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misetusa
18-10-2008, 07:26 AM
Suggestions please on natural ways to deter / eliminate mice without laying poison! Here in the heart of the country they tend to move in with the extended family!! Heard one last night - despite 2 cats - so need to do something before the party begins!

collierjo
18-10-2008, 07:34 AM
You can get things to plug into sockets in the house and it emits a high pitched noise that keeps them away. My sister lives on a farm and it works for her. Have them where the mice might be getting in. You would probably need a few in the house. The brand name is Marley or Martley. They come in packs of four. Hope this helps.

HappyHunter
18-10-2008, 11:56 AM
I have heard the patter of little feet also, in the attic, despite having 2 cats. Of course the cats don't have access to the attic so today I will be putting them up there. Even if they don't find a mouse they will leave their scent and hopefully deter further invasion. Maybe this one was just sussing things out, like viewing the property before accepting it as a new home.

A few years ago when we were clearing a garage of empty boxes we found a box with a nest of baby mice, the other person felt sorry for the little creatures so he placed the box back in the garage and waited for the mother to return before he brought the box into the house. He secured it so the mother could not escape. Later that night he was going to bring them to a barn and leave them there in a ready made nest with straw and even some food. When he went to get the box to bring the family to their new home the mother was missing. Needless to say I was not impressed as this meant she was somewhere around the house. So once again he moved the box to the garage and waited till the mother returned, sure enough she did. He then brought them to a field at the side of the house and set them free.

A week later the Farmer cut the grass in the field and later that night as I sat at my computer I looked down and there was a tiny field mouse sitting at my foot, when I turned around there was another one and another one. They were scurrying all over the room -eeekk

I got my collie Zack in and he assisted in catching the mice, bringing them to us live and once we collected them all the mice were brought on a journey in a tin box. In all we caught ten mice that night. It seems that the mice we had deposited in the field came back for protection when they were disturbed by the farmer cutting the grass. I think they ran for the house because they remembered the kindness they had been shown, so best not to show hospitality to even one mouse because he will invite all his family and relatives to visit :)

poppie
18-10-2008, 01:35 PM
Hi,

I too had a mouse in the house. Of all places to find it it was in the toilet. Still have the jitters and cant sit on that particular loo. Unfortunately I got such a big fright that I flused the loo. Poor little thing. Hopefully he was a scout for his family and they have not moved in. I have heard and this could be wrong that they don't like steelwool so I have plugged all holes around the pipes with steelwool and I have sealed off any other holes that I could with the expansion foam stuff. Hopefully I flushed the only one. I hate mice and get the jitters big time.

You also get a have a heart mouse trap now a days that catches the mouse alive and you can set it free again. Love animals and all but sounds like a bit too much as they will continue to come back. Have 3 little kids and don't want to take a chance with pests and jikky stuff so it will have to be the mice that goes in this house by any means (expect poisen) possible.

Hope I have not offended anybody but it is just my opinion.

Ta
Poppie

kilk
18-10-2008, 01:41 PM
i had a nice warm clothes press beside the stove, of course the mices moved in and once when i was rumaging through it for a hat, and quicker than you could say aaaagh! a mouse shot out an up my arm, across my chest and down the other arm and disappeared into the press again! it took its own life the next day in a trap designed to catch its tail.. !
they could have been part of a sect tho cos the others all went the same way too.

misetusa
18-10-2008, 01:53 PM
Lol - well, your replies have brightened by day anyhow!! I have tried the plug in thingies - it was after that I got the cats!! I would have a severe problem with catching live mice - particularly if my 5 year old got to the trap before I did..... oops! I heard something somewhere (I think!) a bout using conkers to ward them off?

christiano1
18-10-2008, 02:07 PM
Bait Boxes Are The Answer......mice Are Are Attracted By The Smell Of Chocolate And Peanuts(not Salted)........you Would Need Patience As Mice Are Suspicious, But Once They Are Trapped They Need To Be Released Within A Few Hours........about A Mile Or So Away As They Will Find Their Way Back To House........you Might Need To Try Internet To Get Boxes Although Some Hardware Stores Might Have Them...........got Rid Of All Ours Without Killing Them.......make Sure No Other Food Is Available Or They Wont Need To Use Bait Box! Hope This Helps.

narki
18-10-2008, 02:32 PM
Have a look at this site http://www.smithsax.btinternet.co.uk/ it's how to build your own humane mouse trap. My mum had some mice in her house, I moved in for a couple of days caught all of them in a humane mouse trap that I bought in a pet shop and let them all out in a big field about a mile away. I was told they were wood mice and they were really cute with big huge ears, nothing to be afraid of. I forgot to add that mice are supposed to hate the smell of peppermint and if you buy peppermint oil and soak some cotton wool in it , place these around where you think they are getting in, it should put them off . You can also buy special pouches of peppermint mixed with spearmint called Mouse Away if you wanted to try that.

