Something is Living with Me!!!!!

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 1/19/2009 5:15:26 PM
Author: jmtomaui
Jo, I have used the traps that Karl recommends and they work really well. I will tell you what a vet tech told me - if you have 1 you will have 2. They are more often than not travelling in pairs. And anytime I caught one, I put out a second trap and always caught a second. Because I'm paranoid, I would then put a 3rd trap out to be sure there were no more lingering around.


The vet tech suggested using peanut butter as the PB draws them in and they 'stay' longer than darting in for the cheese. Or if the cheese falls out, you have lost an opportunity.


It is disconcerting to think about all of this but so satisfying when you are able to say 'Hey, I took care of this on my own!'


Good luck with it.

Ditto on there likely being more than one.

I hate to say it, but I would honestly get the non-humane snap traps if you don't have other pets. I'm a huge animal lover, but I'm also an immunologist, and mice and rats can carry some nasty things, I'd rather just kill it quickly and be over with...

Totally understand the icky feeling - no fun at all!!

 

[lyra]

Yep, if there's one mouse I think the statistics say there are 17 more or something insane like that. We had them in the basement at our old house 8 or 9 years ago, and I still have nightmares about it. They leave copious amounts of urine in trails because that's how they mark their preferred paths. Less feces than urine. I know way too much about this, but actually, if you plug any and all possible ingress/egress points, you will be okay. They can fit through holes the size of a dime. All that said, I did the humane trapping thing and then learned that they can find their way back to your house from a kilometre away! Little brats! So if you go that route, take them far, far away. Good luck. It's probably not going to be that hard to find the places to plug up. We actually had a worse problem at this house with bees (humongous ones!!!) coming into the basement laundry room for a while. No idea why that was happening or how, but eventually we plugged everything for that too.

ETA: make sure your room has absolutely no consumables, and for the kitchen, put everything in airtight containers like metal, glass or hard plastic. Obvious stuff really. They don't want to live in your house unless they're finding food or even warmth if it is a bad cold winter.

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/19/2009 5:15:26 PM
Author: jmtomaui
Jo, I have used the traps that Karl recommends and they work really well. I will tell you what a vet tech told me - if you have 1 you will have 2. They are more often than not travelling in pairs. And anytime I caught one, I put out a second trap and always caught a second. Because I''m paranoid, I would then put a 3rd trap out to be sure there were no more lingering around.

The vet tech suggested using peanut butter as the PB draws them in and they ''stay'' longer than darting in for the cheese. Or if the cheese falls out, you have lost an opportunity.

It is disconcerting to think about all of this but so satisfying when you are able to say ''Hey, I took care of this on my own!''

Good luck with it.

I like that thought! Thanks!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Do you happen to have a cat? My parents have this cat that caught a mouse just last week in their house - yuck! Luckily my dad found it and disposed of it. It''s the only mouse they''ve ever had in this house, but she caught plenty at our old house - but we were near woods and she was allowed to go outside. Good luck getting rid of the bugger!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/19/2009 9:53:18 AM
Author:joflier
Last night I got woken up by a high pitched squeaking in my bedroom. I was too scared to turn on the lights. So I finally got my cellphone and looked around a little bit and didn''t see anything with that. Then I ran out of the room and shut the door. I finally got myself dressed and ready to face whatever it might be. I went back in......and.......NOTHING.

Not a thing to be found. Not a sound to be heard. What is it? My first thought is a bat. Do bats make noises that you can hear? Or perhaps a mouse? But where would the mouse go when I shut the door. Oh man this is freaking me out! Any thoughts?

RH gf ....that was your soon to be X husband whom had changed himself into a bat

just to scare ya.

 

[pjean]

Date: 1/19/2009 9:58:13 PM
Author: DivaDiamond007
Do you happen to have a cat? My parents have this cat that caught a mouse just last week in their house - yuck! Luckily my dad found it and disposed of it. It''s the only mouse they''ve ever had in this house, but she caught plenty at our old house - but we were near woods and she was allowed to go outside. Good luck getting rid of the bugger!

You know, you could get a cat or a dog. One, it would probably deal with the mouse. Two, when you hear a noise at night, you know what it is. Three, if you''re wrong, the pet will sure let you know! Four, you''re not alone in the house anymore. Five, you could save a life, since shelters are so overcrowded right now.

