kirstenhill Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 (edited) We are getting really frustrated with the mice issues in our nearly-100-year-old house. Even though it is the "wrong" time of year for it, things got worse in the last couple weeks and we've caught all of one mouse despite putting out many of all different kinds of traps. We used to always be able to deal with it with old fashioned snap traps, but this time around they seem to be smart enough to ignore them. Ugh. Anyone have any experiences to share with hiring a professional pest service of some sort to help deal with mice? Was it worth the cost? Edited May 9, 2016 by kirstenhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Hired one for rats a long time ago and it was a waste of money. I do ok by tossing around peppermint teabags. They last for about three weeks, then need to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I did a lot of reading about pest control when we had a mouse problem last year. Pretty much everything I read, except that published by professional exterminators, said not to bother. They put out traps and/or poison, and leave it for you to deal with. Some may help you find the places the critters are getting in. We had the best results with the rat zapper (check Amazon); and friends we've recommended it to have been very happy. One friend said they caught 27 mice in 2 days with it. It does kill the mice, as you might imagine from the name. But they get electrocuted so it's as humane as can be, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Snap traps work pretty well for mice but rats catch on to them and once a rat has seen one go off, he will never go near it again. We went to hire an exterminator at one point, but as he showed DH all the possible entry points for mice (they can get through unbelievably small openings that you can't maintain against them because they have to be something rubbery that mice can chew through), we concluded that discouragement was the best idea, rather than utter prevention. We have a bunch of traps in the basement and we check them frequently. We encourage the local stray cats to hang out nearby. We pack narrow holes around pipes with copper wool at the exterior point. We can't figure out a solution for the bottom of the garage door. We put a tray of poison out in a pantry room where we don't think they can get in, mostly to alert us if they ever do (they haven't). Caution--a poisoned rodent can poison natural predators, poison is really only a last resort. And we got one of those motion detector light/high pitched sound devices for the most critical problem area, but DH concluded that it really didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I thought I had the same problem with "smart mice" and did a bunch of reading. It turns out that mice don't really get smart, but they do smell well. If a person has EVER handled a trap, there will be mice who can smell it and avoid it. I had to buy rubber gloves and put on a new pair every time I put out traps or put them away (of course I had to buy new traps). Once I did that, I consistently caught one mouse per day for about 10 days, then they were gone. I also used glue traps (also put out with rubber gloves) next to the places they were coming in and out of their homes, including the piano pedals! I also put poison behind the couch and by the hot water heater. The one thing the professional did that was useful was carefully inspect the house for placed the mice were coming in so that I could block them. He also searched thoroughly for any signs of mice in places I hadn't expected (attic, hot water heater area). I tried peppermint, but it didn't deter my mice. :-( Emily 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 I thought I had the same problem with "smart mice" and did a bunch of reading. It turns out that mice don't really get smart, but they do smell well. If a person has EVER handled a trap, there will be mice who can smell it and avoid it. I had to buy rubber gloves and put on a new pair every time I put out traps or put them away (of course I had to buy new traps). Once I did that, I consistently caught one mouse per day for about 10 days, then they were gone. I also used glue traps (also put out with rubber gloves) next to the places they were coming in and out of their homes, including the piano pedals! I also put poison behind the couch and by the hot water heater. The one thing the professional did that was useful was carefully inspect the house for placed the mice were coming in so that I could block them. He also searched thoroughly for any signs of mice in places I hadn't expected (attic, hot water heater area). I tried peppermint, but it didn't deter my mice. :-( Emily Wow, that is something I've not heard before! I might run out and buy new traps today! (Maybe I'll try a zapper too). A few people have suggested the peppermint as a deterrent but I think need to kill the mice that are in the house now first...Even if I fill my house to the brim with peppermint I doubt they are going to just go running from the house. ;-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Ok we've just been through this. We also have a