A mouse in the house - help!!!

HeidiHeidi

:eek:

I've had my suspicions, but finally saw the beggar this morning.

Out on the back patio, sipping water delicately from a dish which has collected some water.

When he saw movement, he skittered into a vent that's screwed onto the wall outside the dining room.

I have no idea what's behind the vent - it certainly doesn't have a partner vent on the inside wall. He (and presumably the rest of his extended family) must be living in a cavity in that bit of wall.

What can I best do to get rid???

If I put down poison, I presume I'll run the risk of them all dying and rotting in my wall somewhere.

If I put down a trap(s), at least I'll know they're dead. What's the best trap, and what's the best bait. I presume the best location would be beside the vent on the ground outside.....

Any other suggestions?

Euwwwwwww :eek:

PS hadn't a clue where to put this post, so mods please feel free to move if there's a more appropriate location. If you could move the mouse(s) while you're at it, it'd be even better.....

beertons

Borrow a cat.

HeidiHeidi

beertons wrote: »

Borrow a cat.

There's about 40 semi-feral ones around the corner from me! Some chance of catching one though.

Tree

We use easy set mousetraps. The ones where there's a handle for resetting the trap (or releasing the mouse corpse into the wheelie bin). Peanut butter or nutella work well as bait. Face the trap against the wall, mice like to hug the wall when they need to run through exposed areas. Mice usually turn up around autumn.
There's a type of easy set mouse trap that covers the capture area (more like a lid than a wire), they leave you looking at less of the crushed mouse than the wire ones do, so they're worth the extra bobs tbh.

HeidiHeidi

Tree wrote: »

We use easy set mousetraps. The ones where there's a handle for resetting the trap (or releasing the mouse corpse into the wheelie bin). Peanut butter or nutella work well as bait. Face the trap against the wall, mice like to hug the wall when they need to run through exposed areas. Mice usually turn up around autumn.
There's a type of easy set mouse trap that covers the capture area (more like a lid than a wire), they leave you looking at less of the crushed mouse than the wire ones do, so they're worth the extra bobs tbh.

I got some rocket-fuel poison from a hardware shop this evening - not sure if it was a good idea but I've put a bit of it out anyway.

Where would I come by the traps you describe? I think they'd be a better job in fairness, at least I'd know the result - as unpalatable as that may be :eek: (I like the sound of the ones that cover the mess!)

LurkerNo1

Please don't use poison OP, its a terrible death for any animal and if it's dead body is scavenged then it will poison that animal too. I've rescued poisoned animals and the effects are horrible.

Tree

I get mine from woodies, they're called easy bait or easy set or something

peadar76

What level is the vent at? Is it below floor level? Does the house have suspended timber floors?

HeidiHeidi

peadar76 wrote: »

What level is the vent at? Is it below floor level? Does the house have suspended timber floors?

The vent is at ground level, and would be below the level of the floorboards (it's an old house with original floorboards).

Logic would dictate that the vent leads into the space below the floor, but I've never heard scratching or any other sound/sign of mice in the house.

I've only seen the shadow flitting across the patio, and just the other day caught sight of it properly to confirm it was a mouse.

Shemale

I had a few mice in the house about 10 years ago, caught them all in traps, I was telling a friend of mine who recommended this:

http://www.hardwareireland.ie/product/Pestclear-Ultrasonic-MouseRatAnt-Repeller-Asstd-Sizes-78/

You can get them in most hardwares/ woodies and b and q, you plug it into a socket and it transmits electro and magnetic pulses through the electric wiring in the house and it makes the little critters uncomfortable. I have not had a rodent problem since we got this and for the last 10 years I was living 100 metres from a canal with building work going on for most of it.

If you have laid poison ensure you have it in a good length of pipe under a few block so kids, cats and dogs can't eat it.