Am I winning you over at all?

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/19/2009 10:36:21 PM
Author: pjean

Date: 1/19/2009 9:58:13 PM
Author: DivaDiamond007
Do you happen to have a cat? My parents have this cat that caught a mouse just last week in their house - yuck! Luckily my dad found it and disposed of it. It''s the only mouse they''ve ever had in this house, but she caught plenty at our old house - but we were near woods and she was allowed to go outside. Good luck getting rid of the bugger!

You know, you could get a cat or a dog. One, it would probably deal with the mouse. Two, when you hear a noise at night, you know what it is. Three, if you''re wrong, the pet will sure let you know! Four, you''re not alone in the house anymore. Five, you could save a life, since shelters are so overcrowded right now.

Am I winning you over at all?

I''ve thought about a cat, but I don''t have any extra money to take care of pet at this point. That would be nice company though..........hmm........have to consider it.

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/19/2009 10:15:07 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
RH gf ....that was your soon to be X husband whom had changed himself into a bat

just to scare ya.

Oh lovely. Can you come over and get rid of him? The bat, i mean.

 

[marcy]

We had mice in the place we lived when we first got married and I never heard them make a noise. They like paper, bags, etc and I would hear them in that. I made them a batch of D-Con surprise but we also had to find where they were getting in and plug the hole with steel wool then seal it up. I came in the house every day and yelled "Mickey you little ..... we''re home". DH thought I was insane.

Good luck.

 

[Lorelei]

Don't forget to sniff suspect areas too for evidence as mice are stinky little b*ggers, the mousey smell is quite distinctive, one sniffed never forgotten....

Unfortunately there is bound to be more than one, but the humane traps should work - you can do this!

 

[Rock Your Socks]

could it possibly be a bunch of geckos??

they run up and down walls and make some strange noises!

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/20/2009 6:03:00 AM
Author: Rock Your Socks
could it possibly be a bunch of geckos??

they run up and down walls and make some strange noises!

Nope. No geckos in Wisconsin in the middle of winter!

 

[musey]

Date: 1/19/2009 10:26:51 AM
Author: BeachRunner

Date: 1/19/2009 10:14:17 AM

Author: Lorelei

Date: 1/19/2009 10:09:35 AM


Author: Elmorton


Re: mouse traps. I''d really get the humane traps...the sticky ones are awful (you''ll never hear get the screaming out of your head once you catch the mouse, and then you have to do the awful task of disposing of an alive, starving and freaking out mouse) and the ones that snap are dangerous for other pets but moreover they often don''t actually kill the mouse. I had a mouse in a dorm room in college (ick, ick, ick) and it was coming in under my bed. In the early morning, I heard the trap click and then the mouse was dragging himself around because it had gotten a tail or leg or something. Eventually, mousie got free and maintenance came and plugged the hole with steel wool (it was coming in through some kind of ventilation duct or something).

Ditto.

Ouch! I (fortunetly), never had to deal with mouse traps, had no idea they were that inhumane. I take back my suggestion of traditional traps, and go with the humane mouse trap suggestion

Yes please. I just love little mousies. They''re just looking for a warm home and some food

just help the little guy re-locate...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/20/2009 3:07:58 PM
Author: musey

Date: 1/19/2009 10:26:51 AM
Author: BeachRunner

Date: 1/19/2009 10:14:17 AM

Author: Lorelei

Date: 1/19/2009 10:09:35 AM


Author: Elmorton


Re: mouse traps. I''d really get the humane traps...the sticky ones are awful (you''ll never hear get the screaming out of your head once you catch the mouse, and then you have to do the awful task of disposing of an alive, starving and freaking out mouse) and the ones that snap are dangerous for other pets but moreover they often don''t actually kill the mouse. I had a mouse in a dorm room in college (ick, ick, ick) and it was coming in under my bed. In the early morning, I heard the trap click and then the mouse was dragging himself around because it had gotten a tail or leg or something. Eventually, mousie got free and maintenance came and plugged the hole with steel wool (it was coming in through some kind of ventilation duct or something).

Ditto.