hundred year old farmhouse and we've had the smartest little buggers - licking the traps clean. We finally set some live catch mouse hotel traps from Amazon and bammmm....did the trick. I caught one every morning until we've seen no evidence of them. I released them at a park far from our house 😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 A few people have suggested the peppermint as a deterrent but I think need to kill the mice that are in the house now first...Even if I fill my house to the brim with peppermint I doubt they are going to just go running from the house. ;-) I haven't met your mice, but in my experience peppermint is just as effective as killing them. In either case, the effect lasts about three weeks, then a new colony moves in, excited by the possibilities of free rent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 The best thing I've found is a cat. As far as hiring someone, I think all I would do is possibly hire someone who knows what they are looking for to block up holes and such. Most of them use the glue traps which I really dislike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 We adopted cats. And we have traps.(no poison because of cats, and I don't want rotting dead mice in the walls) 130+ year old house. Unless you go through and seal off every possible entrance they will come back in time. If you don't want cats you could still have a friend with cats give you some of the dirty litter box contents to put around the outside foundation so mice think you have cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Before we had a cat, we had the best results with industrial poison. We'd leave it out and go on vacation. We have a cat now. She's a good mouser. We do have occasional mice move into the attic or basement--snap traps work there. We've never caught anything ever in our electrical traps. Dh did spray this yellow foam stuff in some cracks in the basement wall and near our back door. We haven't had any mice since he did that 18 months ago. There all my tricks. I. Hate. Mice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted May 10, 2016 Author Share Posted May 10, 2016 DH is really against having indoor pets, so no cats in our future. I would love it! We've regularly filled holes in the foundation and need to do it again now that winter is past. That is DH's job, but I need to figure out a better game plan for catching the mice that are already in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Load your snap traps with peanut halves (flat side down). They are very hard for the mouse to get out without setting off the trap. Talk DH into getting a cat. Could borrow someone else's for a week or so? It might change DH's mind, and even if not, it might get the mice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor_dad Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Caution--a poisoned rodent can poison natural predators, poison is really only a last resort. The standard mouse poison we buy at our local hardware store in the alarming not-for-individual-resale, licensed professionals only sub-packs at our local hardware store is warfarin. Warfarin is a standard blood thinner. Just like in humans, too high a dose makes mice have strokes and die from massive embolisms. The good thing is that warfarin dosing is weight dependent. A typical mouse weigh ~1oz, a small 8lb cat would be 128 times as large, even a big but light owl would be ~2lbs and 32 times as large and require 32 times the lethal dosage. Warfarin has a half life of a few days, so the predator would have to fully eat a lot of dead or dying mice in that time frame to be effected. Rat poison is often newer anticoagulants that have a longer half life and probably could be a threat to predators if you have rats moving between your house and outdoors regularly... still probably not an issue for your cats or dogs since they aren't actually eating the prey. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I had a cat that was poisioned with warfarin. He lived because we caught it in time, but it can happen. Mind you, he used to eat whole rats in three gulps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I have hired someone. I read and read things like the comments in this thread saying it wasn't worth it and resisted for years. We also have a century old house and we always had a few mice, but after our cat died, they really went nuts. Also off season mice. I finally had to either go crazy trying new things (and I'd already tried a bunch) or I needed to hire someone. I gave in and decided to try an exterminator. Anyway, I absolutely don't regret it. The mice liked his poison better. So that was good. I probably could have gotten there by keeping trying poisons, but whatever. The thing he did better was he knew how to look for holes. We had plugged some, but he really knew what he was doing. He plugged a bajillion of them. And it worked. Well, it basically worked. They found a new hole somewhere else in the fall and we saw a couple, but they then didn't find food and vacated and we've been mouse free again for awhile. So that's my advice - get someone who has a process that's good. And go into it knowing it's not