keeping mice away

BigEejit

I know this forum is more for pets than anything else ... but I am having a mice problem (pests rather than pets) ....
The area:
Building going on nearby, probably disturbing the habitats of the fricking mice.

The house:
The ground floor of my house has a raised floor, there are vents all around the house to let in air underneath this floor (old house, used to be a common 'feature').

The problem:
We get mice, regularly. I usually catch them in one of the two mouse traps that are always set in the kitchen, but sometimes a mouse gets in under the floor and dies there. The smell, as you would imagine, is chronic when this happens. I do not put down poison because I have a 2 year old child in the house, and anyway, that would probably lead to MORE dead mice under the floor.

I've tried to scare them away with those ultrasonic jobbies (I even tried puttin them on timers so that they turn off and on, because I heard that the mice will get used to the noise if it is on constantly). That didnt work, despite using 2 of them at the same time.
I sealed all of the vents. Expanding foam and reinforced tape. That didnt work (no damage to the stuff covering the vents, but the feckers can still find their way in).
Cant get a cat, wife and daughter allergic to them (sneezing and coughing fits).

So .... anyone have any ideas? ... I would like not to have to kill every mouse that comes near the house. Is there something that I can spread around the house that will keep them away?... I dont want to install external ultrasonic jobbies because I think they would be robbed and or battered to bits in no time.

Hellrazer

Had the same problem last Winter with rats AND mice.And the Cat we have couldnt catch a cold!!!!
Buy rentokill rat poison in woodies and put it in the vents,attic and other hidden away areas.It comes in little bags with bait trays which hold the exact amount needed per area.Since we put the stuff down I havent seen a mice in months and the poison has not been disturbed in months.

Hope this helps
Richie.

FAYESY

Ok so a cat is out of the question, but how about a ferret or 2 in an outside enclosure?? the smell keeps mice away, you can let the ferrets run in the house once your wife & child are out & they will chase away mice.

Hope this helps

Faye

KoNiT

We had that problem two years running into winter.
We kept setting traps as poison turned them into air freshners (if they're rats that is).

Place shelters (e.g. short lengths of 1 1/2" PVC pipes) for the mice/rats & lay poison in them, your child won't be able to get at that poison. look around the eves of the house, under window cills etc & see if you can seal any holes there

sonic traps are a waste ... I was setting a trap in the kitchen & a mouse was watching me intently while the buzzer was above his head.... I was sickened, could have swore he was laughing at me.

BigEejit

Cheers for the replies ...

I was talking about this with a mate of mine and he mentioned that you can get a powder that you spread on the lawn and that keeps off cats and dogs ... might it work for mice?

Borzoi

An improvement on the bait in tube model is a 'tack board' which has the bait and a sticky substance applied to a board, which will stop the creature wandering off to die under the floorboards.

They're normally only got from a pest control firm.

This thread might also fit in gardening/diy, which has a more robust attitude to animal rights

doctor evil

Look on the bright side, if you got mice then you dont have rats!

taraspink

mayi ask a stupid question and ask why you wont have rats when you have mice!!? i really need help! ok so to cut a long story short ive been living with my boyfriend of 4 years now! we have been living n a 4 bedroom house the last
2 and a half years only to notice we were sharing with 2 mice, now heres the problem..im terified of mice/rats its a phobia.. i cant stay here, i really cant. i cant sleep eat or do anything! im even afraid to sit! i am going insane really i am! im walking 24/7, im vomiting with worry,, this doesnt feel like my home anymore, i cant be here,im not comfortable.
i need to get out of here right now but my boyfriend said im over reacting and dat hes not going to move house! what should i do.i dont want to lose him but i cant stay here!!does anyone else feel like this around them or a place they have been?:eek::(

irish1967

There are plenty of devices for getting rid of mice. My parents have those sonic plugs and even living in a rural setting have no mice in the house. I have the cat so that takes care if my rodent problems.

Leaving your current residence is kinda pointless as there are mice and rats everywhere and sooner or later it will happen again. Stay where you are and solve the problem there. Boyfriend will help I'm sure.

P.S. 2003 !?!?!?

mymo

Taraspink, could you get a cat?
Set some traps and that will get rid of the ones that are there, but if you want to keep the house clear, a cat is great, you don't have to get a kitten, I adopted an adult cat (about 3 years old), 18 months back and if I open a window he'll get out and bring me a dead present.
I had mice when I moved into my house, I caught a huge number and every few weeks they were back, but never had them since I got my first cat 9 years ago(at least not for long 'cos the cats will go mad until they get them).


Just realized what the 2003 meant, sorry.

angelfire9

If cats are not an option does that mean dogs are as well?
Jack Russells are GREAT mice catchers!!

starviewadams

Seal every tiny,miniscule hole on the outside of the house,around pipes/vents etc with cement or polyfilla stuff along with a bit of wire mesh,and then use glue traps and snap traps to kill any mice trapped inside.Worked for us.