Bawnie
18-10-2008, 02:33 PM
Hi there

Bait boxes or mice friendly traps should be available but are seemingly more expensive than the good old trap. To bait it ... Yes Mint Aero or Chomp.. Seemingly they love Mint Aero! Hopefully it'll work for you. :) Good luck

erica
18-10-2008, 06:14 PM
Did you know that mice can live up to three years and they produce a litter every 21 days, each litter having up to 10 or 12 little baby mices........ do the maths!!!!

I've used the plug in deterrants since I moved in two and a half years ago and have had no mice, so far. We have a cat too, which helps. She sometimes kills mice outside and drops them at the back door. If I were to discover mice in the house though, I would have to use a trap, none of this humane nonsense!! There's no danger of mice becoming extinct, at that rate of reproduction!

kilk
18-10-2008, 06:17 PM
look behind yuuuuuu.....

smokeyeyes
18-10-2008, 07:05 PM
I have to say folks I have tried those plug in type electrical deterrants and found them useless. This was in a small boiler room outside. Left it plugged in all the time and the little blighters must have been deaf cos they were immune to it!! Only one thing for it - the good old fashioned mousetrap, sorry.

chaos
18-10-2008, 10:19 PM
We had a terrible problem with not just mice, but rats too - it wasn't just a nightmare when I felt a rat run over my foot in the bathroom half way through the night a few years ago.
The quarry at the back of the terrace had been re landscaped, disturbing the rats who found their way into houses through tumble dryer vents and in our case a hole behind a rotten skirting board. We tried the special plugs which didn't work at first, so we had to resort to poison to get rid of them.
Then once we were sure we were rid of them, tried the plugs again, and there's been no sight nor sound of anything since. It seems that you have to be sure that they're not nesting anywhere. It's easier to keep them away than to get them out afterwards. Try the plugs again. Good luck.
I have heard that you don't find mice and rats taking up residence in the same house at the same time.

d.edlee
18-10-2008, 10:36 PM
If you were hungry would noise stop you eating???? the plug ins dont work [trust me am married to a pest controller] best wishes Angie

HappyHunter
19-10-2008, 03:56 AM
Many years ago I noticed my cat playing with something in my garden in suburbia in Dublin. I went out and there, in an enclosed back garden was a white mouse with the cat playing happily with it. I did not think before I put down my hand and the mouse ran up it, I brought it in and put it in a hamster cage. It lived happily there until it died two years later.

Last year my two cats started leaving presents outside the front and back door for me - dead rats (Yuck), even grown men who were working here at the time would not remove the bodies, so I had to do that myself.

I attended a meeting with an animal psychologist once and he said that when a cat leaves something dead at your door it is offering you something in return for the care you give it.

I used the humane traps last year in the house for mice and forgot to check one in the hotpress. When one of the builders checked it he shook it and said there was nothing in it but when he took it outside and opened it out jumped a tiny mouse who charged as fast as he could across the yard and into the field with the builder chasing after him - that was comical - poor ickle mouse ;)

Stuarty
19-10-2008, 06:37 PM
I also live in the sticks, my eco friendly solution in my Jack Russell (who you might remember also assists in deterring junk mail posters). She catches any that try to move in usually just twice a year, at the beginning of the winter when the weather starts to turn and when we get the first really cold spell. Our neighbours have a cat and they would say that cats are fab at pest control as long as you dont overfeed them, (there is a healthy balance)

kiara
13-12-2008, 10:00 PM
A few years ago at my mums, a mouse strolled into the sitting room not a bother to him but when he spotted that there was actually people in the room he ran up the pipe of the hoover which had been left inside the door! He ran all the way down to the bag so he was easy to get rid of, I don't suppose this happens too often though! There are traps that just trap them instead of killing them which I would prefer. The ones that kill them are horrible it's not like mice are out to do us any harm! Rats... well thats a different matter there's no way I'd be setting them free! A new housing estate being built near us disturbed loads of them and when I saw one in my back garden I couldn't get my hands on poison fast enough! Kiara x

gillo
13-12-2008, 10:52 PM
Actually mice ARE quite a health hazard, kiara. They urinate up to 9 times aminute, I remember reading somewhere. Don't fancy that running around my house thank you very much! Anyway, if you don't kill them they'll only come back in to nest and they have up to 15 babies in a litter and I'm not sure how many litters in a year but I'd say it's more than one!

kiara
13-12-2008, 11:18 PM
Actually mice ARE quite a health hazard, kiara. They urinate up to 9 times aminute, I remember reading somewhere. Don't fancy that running around my house thank you very much! Anyway, if you don't kill them they'll only come back in to nest and they have up to 15 babies in a litter and I'm not sure how many litters in a year but I'd say it's more than one!

Really! 9 times god yeah they must be constantly pregnant lol! I wouldn't want them in the house either I just hate the thought of them being decapitated!

magiceight
13-12-2008, 11:51 PM
Aw... I love mice :(

Re: those plug-in mouse deterrents - be careful if you've got goldfish or rodents like rabbits, hamsters etc! They can kill them. We lost several fish before we copped what was going on, and I know someone who had two rabbits die.