foolproof. But the end goal should be plug the house back up. I was dubious that it could really be done in our old home, but we found a guy who was good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) That expanding foam crack sealant is awesome. Very cheap, maybe $3/can that will fill dozens of cracks. I use it preventively whenever I find openings, lol. Just last weekend, I used a can on all the pipe holes under my kid's new house's sinks, etc. It's awesome. Buy a couple cans, and spend an hour wandering around filling in all the holes you can find with the first can. (Save the second can for a few days later when you find more cracks, lol. Once you start a can, it will dry up and is garbage, so you have to use it all up or throw it out.) Snap traps are good. I hadn't read about mice smelling your hands on the traps, but I'll remember that if we ever have trouble catching mice in our snap traps. We usually throw the (cheap old fashioned) snap trap out once it catches a mouse, because ewww gross, but we have certainly re-baited old traps that hadn't been successful. I'll tell dh about wearing gloves if we have trouble! Cats are good. But, mine are stupid mousers. They have a tendency to go find a mouse in the basement . . . and then BRING IT UPSTAIRS to play with it. Alive. Yoikes. Maybe we need to keep the cats hungrier, lol. I think the key is to be aggressive about sealing entry ways and also killing all of the ones you can trap ASAP. We've had mice in most of our houses over the years, but just a few once in a while that are easy enough to get rid of with traditional techniques. Oh, and it might be obvious, but you have to keep food contained. If you have areas where dog food gets scattered under the boxes, or cats dribble food behind the cat tree, or kids leave wrappers and crumbs and cheerios behind the sofa, well, that's big trouble. I am neurotic about food being contained, and I know that's crucial to avoiding bugs and mice. So, relocate pet feeding areas to places easy to keep cleaned up and make kids contain their food in the kitchen, etc, and you will have an easier time of it. So sorry about your troubles! I'd be pulling my hair out! Oh, and BTW, to the poster with the garage door . . . They make nice rubber seal gasket things that screw into the bottom of your door! The make them for the sides and top of the doors too. The one on the bottom is sort of like a inch wide puffy half round of rubber . . . When the door closes, it squooshes it and seals well. (The ones on the sides and top are just like a flap of rubber that sticks out, they don't get squashed.) We have them to keep water from puddling outside and seeping into the garage, but I am sure they keep mice out too. Check it out. We just replaced our seals last year -- bought replacements on Amazon. Edited May 10, 2016 by StephanieZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Every year or two we get mice in the garage. The thing that works for me is buying a lot of cheap regular mouse traps. I put them in anything out of my current garbage/recyle can, that is long and cylinder shaped, especially if they are made of metal. Coffee cans work great for this. I put various baits on different traps, and put the trap inside the cylinders. Then I put they cylinders around the garage, tipped a bit so the trap is at the back of the can, and the mice have to go down in the cylinder to get to the bait/ trap. The mouse has a harder time licking the bait off without getting caught in trap in the back of the can. I don't like handling mice, so I toss the trap and mouse in the garbage. Then just reset with a clean trap. It takes a bit of patience to set the trap in the can without setting off the trap. Using different baits helps me figure out which ones are currently working for the mouse family in occupancy at the time. Adams peanut butter usually wins! Edited May 10, 2016 by Tap 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbeanmama Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We're in a 100+ year old house, and so is my mom. First, are you SURE it's mice? We've heard "mousy" sounds coming from walls/ceilings and it's actually been bats - yes, they really DO sound like mice scampering sometimes! My mom has had both bats and mice. When my sister just couldn't stand the noises from the walls any longer, my mom hired someone who was experienced in working with older houses. In my mom's case, the mice found a way into the walls from the outside, but not into the house from the walls. He put down some kind of poison that also dried out their little rodent bodies fairly quickly, so there was no noticeable smell. Now, if they ever have to open up the walls, there will be several bodies, but that might be for the next people who live in that house! If the issue is bats, I'd take care of it quickly - you don't want to go through post-exposure rabies vaccines (ask me how I know...