Ouch! I (fortunetly), never had to deal with mouse traps, had no idea they were that inhumane. I take back my suggestion of traditional traps, and go with the humane mouse trap suggestion

Yes please. I just love little mousies. They''re just looking for a warm home and some food

just help the little guy re-locate...

I am rather partial to sweet meeces mouses too!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I''ll bet the mouse is awfully cute! Don''t hurt it - just relocate it!

 

[bee*]

Date: 1/20/2009 3:09:26 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 1/20/2009 3:07:58 PM

Author: musey

Date: 1/19/2009 10:26:51 AM

Author: BeachRunner

Date: 1/19/2009 10:14:17 AM


Author: Lorelei

Date: 1/19/2009 10:09:35 AM



Author: Elmorton



Re: mouse traps. I''d really get the humane traps...the sticky ones are awful (you''ll never hear get the screaming out of your head once you catch the mouse, and then you have to do the awful task of disposing of an alive, starving and freaking out mouse) and the ones that snap are dangerous for other pets but moreover they often don''t actually kill the mouse. I had a mouse in a dorm room in college (ick, ick, ick) and it was coming in under my bed. In the early morning, I heard the trap click and then the mouse was dragging himself around because it had gotten a tail or leg or something. Eventually, mousie got free and maintenance came and plugged the hole with steel wool (it was coming in through some kind of ventilation duct or something).

Ditto.

Ouch! I (fortunetly), never had to deal with mouse traps, had no idea they were that inhumane. I take back my suggestion of traditional traps, and go with the humane mouse trap suggestion

Yes please. I just love little mousies. They''re just looking for a warm home and some food

just help the little guy re-locate...

I am rather partial to sweet meeces mouses too!

me too. I had a pet mouse for years named Lily. I adored her. They really are such cute little things. I love their little hands.

 

[joflier]

Ok. How lame is this. I''m posting a pic of some possible turds found in my kitchen. I''ve been in super cleaning mode this afternoon. I found a number of these blackish colored thingies, just next to the stove and then next to the dishwasher. I''ve never seen anything like it anywhere else in the house. Are these mousey turds?

 

[Cleopatra]

Yep! Those are mouse droppings!! I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we always had mice in the house

 

[jmtomaui]

Yes, I''m sorry to say but they are mouse droppings. I completely understand why you would feel you need to be in a cleaning frenzy over this but they did not move in because you are a sloppy housekeeper (and please know that I am NOT calling you that!) but rather, like in Miinnesota, they want to be warm and dry in your cold WI winters.

Are you in a new housing development? Or is there a lot of construction going on? This can also cause the mice to move indoors as well. All of the heavy digging, ground shaking, noise that eats up their outdoof habitat leaves them scared and homeless.

I had them a couple of times in my brand new townhouse. I had a dog so thought I would be safe because they would be afraid of the dog. Nope. And to add insult to injury, the ones that moved into my garage would take the dog food and hide it in the hood of my car and in a fan space. I went to turn the heat on the first cold day and heard a horrible sound coming from my heater! Took it to the mechanic who was laughing so hard when he called me that he could hardly talk told me I had nothing wrong with my heater and did I want the dog food back??

They are ingenious little things... It freaks you out to know they are there and not that it helps but they are as afraid of you as you are of them...

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/20/2009 5:58:14 PM
Author: jmtomaui
Yes, I''m sorry to say but they are mouse droppings. I completely understand why you would feel you need to be in a cleaning frenzy over this but they did not move in because you are a sloppy housekeeper (and please know that I am NOT calling you that!) but rather, like in Miinnesota, they want to be warm and dry in your cold WI winters.

Are you in a new housing development? Or is there a lot of construction going on? This can also cause the mice to move indoors as well. All of the heavy digging, ground shaking, noise that eats up their outdoof habitat leaves them scared and homeless.

I had them a couple of times in my brand new townhouse. I had a dog so thought I would be safe because they would be afraid of the dog. Nope. And to add insult to injury, the ones that moved into my garage would take the dog food and hide it in the hood of my car and in a fan space. I went to turn the heat on the first cold day and heard a horrible sound coming from my heater! Took it to the mechanic who was laughing so hard when he called me that he could hardly talk told me I had nothing wrong with my heater and did I want the dog food back??