Re: Peppermint oil - if you've got cats, don't use essential oils around them - it can seriously poison them, their livers aren't able to metabolise the phenols in the oils.

I've heard that about mice and rats not inhabiting the same space.... I'd rather have the mice, rat urine is dangerous.

misstake
13-12-2008, 11:57 PM
yes i love mice also They are so cute but they never visit me awwwwwwwwww lol i got a dog maby he dont like them and yes mice and rats never mix if you have one you wont get the other maby i have rats lol ok i like them to and released some at mums my brother caught Ok he was not happy

kiara
14-12-2008, 12:24 AM
Aw... I love mice :(

Re: those plug-in mouse deterrents - be careful if you've got goldfish or rodents like rabbits, hamsters etc! They can kill them. We lost several fish before we copped what was going on, and I know someone who had two rabbits die.

Re: Peppermint oil - if you've got cats, don't use essential oils around them - it can seriously poison them, their livers aren't able to metabolise the phenols in the oils.

I've heard that about mice and rats not inhabiting the same space.... I'd rather have the mice, rat urine is dangerous.


Yes rat urine is extremely dangerous! When I was in school, a girl in my year lost her father to wields disease! It was was from coming into contact with rat urine, he was a young fit strong man and it killed him! Rats are dirty disgusting creatures but mice I don't know they are cute... still don't want them in the house though! kiara x

bluecurlygirl
14-12-2008, 03:23 AM
Sorry I know it's strong but that's how I feel - by any means possible. I didn't used to feel that way. A few years ago I was renting a private owned house that had holes in the walls where the previous tenant removed the extractor fans and the landlord was in America..... long story! Anyway, the mice moved in - at a ferocious rate. We had traps down. Couldn't put a dish down for a second or a mouse would jump on it and eat the food in front of us. They pulled the stuffing out of my pillow as I lay on it. I couldn't move with fear. They will not do that to me again. First sound of a mouse and the pellets come out - sorry.

Bubbles2
17-12-2008, 11:20 AM
I am having a good old laugh here, last year I woke during the night to the pitter patter of four tiny feet. I refused to sleep in the bedroom till my hubby got rid. Next day he found the mouse in the litter bin which had a plastic bag as a liner so he duly pulled the bag out of the bin, tied it, opened the window and put it out on the path. He went out the back door to collect the bag to release the mouse - only to find the bag had blown away in the wind. So if anyone finds a plastic bag with a mouse in it - they don't need to return it thanks!!!!!!

MandyD
17-12-2008, 01:11 PM
I once caught a mouse in my OVEN!!! lol caught him with a piece of chocolate in one of those plastic eco-friendly mouse traps. Set him free in the garden.

Around this time of year, there are bound to be lots of lil meeces runnin about... I don't really mind them to be honest. I have a snake who eats mice so I guess it's a good thing they don't bother me!

Kernow
17-12-2008, 01:50 PM
Hi all, Please do not use the sticky pad type 'humain' traps. They are evil and should be taken off the market. I don't like killing any animal, so I tried them. The Idea is great the mouse walks over the pad, its feet gets stuck you pick up the trap, take it outside squirt a bit of washing up liquid on its feet it jumps of and lives happly ever after.........so the makers would make you beleve. The reality is.... (DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVE NATURE) The mouse walks over the pad, gets its feet stuck, struggles (as you would) getting more than just its feet stuck. When I went to pick up the trap, the mouse had got its eye stuck in the gunk, which during the struggle had been pulled out of its head, its mouth and nose had been glued up with the gunk, I originally thought it was dead, but on closer inspection it had just been mumified in the gunk, and was still alive. I ended up drowning it in a bucket of water, to put it out of its missery. What a horrible way to go. I removed the rest of the traps.

MandyD
17-12-2008, 01:54 PM
Hi all, Please do not use the sticky pad type 'humain' traps. They are evil and should be taken off the market. I don't like killing any animal, so I tried them. The Idea is great the mouse walks over the pad, its feet gets stuck you pick up the trap, take it outside squirt a bit of washing up liquid on its feet it jumps of and lives happly ever after.........so the makers would make you beleve. The reality is.... (DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE A SENSITIVE NATURE) The mouse walks over the pad, gets its feet stuck, struggles (as you would) getting more than just its feet stuck. When I went to pick up the trap, the mouse had got its eye stuck in the gunk, which during the struggle had been pulled out of its head, its mouth and nose had been glued up with the gunk, I originally thought it was dead, but on closer inspection it had just been mumified in the gunk, and was still alive. I ended up drowning it in a bucket of water, to put it out of its missery. What a horrible way to go. I removed the rest of the traps.

OMG the poor poor thing!!!

gillo
17-12-2008, 03:31 PM
At least the traditional traps are instantaneous, that just caused unnecessary suffering to both the mouse and the person trying to free it. I'm afraid I just don't like the creatures, and any that come into my house will be killed if it's left to me to deal with, but I don't believe in being cruel to any animal and would use traditional traps