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckive6 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We didn't realize we had a mice problem until we found lots of mouse droppings in our Christmas storage bins. At the same time, a few mice made it into the kitchen, and we called an exterminator. He put poison in the garage, under the kitchen sink, and in the basement. Then, we realized they had been in the ceiling in the basement for years. After a few months, they were finally killed off. Then we had to take down the ceiling in the basement, tear out the carpet, and replace all of the insulation. I'm so glad they are finally gone. I hope you find a solution soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) We have had good luck with havaheart traps. The mice here like normal things, crackers, sunbetter, etc. The mice in texas ate our coughdrops once and that was the only bait they went for. We joked that they had colds. We are a catch and release family as we used to own rats. Edited May 10, 2016 by ElizabethB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We also live in an old house and have had mice. it wasn't a problem until our old cat died. Then we had a BIG problem. I didn't think she did a thing, but the mice stayed away. I am pretty sure she never caught one in her whole life, lol. I guess just knowing she was in the house was enough. We use the 'humane traps' not because I have a problem with killing a mouse, but because we live in the city with a small lot and don't really have a place to dispose of a dead mouse. DH didn't want to just toss them in the backyard b/c the kids play back there. DH takes the trap to the park down the block and sets them 'free'...which is where they are prob all coming from anyway, lol. Anyway, those traps are certainly reusable. We've used and reused the same couple of traps many times. The mice certainly didn't stay away. Stupid things would cram a couple of themselves into a trap made for one mouse. Anyway, I got sick of emptying the trap so we got a new cat. She was busy for her first couple days, but I haven't seen a single mouse dropping in well over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted May 10, 2016 Author Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Load your snap traps with peanut halves (flat side down). They are very hard for the mouse to get out without setting off the trap. Talk DH into getting a cat. Could borrow someone else's for a week or so? It might change DH's mind, and even if not, it might get the mice. We actually tried the "borrow a cat" thing a couple years ago...the friends assured us this cat knew how to catch mice, but wouldn't you know it, this cat would catch none for us. And it just made DH hate indoor cats all the worse, because this cat would constantly try to cuddle in his lap...lol. He totally hated the experience and couldn't wait to give the cat back. We're in a 100+ year old house, and so is my mom. First, are you SURE it's mice? We've heard "mousy" sounds coming from walls/ceilings and it's actually been bats - yes, they really DO sound like mice scampering sometimes! My mom has had both bats and mice. When my sister just couldn't stand the noises from the walls any longer, my mom hired someone who was experienced in working with older houses. In my mom's case, the mice found a way into the walls from the outside, but not into the house from the walls. He put down some kind of poison that also dried out their little rodent bodies fairly quickly, so there was no noticeable smell. Now, if they ever have to open up the walls, there will be several bodies, but that might be for the next people who live in that house! If the issue is bats, I'd take care of it quickly - you don't want to go through post-exposure rabies vaccines (ask me how I know...) I see the mice pretty often in the evening so I know that's what we are dealing with....thank goodness! I'm sitting here, reading all this, whilst being watched by the darn mousie who lives somewhere in ds's room. He comes out every night to say hello and I chuck a shoe at him. We have traps. We have cats. We have poison. We have mice. I have a dead one in the greenhouse--I can smell him in the walls. I have one in the kitchen. I have to wash my Le Creuset every time I use it. I had a dead one in the wall in the upstairs bathroom. I had two dead ones behind the refrigerator. I can live with the mice up to a point. What I really don't like is when the muskrats knock off the outlet pipe screen and come up in the basement. They SQUEAK at you when you disturb them! And I'm not fond of the bears ripping off the front of the barn. Or the badger moving into the barn. Mice seem pretty inconsequential sometimes. Eeeek! Bears would defintiely be worse. I also have had a bit of peace with the mice for the past year or so as long as they mostly stayed out of my way. I knew we had a few, but I rarely saw them and they weren't getting into much. But last week they suddenly found my pantry and in two days somehow destroyed a bunch of stuff. When our food comes into play, that means war on the mice for me! Edited May 10, 2016 by kirstenhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We had a professional one time come to bait the lofts. I watched him do it and realised that we had been using the wrong kind of bait. Now I do what he did, using the materials he used. So long as I am really regular about it, it's not a problem. We use snap traps if they get into the main part of the house - peanut butter seems to work around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We have had good luck with havaheart traps. The mice here like normal things, crackers, sunbetter, etc. The mice in texas ate our coughdrops once and that was the only bait they went for. We joked that they had colds. We are a catch and release family as we used to own rats. When we had rats in the house, one ate a good part of a large bag of tetracycline. