trap and Mars Bar approach. After that it is sticky trap, carrier bag, hiking boot and wheelie bin time. Adios my leeetle furry amigo.

I've taken mine out to the countryside and left them at least half a mile away from habitation. I'm probably in a minority though.

I did that when there was a mouse in my first flat. I caught him in a humane trap, stuffed with chocolate hamster nibbles and bedding. He actually looked quite comfortable...

Adios my leeetle furry amigo.

You realise there are usually around eight in a mouse family group?

I think he's a solo. Very little evidence of poo and we caught the other one a couple of months ago so he's got nobody to get giggy with.

Whatever, I'm getting 24 sheets of "KILL PAPER" and I have a massive supply of carrier bags.

he's got nobody to get giggy with.

Maybe you need a different sort of bait then?

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Damn sexy!

We had one last year. I bought a humane trap and after that did nothing for a few days I made a trap of my own with a high sided bucket, a strip of plywood and a toilet roll tube and spent an entertaining evening letting the mouse try it out.

It didn't work but I did find out the mouse was CRAZY for peanut butter. So I put some of that in the humane trap, left it on the kitchen floor and 12 hours later it had worked.

Took the mouse about a mile and a half away and let him go into a field. He looked happy about it. Not had another one since.

2tyred, somewhere a mouse with two small mouse children was wondering why Daddy up and left one day. Why did he walk out on them?

Better to go into their community and wipe the lot out shock and awe style.. 😈

Better that they all live together in the vast halls of Valhalla.

There are too many to ever wipe out hora.

It has to be hearts and minds operation. Rise above it, treat your prisoners humanely, regardless of their crimes, show that you are not an aggressor and you are simply defending your own territory.

I also write out tiny fliers explaining my actions and encouraging any sympathisers to move to the house next door.

It has to be hearts and minds operation. Rise above it, treat your prisoners humanely, regardless of their crimes, show that you are not an aggressor and you are simply defending your own territory.

Hmmm... having considered this I shall still but them in a bag and stamp on them.

Whenever we have a mouse it doesn't last long... these two are in direct competition for them..!

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Avoid letting it die anywhere that gets damp though, because, if you can't reach it its just going to smell and smell and smell whenever it gets damp or warm.

having considered this I shall still but them in a bag and stamp on them.

I thought you were planning to waterboard them?

i caught one with a classic trap baited with peanut butter. there was no way i was releasing it alive, but it was only caught by the tail in the trap. I chucked the trap including mouse in a bucket of water to drown it. mouse climbed onto the floating trap and stood there looking at me...

i then had to get a broom handle and hold the mouse under the water til it's last breath came out of its little mouth. 😳 🙁

I've taken mine out to the countryside and left them at least half a mile away from habitation. I'm probably in a minority though.

Me too - a whole nest of them from under the shed. I only moved them because they started taking the hens' food.

mouse climbed onto the floating trap and stood there looking at me...

At that point I'd have rewarded its ingenuity by letting it live.

I found evidence of a mouse in my Garage this year, and caught 3 in 3 nights with a proper old school sprung trap and a lump of cheddar. If you've seen one, he'll have a bunch of mates hiding somewhere, probably egging him on and laughing at you.

My trap cost a whopping £1.50. If they won't take your bait, remove any other food so that what's on the trap is the tastiest treat available

Personally I'd get a couple of 6 packs of traps and go for the carpet bombing / shock & awe strategy
http://www.trapman.co.uk/plastic-mouse-trap.html

sobriety - Member
mouse climbed onto the floating trap and stood there looking at me...
At that point I'd have rewarded its ingenuity by letting it live.

it did cross my mind, but it had crossed the line one too many times sadly.

i then had to get a broom handle and hold the mouse under the water til it's last breath came out of its little mouth.

See this is the other thing:

I catch a mouse, take a walk, release it in the countryside and feel good about it all day.

You catch a mouse, kill it and still feel bad ages later.

Instant karma. Sometimes the action is the reward itself man.