They are ingenious little things... It freaks you out to know they are there and not that it helps but they are as afraid of you as you are of them...

I''m in a very old neighborhood, and an old house. But in some ways, I''m actually a bit relieved to have mice instead of bats. Things that fly around in the dark kinda spook me!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Aw, Jo, I loved your mouse poop picture! And with a coin to show scale, no less!

OK, I just have to say it . . . at least you''ve already exterminated the BIG pest! LOL!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 1/20/2009 3:57:57 PM
Author: bee*


me too. I had a pet mouse for years named Lily. I adored her. They really are such cute little things. I love their little hands.

Bee*, I know!!! Aren''t their little hands precious?!?! I worked in a pet store when I was in high school, and I could have just watched the little mousies all day!

 

[Elmorton]

Okay, the talk about mice being cute is killing me..Jolifer, I''m guessing you think they''re anything but cute right now!! Such a different story when they''re in a cage at Petsmart vs in your kitchen.

But yupp, them''s droppings! Have you set any traps yet? It''s such a weird feeling when you have the traps out...I remember feeling so anxious - I wanted the guys gone so an empty trap wasn''t good, but then I really wasn''t looking forward to finding one chilling in the trap, either!

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/20/2009 10:59:40 PM
Author: Irishgrrrl
Aw, Jo, I loved your mouse poop picture! And with a coin to show scale, no less!

OK, I just have to say it . . . at least you''ve already exterminated the BIG pest! LOL!

Lol!!! You kill me, girl!

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/20/2009 11:11:19 PM
Author: Elmorton
Okay, the talk about mice being cute is killing me..Jolifer, I''m guessing you think they''re anything but cute right now!! Such a different story when they''re in a cage at Petsmart vs in your kitchen.

But yupp, them''s droppings! Have you set any traps yet? It''s such a weird feeling when you have the traps out...I remember feeling so anxious - I wanted the guys gone so an empty trap wasn''t good, but then I really wasn''t looking forward to finding one chilling in the trap, either!

I haven''t set any traps yet. I''m going to go get some tomorrow.

How unpleasant. Hopefully there''s only a couple of them, and not like 30 or 40!

 

[joflier]

Well, I''ve caught 3 mice so far.....who knows how many more to go.

PS - Sorry, Dfire, guess I don''t need your bat removal assitance after all.

 

[pjean]

Well, progress, right? At least you''ll never have to do this for the first time again. (I guess that''s a plus, right?)

 

[snlee]

LOL at your mouse poop picture! Good luck catching them! Hope you get rid of all of them SOON! The first time I saw a mouse running across the hallway I was so freaked out and scared I cried! I think I was 10? I would still be freaked out if I saw one as an adult. Unpleasant but brave of you to do this all by yourself!

 

[Gypsy]

Our house in NJ had all sort of interesting critters stop by for a visit. Chipmunks in the garage. A bat flew down the chiminey once when the floo (I know I misspelled that) was open. And that''s right around the time we got a couple of squirrels in the attic. Cats helped out a lot. Hally chased the bat out, chipmunks moved out when we started doing catch and release with feral neighborhood cats. Squirrels, we chased out ourselves and put in traps, and got a new roof.

Never had mice though. And nothing ever squeaked like that either. Cats would help a lot though. I have one I''m fostering that LOVES live prey.

Let me know if you want me to send her over. I''ll pay for it and everything. LOL.

 

[joflier]

Date: 1/23/2009 1:57:14 AM
Author: Gypsy
Our house in NJ had all sort of interesting critters stop by for a visit. Chipmunks in the garage. A bat flew down the chiminey once when the floo (I know I misspelled that) was open. And that''s right around the time we got a couple of squirrels in the attic. Cats helped out a lot. Hally chased the bat out, chipmunks moved out when we started doing catch and release with feral neighborhood cats. Squirrels, we chased out ourselves and put in traps, and got a new roof.

Never had mice though. And nothing ever squeaked like that either. Cats would help a lot though. I have one I''m fostering that LOVES live prey.

Let me know if you want me to send her over. I''ll pay for it and everything. LOL.

Lol.....well, gee gypsy, I do need some company! Do I sense some issues in that relationship?