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We live in 100 year old house too. We got 2 cats that are strictly outdoor as we are seriously allergic to them. We also hide poison in 2 places in the house. Since we implemented those 2 strategies we haven't had any further problems. We tried the old fashioned mouse traps at first and it didn't work. We only caught one with that method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 We hired someone. There was such a huge mouse colony in the crawl space that some moved upstairs to a bedroom (one story house) and made a nest under a dresser. AAAACK. Oh, and I found out the shredded maxi pads (new, thankfully) is a popular nesting material. ANYway, we hired someone. He used poison and filled holes. The mice must have gone outside to die because we didn't smell a thing and it took care of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 If hubby hates cats, how does he feel about dogs? A terrier would be way better than a cat, really. Rat terrier, Cairn Terrier, anything along those lines. (they call them rat terriers for a reason!). Borrow or foster a terrier for a bit and that should help! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 If hubby hates cats, how does he feel about dogs? A terrier would be way better than a cat, really. Rat terrier, Cairn Terrier, anything along those lines. (they call them rat terriers for a reason!). Borrow or foster a terrier for a bit and that should help! He dislikes indoor dogs too. I knew this before we got married, so it has never been a big deal to me...except now when a pet might be nice to ward off mice. We put out a bunch of brand new snap traps and a "rat zapper" last night. No dice! I'm not sure the zapper is in the best spot though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 http://modernfarmer.com/2014/06/rat-terriers-rodents-pests-killing-terriermen/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upennmama Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Rat zapper from Amazon. We've been plagued for 10 years by mice in our 100+ year old house, this got rid of them in a week. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 So does this Rat Zapper work on rats? we have 150yo house and I can deal with the mice and voles (or were they shrews? I can't keep them straight) but we have a new visitor and I'm gonna lose it if I don't kill it soon. It could care less about the snap traps and it really likes avocado (where I noticed the chew marks were way too big to be a mouse). Please let the adage "if you have one you have ..." Not be true about rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 Rat zapper from Amazon. We've been plagued for 10 years by mice in our 100+ year old house, this got rid of them in a week. Amazing. I put mine out for the first time last night and it didn't get any! I am not sure if it is in the right spot though. I'm going to try a different bait tonight and then move it tomorrow morning if I don't get any overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Well, this is different, but we hired a professional to deal with bats. It was about $1500, and worth every bit of it! Plus, they have a warranty for a certain number of years, which is also a plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Please, please, don't anyone use glue traps. They are horribly inhumane. Mice have been known to chew off their own legs to escape, and if not, they die lingering and horrible deaths from stress and starvation. Poison is not much better. The mice die from internal bleeding, which can take several days. In our old house, we had great success with these live traps. It didn't seem to matter how much we touched them, and we just used Cheerios for bait. A small bucket or wastebasket with steps leading up to it and bait inside will also work. (Be sure to add shredded paper or something else to cushion the landing of the mice!). Obviously, live traps must be checked daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okra Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 I second getting a cat. We had mice problems, but no more once we had the cat. The only very disturbing thing was that one day I came home and sweet kitty had a tail hanging out of his mouth. I immediately left and came home many hours later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 I put mine out for the first time last night and it didn't get any! I am not sure if it is in the right spot though. I'm going to try a different bait tonight and then move it tomorrow morning if I don't get any overnight. Any luck? Still debating buying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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