Sigma Force

Getting pet to go after the mice isn't a valid enough reason for getting a pet anyway and they can make a bit of a mess playing with their prey or leave it on your pillow as a present.

We have had mousey problems before (old house) and for the first time in a couple of years we had mice in the hotpress coming from the attic they got into the walls of the old part because we had a frame then new plasterboard put on so there's a gap and old chimneys behind.

You need a combination of things, if you get some sheets of 1/4 inch (and smaller if possible) wire mesh or 'avairy netting' and use it to block over vents, this will still allow air to flow through but also keep away the mice.

Do the same with any exposed pipes as well like your kitchen sink pipe.

Get that really rough wire wool and use it to block any gaps.

Peppermint oil can put them off if you wipe it over window frames, you can wash the floors with it as well if you want just dilute it in water to give the place a generally minty smell and anywhere you think they are hanging out, aparently mice hate the smell.

Keep going with the wooden traps, we use humane, wood and plastic traps but the old fashioned wooden ones are best and very quick, use some sellotape to hold the food down so the mouse tugs on it properly that way they die instantly and don't end up gettin a tail stuck. I know it's horrible but it's the quickest way.

Go up to the attic and block off any vents with the aviary wire, check chimneys if you have old ones that are not in use. cover over any holes with the wire wool and any larger areas with timber so they can't come down from the attic if they get in.

I'm not so sure the plug in things work either but I got a new one anyway probably a waste of money but no harm keeping it plugged in even at night.

Keep the place spotless, no crumbs ..hard to do, but keep doors closed at night if there are gaps under the doors block them off.

Check under the floors if you can and make sure it's only the vents that are letting them in, to make sure there's no structural issues that are leading to them coming in.

Luckily we've heard two in the walls and they moved down to the hotpress just where the tank is, and both were caught in the trap, where there's on there's more but we could only hear two and so I rekon we got them all. We've had none in the actual house itself, they gross me out so much.

Three of the rooms in the old part of the house have that gap as well just wish we could of afforded to fill it in, we refloored over it and never had mice under it but like yours we have vents around the outside but they are very narrow and don't think they can get through. Bit draughty though so long term if you ever can might be worth having the floors filled in to keep them mice out and warm up the floors.

It's a pain but you might need to go on hands and knees and see if you can spot any little gaps around the kitchen as well, the hotpress seems to be the most popular though it's warm and easily accessable from the attic.

Graces7

Borzoi wrote: »

An improvement on the bait in tube model is a 'tack board' which has the bait and a sticky substance applied to a board, which will stop the creature wandering off to die under the floorboards.

They're normally only got from a pest control firm.

This thread might also fit in gardening/diy, which has a more robust attitude to animal rights

You mean glue traps? Revolting things.. google them please. Utterly revolting.

irish1967

Graces7 wrote: »

You mean glue traps? Revolting things.. google them please. Utterly revolting.

That comment was posted over 7 years ago Graces7, maybe Borzoi has had a change of heart since then.

scudzilla

RAT SHIIT

That's what we used when we thought we had some mice in the shed.

We had 2 pet rats so just put some of there droppings on the shed floor, no more sign of mice after that

Graces7

irish1967 wrote: »

That comment was posted over 7 years ago Graces7, maybe Borzoi has had a change of heart since then.

Phew! Thank you. Remember the Rite Price shop in the SuperValu arcade? They used to sell those glue traps so we boycotted them...

ashblag

I have one of those plug in sonic things I think they are great tbh.
You need to keep them plugged in all the time though, and they can take a few weeks for to work to full effect.

We were catching about 2-3 mice every winter. Havent seen sign of one in the last two years

User Friendly

Ive heard it said that if you have a litter of mice in your house that the mother mouse will not abandon her young even when the sonic device is plugged in.

Apparently this device will only keep mice already not in the dwelling away,but wont rid a female when she has newly born.
Now i dont know any different,just saying what i was told by someone,and id be inclined to believe it too,nature being what it is.
In saying all this,i had 2 sonic devices previously as i had a family of mice nesting in a flat.... ended up i caught 12/13/14 of the sods in a couple of weeks.i kept the devices plugged in after ridding the flat of them and never,well to my knowledge anyway,had a mouse enter the flat again.

deelite

I hate mice - but I don't know how they're getting in. I want to get my attic insulated but am terrified that when it's getting done all the mice will come down...(don't ask). I have the pluggy in but that doesn't work, so I'm going to try the peppermint trick. Maybe I'll just leave a bowl of peppermint oil in the attic and hopefully if there's any there they'll run away.