Do mouse repellants work?

Sandvich

I have a problem with mice in my apartment. I catch one, and then another turns up a month later. This is the first time I seem to have more than one mouse at a time - I caught one a few days ago and just saw a small one rustling around in the kitchen.

I find it very difficult to set traps so I'm wondering what to do. They even sneak in to my room at night.

convert

Do you mean a spray or the plug in repellants? Because if it's the latter, they're absolutely useless. I woke up one night to find a mouse in my room running around in front of the plug in 'repellant'! :rolleyes:

Sandvich

Do the sprays work then?

I just keep getting mouse in this place...

tricky D

No the repellants don't work well. They're not good value, personally I reckon they're almost useless as they just move them to somewhere else, usually not far enough away and the mice can get used to them. Poisons can even be worse if the mouse dies in a wall or floorboard, your place will stink.

Worse news is that mice rarely come in ones or twos, they usually infest in much greater numbers. They also urinate everywhere and this can lead to some seriously dangerous infections, so you need to get rid of them as a matter of priority.

The best solution by far is snap traps. They're around €1 or less, so get a few. Use peanut butter or chocolate for bait and place the trap at right angles to the wall bait side against the wall. Keep setting traps until you're absolutely sure they have all been killed.

Disinfect your surfaces thoroughly especially near the wall where they usually run, as mice don't like travelling across surfaces.

More:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056017107
and in other threads if you want to search further.

brian ireland

Had mice twice in my life. I used the fat off a rasher to bait them to the trap. Someone told me they pick up the sent very easy. Laid the traps at night and they were full next day.

Had one of those electric plug in things but it was useless.

Sandvich

tricky D wrote: »

No the repellants don't work well. They're not good value, personally I reckon they're almost useless as they just move them to somewhere else, usually not far enough away and the mice can get used to them. Poisons can even be worse if the mouse dies in a wall or floorboard, your place will stink.

Worse news is that mice rarely come in ones or twos, they usually infest in much greater numbers. They also urinate everywhere and this can lead to some seriously dangerous infections, so you need to get rid of them as a matter of priority.

The best solution by far is snap traps. They're around €1 or less, so get a few. Use peanut butter or chocolate for bait and place the trap at right angles to the wall bait side against the wall. Keep setting traps until you're absolutely sure they have all been killed.

Disinfect your surfaces thoroughly especially near the wall where they usually run, as mice don't like travelling across surfaces.

More:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056017107
and in other threads if you want to search further.

I find the snap traps really hard to set though. Since I have to put them on the ground. Basically when I manage to set it. the force of me taking my hand off is usually enough to set it off. And I usually have to superglue the food to it or else they'll just lift it right off.

Would smearing cream cheese and bits of ham work maybe instead of superglue?

wetdogsmell

Sandvich wrote: »

I find the snap traps really hard to set though. Since I have to put them on the ground. Basically when I manage to set it. the force of me taking my hand off is usually enough to set it off. And I usually have to superglue the food to it or else they'll just lift it right off.

Would smearing cream cheese and bits of ham work maybe instead of superglue?

as already said mate, peanut butter, (pest control companys use it because it works)

johndoe99

get a cat

tricky D

Sandvich wrote: »

I find the snap traps really hard to set though. Since I have to put them on the ground. Basically when I manage to set it. the force of me taking my hand off is usually enough to set it off. And I usually have to superglue the food to it or else they'll just lift it right off.

Would smearing cream cheese and bits of ham work maybe instead of superglue?

They are the best solution and are indeed a pain to set, especially the final placing part and that they are not exactly finely tuned. Reckon you've just got to practice a bit.

Smear the peanut butter in - simples.

Sandvich

Oh god I just caught one

I heard it snap and I ran out to see

It wasn't dead at all. It struggled against it, and blood splattered everywhere. It was horrible to watch. It seemed to kill itself trying to struggle.

I'm dreading cleaning it up. It could be bad to come into contact with mouse blood. I placed it on top of the cooker too(though I rarely ever put any actual food on top of the cooker).

I think I'll probably throw the trap out with it, though it's a bit of a waste.

pokertalk

is there a time of year you get mice or what because i can hear them running around inside the walls at night and bits of rubble falling tru the partitions but have not yet seen one

davocesque

you know what they say, for every mouse you catch, their is 5 you didnt!!

Sandvich

pokertalk wrote: »

is there a time of year you get mice or what because i can hear them running around inside the walls at night and bits of rubble falling tru the partitions but have not yet seen one

They come in during winter when it's cold.

you know what they say, for every mouse you catch, their is 5 you didnt!!

I have a second trap out. We'll see if that gets clicked. It's vaguely possible it could have only been the two of them. There hasn't been enough mouse-related activity for there to be a load, but I live in an apartment block so they might be busy bothering other people too. This mouse is probably fairly new, as it's not as shy as the one I had before it. That one ran away as soon as I came into the room. This one looked at me before running away. It makes me feel all the worse for killing them, a lot of the mice I've "Met" have had different personalities almost like cats or dogs.

The cheese spread + ham seems to work well anyway.

pokertalk

Sandvich wrote: »

They come in during winter when it's cold.




The cheese spread + ham seems to work well anyway.

mmmmmm cheese spread and ham . you might come down in the morning
and find me stuck in it:P

kylith

I had one of the ultrasonic repellers and it seemed to work (ie. no sign of mice) for a few years, you have to remember to change the frequency every couple of weeks or they get used to it. Whether that was because of the repeller or because there were just no mice I don't know.

They got in again a couple of years ago and I set snap traps which didn't work because they didn't go off, the mice would just steal the bait. If the trap's not killing the mouse go to your local hardware shop and ask for something more sensetive, the ones they gave me have a hair-trigger and pretty much decapitate the mouse.

I find that terriers are the best for both alerting me to the presence of rodents, and for dispatching any rodent stupid enough to show its face.

doctor evil

Have one of those repellents, received it as a gift. It does nothing so I am happy I have not wasted any money on it.

Mars bars and peanut butter work well for bait. They are tricky to set at first but it gets easier with practice.

I find with some snap traps that the spring is not strong enough, I found the weaker ones to be the ones with the flap of wood that the mouse steps on.

The Swordsman

We've had a problem with mice since we had an extension built four years ago. We've been in the house 17 years and in the first 13, we only ever had one mouse. Since the extension was built, we've got around 10 each winter. We can't seem to find how the buggers are getting in.

They usually come in around Halloween time. However this year, I've already caught two so they may be coming in a bit earlier.

My tips are:

Set the traps in such a way that they will spring easily (ie make sure the hook is right at the end of the bar). If they are not set right, the mice will just take the bait off the trap without springing it. My bait of choice is Nutella.

The humane traps work very well. However, the year I used one we had more than our usual quota so I'm convinced that when you release them they just come back in. Someone suggested to me that you can drown them easily (which he said is humane though I don't think I could bring myself to doing it) so that may be alternative to releasing them and having them come back in. Someone else suggested disposing of them through the letterbox of someone you don't like but I wouldn't condone that ;).